Brass Final BBC Young Musician

Over the past three weeks we have seen some of the UK's

most exciting musical talent on stage

here at the Royal Welsh College Of Music And Drama in Cardiff.

There's been some exceptional playing

and the winners have been decided in the keyboard category.

Jackie Campbell.

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The woodwind category.

Jess Gillam.

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And, in last week's exhilarating percussion final,

it was 16-year-old Andrew Woolcock who took the prize.

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Tonight, the focus is on brass.

Something that my co-presenter knows a little bit about.

It's BBC Young Musician 2016.

Today is a big day for our five brass finalists

and, having taken part in the competition myself,

I remember only too well the feeling of anticipation and nervous energy.

But it's a great opportunity for them

and we get to hear some of the best young brass players in the country.

There is also some intriguing music in tonight's final.

I think we're in for a real treat.

If it lives up to the standard of the competition this year so far,

we certainly are. Tonight, we have two trumpets players,

two trombonists and a French horn player,

all hoping to follow in the footsteps of this category's illustrious former winners,

including, of course, this one.

For nearly four decades, BBC Young Musician

has been showcasing Britain's brightest musical talent.

But, following the success of trombonist Michael Hext,

who won the very first competition back in 1978,

only two others from this category

have gone on to win the overall title.

French horn player David Pyatt was victorious in 1988.

And, 20 years later,

the astonishingly talented 12-year-old trombonist Peter Moore

became the competition's youngest ever winner.

But we're still waiting for the first trumpet player

to win the overall title. Maybe this year?

Before meeting tonight's brass hopefuls

and, as we're only two weeks away from finding out

the name of the next BBC Young musician,

let's take a quick look forward to what's still to come in the series.

Next Saturday, it's the semifinal when our five category winners

compete for just three places in the grand final.

Those three will have a chance to be mentored by Nicola Benedetti,

former BBC Young Musician winner and the competition's ambassador.

At the final, which will be held this year at London's Barbican Hall,

they'll each perform a concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra

and conductor Mark Wigglesworth.

And you'll be able to see the whole thing on BBC Four.

And if you've been enjoying this series so far,

you can watch the performances from the first three category finals

in full on our website.

Regardless of who wins the title,

the real prize in this competition I think is the opportunity

to play a concerto with a leading professional orchestra

and top conductor. You were just a teenager when you took part

in the grand final in 1998.

How formative an experience do you think that was for you?

For me, it was an incredibly steep learning curve.

I'd never played with an orchestra before, so that was immense.

I would also say for my career it was undoubtedly a springboard

and I learned how to become a brass soloist.

They are, obviously, under a lot of pressure,

but their dream is to become a professional musician.

So, is that pressure sometimes a good thing?

I think it is a lot of pressure. I think it can be good.

This is a very nurturing environment,

from which they can learn a lot of very useful skills.

And, after all, as performers

we're only ever as good as our last concert.

A big concert ahead for our five brass finalists.

Let's meet them.

Gemma Riley, 17-year-old trombonist from Wigan.

I was really, really pleased when I found out.

I didn't expect to even get this far.

Whatever happens, I'm really pleased to get here.

18-year-old trumpet player Zak Eastop from London.

Honestly, I didn't think I'd played that well in the last round.

So, getting an e-mail telling me I had,

I read through it five or six times,

then made someone else read through it

so I was sure it said what it said.

From Hertfordshire, 18-year-old horn player Ben Goldscheider.

I think it's a great platform to show what the horn can do.

There are so many colours that can be achieved.

I think the sound is really something quite magical.

Zoe Perkins, a 17-year-old trumpet player from Huntingdon.

It's just an amazing experience

and I've never really done anything like it before.

It's intense, but in a really good way

and I feel like I can take a lot from it, definitely.

And the youngest of our brass finalists,

16-year-old trombonist Sam Dye from Leicestershire.

These four other brass players today,

they're all marvellous, they're all incredible.

I think it'll be close.

It would be amazing to win,

but, even if I don't, to get this far has made me very happy.

What do you think tonight's finalists have to show us?

I think the most important thing is that they show

they have charisma on stage.

It's quite different to be a brass player in an ensemble

than to be on the stage just on your own or with your accompanist.

Stamina is also a huge thing for brass players

and the first thing that goes

when you're under pressure is your breathing.

That sounds pretty nerve-racking, being too nervous to breathe.

What about repertoire?

They don't have as many choices as the keyboard or the strings.

That's true, but you can absolutely make this

into an opportunity to play a newer repertoire

and forge new paths as a brass player with interesting programming

and really using that vocal side of the instrument to express yourself.

So, lots for the judges to consider.

Tonight's judges are

Philippe Schartz, soloist and principal trumpet

of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

I am looking for a statement, somebody really telling us a story.

Music is all about emotions.

Music is all about really saying,

"That's what I'm passionate about. I want to express myself."

That's what I'm looking for.

Pioneering French horn soloist

and member of the Berlin Philharmonic, Sarah Willis.

You can smell it on someone if they're a great performer or not.

You are so happy when one comes,

it makes you go from sitting like this to sitting like that.

And chair of the jury, composer Dobrinka Tabakova.

I think you just see someone who feels comfortable on stage

and manages to say everything they want to say

and not let the moment get to them.

Kind of have that drive,

have that determination that goes beyond the moment

that is a competition.

So that's who our brass finalists have to impress.

We're minutes away from the beginning of tonight's

category final, and the wait is very nearly over

for our five brass finalists.

First to perform, it's 17-year-old trombonist, Gemma Riley.

Following in the footsteps of 2008 winner Peter Moore,

Gemma is one of two of tonight's finalists

to go to Chetham's School Of Music in Manchester.

I started the tenor horn when I was six

and went on to trombone when I was nine, I think.

I changed because my mum played trombone

and it's a more versatile instrument.

There's a lot of brass banding in my family.

My dad plays the euphonium and my mum plays the trombone.

So, I can remember going to competitions with them.

As well is studying at Chetham's,

Gemma is also a keen brass band player

and every week she makes her way to Bolton

to play with Wingates Brass Band.

I really enjoy brass band.

It probably sounds a bit cheesy but it's a nice community and stuff.

Everyone knows everyone and stuff, so that's really nice.

I joined Wingates less than a year ago.

I always wanted to play with a championship section band.

I think Wingates has really brought on my playing,

playing with a higher section band, playing with people around me.

They're really good players and that's really helped.

For me, the big thing that Gemma actually has

is she's very cool for somebody so young under pressure.

Particularly when we're in competitions,

she does extremely well.

I like performing. That is really exciting.

I don't get that nervous.

If I tell myself more that I'm excited,

then you don't get as nervous.

On top of her other commitments, Gemma has really been putting in

the hours as she prepares to compete

in this BBC Young Musician brass final.

The competition's going to be a great experience, I think,

just to play on a big stage

and master a whole 16 minutes of a performance.

I think once you get to know a piece,

that helps with not reading the technical aspect of it.

By then, I'll just think about the music

and communicating with the audience.

Gemma, how does it feel now the day

of the category finals is here at last?

It's really exciting.

I can't wait to go out on the stage and perform it.

Is BBC Young Musician something

you've grown up watching, or is this new to you?

Yeah, I watched Peter Moore win.

That was a big inspiration.

He's come into Chet's recently to do a masterclass with us,

which was really good.

What do you hope to say to the jury as a musician with your repertoire?

Cos I'm playing two pieces that are really different styles,

hopefully show the different styles of the trombone

and hopefully show my musicality.

Gemma opens this brass final now with what's thought to be

the oldest work in the solo trombone repertoire -

La Hieronyma composed by Giovanni Martino Cesare in 1621.

And it's played here with harpsichord and cello continuo.

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Moving forwards several centuries now,

Gemma takes on a 20th century work - Jacques Casterede's Sonatine.

Casterede was a French composer.

You play in a French style.

So there's lots of vibrato.

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17-year-old Gemma, with two wonderfully contrasting works

to open this brass final.

I really liked Gemma's choice of repertoire tonight,

I thought it was a really original opener.

She was possibly a little bit nervous,

there were some intonation issues, but she just sailed through that.

Her lyrical playing was amazing, absolutely beautiful control.

Her performance was absolutely fantastic,

there's a lot of potential there.

She needs to communicate a little bit stronger

with the audience from the start.

I think it went really well.

It was different to how it was in the rehearsal,

but it was...it was all right. It was a nice audience.

My heart is in my mouth for all of these competitors,

but she seemed very confident and really assured on the stage.

How do you think she handled that repertoire?

I thought she handled it really well, I was worried she might be a bit nervous.

As you say, she's so used to playing in ensembles,

it's a very different sort of pressure out here,

and to have to go on and be first, I think in the brass category,

somehow, is even harder than normal.

I loved her...particularly her slow movement in that second piece.

I thought she handled it really beautifully,

incredibly lyrical, very musical, really sustained, beautiful tone.

I think she did really well,

-it was a lovely way to start the competition.

-I think it was.

Next to face our expert panel and the first of two trumpet players

in this brass final, it's 18-year-old Zak Eastop.

BAND PLAYS JAZZ PIECE

For trumpet player, Zak,

jazz was the music that made the first impression.

I first discovered the trumpet growing up in a house

where Chet Baker, Clifford Brown

were, you know, constantly being played through the stereo.

His early interest led to an informal brass initiation.

His first horn was a toy horn, it was in the toy box

and it was made of a bit of garden hosepipe

and a part of an old horn,

and that was just thrown casually into the toy box

and it got played a lot.

Zak's dad, a professional musician,

started giving him lessons on the French horn,

but he soon moved on to the trumpet.

My dad is one of the biggest musical influences on my life.

He has taught me a way of practising

which is so efficient and so useful,

and a way of looking at a piece of music,

not as just notes on a page, but as conveying meaning.

For the past nine years, at the weekends, Zak has studied

at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Junior Department,

where he's discovered a whole breadth of music.

Guildhall has totally changed my life, it's amazing.

My mind was opened to the world of music,

because, before that, I'd only really done jazz.

And I was around people who were doing what I was doing

and who were equally driven by what I was doing

and I found that totally, artistically liberating,

and I still do, I find it incredible that I'm surrounded

by these really talented musicians.

Zak is principal cornet of the Junior Guildhall Brass Band.

I love it, I absolutely love it

and I've never NOT loved it in nine years.

Despite his musical talent,

he's decided to study French at university.

HE SPEAKS FRENCH IN CLASS

'There is a link between music and between languages.

'They share so many skills as well.

'So, for example, getting your tongue around phonetics.'

If you're already used to, like on the cornetto, for example.

I mean, I'm going...

HE IMITATES RAPID TONGUE MOVEMENT

..underneath the mouthpiece.

-So...

-HE REPEATS MOVEMENTS

That kind of thing. So... Changing that into something like,

"Qu'est-ce que tu veux, mon vieux, d'envie,

"on fait ce qu'on peut, parce que..."

it's the same kind of gymnastics in your mouth.

I love the trumpet.

I love the fact that it kind of fuses physicality and musicality.

I mean, basically, what it is, it's plumbing.

I mean, all that is is some piping

with a small valve system in the middle.

So, it's kind of taming,

taming nature in terms of basically playing my boiler.

And, also, trumpet players are the coolest, as well,

we're the coolest in the orchestra, obviously, everyone wants to be...

Everyone wants to date the trumpet player.

Zak, you've been working on your repertoire with your dad,

has he given you any last-minute advice?

Yes, he has.

In fact, I had a rehearsal with him a few days ago.

And, as always, he absolutely took it apart

and put it all back together again.

And, I mean, the work that he does is very, very minute detail, so...

I mean, it's really useful.

Tell us about your relationship with your accompanist?

I am a big believer that, if it's a recital, it's not a solo,

you're not on your own, you're with another person.

And we have worked and worked and worked on the entire rep,

so it should sound, you know, like we're one unit, hopefully!

Zak has chosen a bold, cinematic piece to open -

Escapades by John Williams, played on the flugelhorn.

The John Williams was written for the film Catch Me If You Can,

which was a saxophone concerto,

so it presents its own challenge of this is alien,

because it's not written for my instrument.

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Zak's second piece is a sonata

by another contemporary American composer, Eric Ewazen.

You just have to sit back

and think of huge expansive landscapes, with, like,

buffalo running across a plain, and all that kind of thing.

From 21st-century America,

Zak now heads back to 1950s France for an impromptu by Jacques Ibert.

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18-year-old Zak, ending his very stylish programme with flair.

Zak came out and did a Chet Baker, he's a real entertainer

and an all-round performer,

and I love the way the audience just sat back in their seats and enjoyed.

Zak, he is bold, he's got character, he really is there to entertain

and I think that is really important,

especially in classical music.

When we see a young performer that really entertains like that,

it kind of, like, it grabs your attention.

As far as I'm concerned, I've done as well as I possibly could,

which is what I came here to do.

In the end, I didn't come here to win,

I came here to play the best concert I physically could

and I think I have.

-Ali, how was that for you?

-I really enjoyed it,

I have to say, I was enthralled by his flugel playing.

I absolutely loved it

and I was just kind of held in every note he played,

I was, like... I was really, really listening.

Um, I thought it was an interesting programme, I wanted to hear more

of his C trumpet playing, which he did at the end, such a short and...

-It was too short, wasn't it?

-Yeah, it was too short,

but incredibly in command of the instrument.

And very confident on stage, which is, as we were saying earlier,

very important with the breathing, he seemed incredibly prepared.

I thought his chemistry with his accompanist was electric,

they were just, like, as one throughout the entire programme.

-Yeah.

-I think he should be very proud.

-Very impressive.

She did turn to me after the first piece and go,

"That was really hard."

Well, we've now heard from two of this year's

brass category finalists.

Still to come, our second trumpet player of the evening,

17-year-old Zoe Perkins,

and the youngest competitor performing tonight,

16-year-old trombonist, Sam Dye.

But, next, it's tonight's French horn player,

18-year-old Ben Goldscheider.

A-level student Ben, from Hertfordshire,

is just as at home on the football pitch as in the music room,

having once played for the Tottenham Hotspur Academy.

I've played football almost from the age of four.

I play centre back

being the big lump at the back of the field.

It's definitely about shouting at everyone else

and making sure they're doing what I want.

When I was about 14,

I had to make the decision between sport and music,

and I think with the vision I had with music,

it was something I really wanted to achieve, and I think although

it was a very difficult decision, I think it was the correct one.

BEN PRACTISES ON HORN

Ben is from a family of musicians, we're all musicians.

The only time there's no music going on in the house

is when all the lights are off and we're all fast asleep,

but, other than that, every waking minute of the day,

some music is happening in the house.

I've never once had to say, "Ben, please go and practise," he is in...

He's on cloud nine when he's practising his horn.

A day off for him is a day practising.

The thing I love about the horn the most is its sound.

There are so many extended techniques

and so many colours that can be achieved,

and I think at the same time as it sounding very, very modern

and very kind of fun and exciting,

there's just this beautiful, mellow tone that it will always have.

On Saturday mornings,

Ben makes his way to the Royal College of Music Junior Department

for lessons with Sue Dent.

His technique is really robust.

You know, he's robust as a character as well,

he just doesn't flinch.

He just wants to excel at everything he does

and, by and large, he does, you know.

So, he's just really up to the mark all the time.

So, it's fantastic.

SUE SINGS GENTLY

The last three winners of BBC Young Musician

also studied at the Junior Royal College of Music

and Ben's hoping to emulate their success.

They've really inspired me

in terms of what they're now doing with their careers.

You know, it's an amazing opportunity to win this competition.

I think everything's a journey

and let's see what happens with this one.

How does it feel now the day of the category finals is here at last?

It's very exciting to be, you know, playing in the BBC Category Final.

I've watched this competition for years,

I remember sitting in my pyjamas when Pete Moore won

and he was maybe only a year older than me, thinking,

"How on earth do they do it?"

And so, you know, to be here is a great feeling.

What will you feel when you're standing at the side of the stage, ready to go on?

Uh, I used to have a massive problem with playing on stage

and, you know, playing as a soloist,

and when I kind of realised it's what I want to do,

I tried various ways of trying to combat it

and now I'm just going to go out there and enjoy myself

and see what happens.

Well, Ben opens his programme with an unaccompanied etude

by the Finnish composer and conductor, Esa-Pekka Salonen.

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I think the Esa-Pekka Salonen

is a great piece to showcase the versatility

and the different colours that the horn can produce.

There are so many parts in the music where people just don't know

where the sounds are coming from it.

It seems quite ethereal, other times, it couldn't be more obvious.

There's kind of, at the same time, a blank canvas,

with which the performer can just do what they want.

In complete contrast to Salonen's virtuosic showpiece,

Ben moves now to a romance by Saint-Saens.

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Ben has chosen to end his programme with the third movement

of English composer York Bowen's sonata.

I think in the York Bowen, the biggest thing about it

is the relationship between the horn player and the pianist.

And that's kind of reflected in the writing,

and it's a real interaction,

you know, how the instruments work together and a richness of harmony and sound.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

18-year-old Ben, with a programme designed to show the full range

and possibility of the horn.

What an opener, Salonen from memory,

the score for that is just so complicated

and the techniques are so varied...

It's good to have pieces like that

because they extend what an instrument can do

and he showed all of the aspects of what the horn can do in that piece.

It was really very impressive.

Ben, I am absolutely, literally and - excuse the pun - BLOWN away.

The control of all the dynamics there was amazing.

Then he plays a lyrical piece like the Saint-Saens

and it's just simplicity, fantastic.

And what presence on stage, he just comes, he smiles

and he plays, it's wonderful.

As a horn player, it's so often that we sit there

and we listen to every tiny detail and we get nervous for them.

With Ben, I just sat back and enjoyed, he did a fantastic job.

I think with the kind of circumstances

and the pieces that I chose, I don't think I could be happier.

You know, a few notes here and there,

but it'll be the same for everyone, so, no, I'm pleased.

So, Ben says he loves the sounds that the horn can produce,

from modern and fun to beautiful and mellow,

and I thought he did that terrifically well.

He completely owned the stage

and I thought these three pieces suited him brilliantly,

and such a courageous start with his Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Yeah, I loved the acrobatics in that piece.

I had no idea that the French horn could even do that,

so it was really a treat to hear that

and then move in to something a bit more romantic and traditional with the Saint-Saens.

He is an all-rounder as a person, we know he's a brilliant footballer,

he's got lots of wide interests outside of music

and I really felt that you could get a sense of that

from his personality on the stage.

Fantastic first half we've had here

and two more performers still to come.

But, first, I caught up with the chair of the jury,

Dobrinka Tabakova, earlier,

to get her thoughts on the competition so far.

So, Dobrinka, we're halfway through the week,

how's it going for you so far?

Amazing, I've had the best time and just inspired every evening.

I feel like I'm in one of those page-turner novels,

where you just want to find out who the next character's going to be,

what's going to happen next

and what's going to happen in the end as well.

Overall, have you been impressed by the standard this year?

Hugely, hugely. The decisions have been really tight.

Everyone has something really special

and it was just really difficult to make decisions and just...

everyone's so good!

As a composer, you are all about new music,

about the creation of this future.

Have you been inspired by the people you've seen this week?

Hugely, it's a really inspirational week

and I'm so grateful just to see

the best that these young musicians can do, brought on stage,

and it's such a privileged position to be in,

and I am willing them on all the way through.

I don't feel like I'm there to judge what they're doing,

I feel that I'm there to support them

because they are my future voice, all musicians are composers' voices,

so they are my voice and I want all of them to do well,

and I'm sure that they will.

So, can you sum up what, as the chair of the jury,

you're really looking for?

For me, it's always about communication.

I have to feel like the person on stage is creating a world

and they're welcoming me into that world.

I trust that their technique is impeccable.

I know they wouldn't be here if it wasn't.

So what I want to see is a world where I, as an audience member,

am welcomed in and they just create that and fly away with it.

Dobrinka Tabakova there, who, together with her fellow judges -

Philippe Schartz and Sarah Willis -

will be making tonight's decision.

Hoping to impress them next,

it's the second of our trumpet players -

17-year-old Zoe Perkins.

Zoe studies at Hinchingbrooke School

and despite it not specialising in music,

the school's jazz fusion band gives her a chance

to collaborate with her fellow students.

I really enjoy playing with the fusion band, because, I mean,

there's such a great selection of players.

Everyone loves what they're doing and everyone loves the pieces,

so there's a constant enthusiasm.

BAND PLAYS JAZZ FUSION PIECE

It's effectively kind of a jam session,

but a really well-structured rehearsal at the same time!

And it's her love of collaboration

that's led to Zoe striking up a partnership

with Marie-Noelle Kendall,

her accompanist and a former Young Musician finalist in 1982.

Some players do their own thing and just expect the accompanist

to follow them, so it doesn't really matter who's playing for them,

but, with Zoe, it is important.

She's that kind of instinctive player as well.

We play very well together. We don't have to talk a lot in rehearsals.

And I think once you have that musical connection, it's kind of...

You subconsciously know what the other person's going to do.

Once you have that gel,

I think it just makes everything so much easier.

Zoe gets the chance to gel

with 163 of the finest young musicians in Britain

when she plays with the National Youth Orchestra.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS DRAMATIC PIECE

I learn so much from my peers, and my section, they're just amazing.

With the sheer kind of scale of the orchestra and the sound,

it was just the most incredible experience.

And I think once you've been in the orchestra,

you understand that it's a mixture of everything that makes NYO so good

and everyone wants to do it to the absolute best.

One of the main sources of inspiration

is definitely people around you kind of saying,

"Oh, have you heard this? Oh, listen to this, it's amazing,"

and, um, kind of making ensembles with people

and playing music and arranging music for friends.

At the weekends,

Zoe studies at the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music.

It's really nice being at the Junior Academy

because everyone loves what they're doing and everyone wants to do well.

It's really depressing when you leave in the evening

because you've kind of got to wait another week to go back.

Just being at the Junior Academy and being in the orchestra

kind of just encouraged me to... I didn't kind of...

I decided that I wanted to do that for, like, the rest of my life.

Zoe, as we know, playing the trumpet as a solo instrument's

quite different from playing with your friends

or playing chamber music, how is it for you?

I feel like you have to have

a kind of whole new level of confidence as a soloist.

And it's not only really about how well you play,

it's also about how you come across and stage presence

and how much faith people have in you

just from the way you look and seem on the stage, I think.

Do you feel that you perform in a very different way

if you're using the music or playing from memory?

Yeah, it's not impossible, but it's a lot harder to...

be fully, kind of in the music and really kind of expressive

when you have the music there with you.

Cos for my opening piece, I'm using the music as a prompt,

but I've really focused and worked on coming away from the music

and having it to the side so it's just a prompt, really.

APPLAUSE

To begin her programme, Zoe's chosen music by the French composer,

Joseph Edouard Barat.

I chose the Barat

because I feel like it's a really good announcement piece

and I feel like it really announces the presence of the trumpet immediately,

which is what I'm going for.

Zoe moves on now to the haunting and dramatic Legende

by the Romanian composer, George Enescu.

It sounds so French and Impressionistic.

I feel like I can express myself through this piece perfectly.

So, yeah, I love it.

APPLAUSE

And Zoe closes her programme with a highly emotive prayer

by the Armenian-American composer, Alan Hovhaness.

There's an opportunity to create the most electric atmosphere.

It's the perfect way to end the programme

because it's so peaceful and contemplative.

APPLAUSE

That meditative Prayer Of St Gregory,

a very moving way for Zoe Perkins to close

her brass category final performance.

Zoe had a fantastic stride and sound and such a powerful sound as well,

it really was very, very engaging.

Sometimes on the fast passages she can maybe slow down a little bit,

so it's more clear and more clarity,

and sometimes less is a little bit more,

but she has a great presence on stage

and she can really sing through that trumpet.

Zoe is a lovely performer, a fantastic trumpet player,

and, at such a young age,

we're going to be hearing a lot more from her, I'm sure.

She walked out there, she sounds great.

Really enjoyed it.

It was really enjoyable and the acoustic was amazing,

and I was actually quite emotional.

Um, I can't comment on the standard of the performance,

but I really enjoyed it.

Well, I just thought Zoe did a marvellous job there.

I think she chose her repertoire so intelligently,

it suited exactly what her style is.

-Mm.

-And it really brought out the best of her abilities.

I thought she was...

I thought she was breathing a little bit high in her chest

because she was so nervous, but, despite that,

she was able to convey who she was and I loved her.

I completely agree, I absolutely loved that performance

and I was thinking about what you were telling us earlier,

about how a brass performer in particular

really needs to create that aura

and fill the stage with their charisma,

and I just felt she totally did that, especially in the Enescu,

which just mesmerised me.

Ali, I know that it's a favourite of yours,

you've just recorded it with Tom Foster,

what did you make of her performance?

I thought it was wonderful. I think the piece, it's...

It's called Legende, it's a story.

It's beguiling and it leads us on a journey,

and I thought she had us absolutely held captivated

for the whole piece, I thought... She was marvellous.

Yeah, I-I thought, I was sort of holding my breath at one point, I was like, "Breath."

Exactly. Last to perform in this BBC Young Musician Brass Final

is our second trombonist of the evening, 16-year-old Sam Dye.

One, two... Ah, one, two, three, four...

BAND PLAYS SWING PIECE

Sam Dye, from Ashby, first picked up a trombone aged just three.

Both my parents are brass teachers,

so one day my dad brought home a trombone.

Little Sam says, "What's that, Daddy?"

I said, "Oh, that's a trombone."

He says I'm going to play that crombone.

"Crombone", he couldn't even say trombone!

About five minutes later I heard this parp-parp parp...

I thought, "What's that?" I went in the kitchen

and he'd got the trombone out himself and away he went.

As soon as he put a trombone on his lips, that was it.

We knew that was the one. That's your instrument.

Playing in a band with my mum and dad is a great thing.

Still hearing my dad today is fantastic

because he's got such an incredible range and sound and style.

It's just so nice to hear him play and it just proves to me that

he really does know what he's talking about.

Even though I can't admit it to him!

It's quite extraordinary.

Your son sat there in front of you playing better than you do.

-That's the bit I don't like!

-SHE LAUGHS

Sam is the second of tonight's finalists

to study at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester,

where he and fellow trombonist Gemma are both taught by Rob Burtenshaw.

Sam, as a trombonist, has an old head on young shoulders.

He seems very experienced.

He's got a very mature sound and approach and technique.

Sam has a very positive effect on the whole team, really.

And he's pushing the boundaries of musicianship

and technique all the time.

HE GROWLS THROUGH TROMBONE

ROB CHUCKLES

At Chetham's, the standards are very high.

We've got seven great trombone players,

so it's always inspiring you to improve,

to keep up with people because obviously they're like stars.

You're like, "Wow, I want to sound like that."

The reason I love the trombone is for its versatility.

And it really captures me

when I hear it doing something really beautiful.

That's what I'm trying to do,

I'm trying to get in between the solo stuff, the orchestral stuff.

I'm trying to do it all because I just love it all so much.

What is it about the trombone that you love so much?

-It's an incredibly versatile instrument of course.

-That's it.

The versatility of it really excites me.

I find it fantastic, the way it can just change not only between styles

but between voice, tone, everything can change. It's gorgeous.

How do you feel now the day of the category finals is here at last?

It's been a long run up to it. It's been like, "This is my goal,

"I've got to focus, I've got to get it nailed."

Now it's here. For a start, it's like, "Ooh, it's this week. Oh, no."

But then today it's like, "No, it's cool, I've done the work.

"I've got to chill and try and play my best."

With the piece Basta,

Sam's decided on an unusual opening for his programme.

I can imagine just being in the audience like, "What's going on?"

APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE

From the playful and comic, Sam now takes us

to a completely different realm in Romance by Debussy.

APPLAUSE

And there's more French music to close Sam's programme.

The Piece in Eb minor by Guy Ropartz,

known as one of the most difficult works for the trombone.

And, of course, it's the end of the concert.

To finish on a top Eb is like, "Ooh!"

But, hopefully, the stamina should hold out and it'll be OK.

APPLAUSE

The very engaging 16-year-old Sam Dye bringing to a close

another hugely impressive category final.

Sam, another showman of the evening.

I think the brass players are really coming out as a theatrical species

of the musical family this evening.

So it is really nice to see him

start with such a confident and theatrical piece.

Sam rushed on-stage and he started playing straight away,

and that's exactly what the composer wanted.

He really sold that piece to us, he nailed it,

he made us listen, he made us laugh.

Fantastic control, a really wonderful trombone player.

I think the audience really enjoyed Basta.

I think they were a bit surprised by the start and the end.

I just hope they enjoyed the various styles that were played

and they seemed to, from where I was stood.

Sam Dye really bringing the audience onside right from the moment

he literally ran onto the stage to perform that Basta.

I think he has such a lovely quality to his playing.

We know how much he loves the trombone

and I thought that really came across.

That last work from an outsider's point of view

just feels like such a feat of stamina.

-What would that have been like for him?

-Yeah, I think it really was.

I think he did a tremendous job and, as you say,

right out the gates, he was so playful.

He had us in the palm of his hand.

I feel that the romance was gorgeous, that it was very sultry.

It showed us the beautiful tone he's capable of making.

I wondered if he just focused too much on pacing himself

in this last piece because, actually,

we don't care about the notes, we want to hear the musicianship

and that was absolutely evident all the way through.

I feel that he could probably have let go even more,

but, of course, all of us brass players, we obsess over stamina

so it's natural he would be pacing himself in the programme.

Well, there you have it.

How on earth this jury are going to choose one winner,

I don't know. Here's a quick reminder of tonight's performances.

Gemma, I thought she was so fantastic when she came on.

She played so lyrically.

She was so refined when she played

and it just sort of like popped out of her trombone.

It was absolutely fantastic.

Zak is so confident on stage and he obviously loves to perform

and that really came through.

His technique, especially in the high register, was so clean

and he just hit those notes really well.

When Ben came out, he just made me feel so at ease.

He was so in control of his playing.

To play this Esa-Pekka Salonen study

as the very first piece was absolutely mind-blowing.

Zoe is absolutely fantastic.

Her flamboyancy when she plays

and her dynamic contrasts are fantastic on the trumpet.

She has the colours, she has the performance,

she has the stage presence

and she has absolutely super technique as well.

When Sam rushed onto the stage and started playing immediately,

I thought, "Oh!" It was a really impressive start

to grab everybody's attention

and that's what we need to do as performers.

He's a master technician, he's got an incredibly fluid

and fast left hand with all his slide work

and a beautiful, beautiful trombone sound.

'Tonight was just an evening of highlights'

and really just celebrating brass all night long.

Well, I'm here backstage now with the competitors,

who are waiting anxiously for the results.

Who will be our fourth winner

and move one step closer to the title of BBC Young Musician 2016?

Here's Sarah Willis with that all-important announcement.

APPLAUSE

Hi, everyone. We hope you've had as amazing an evening as we have.

Dobrinka, Philippe and I were unanimous in choosing the winner.

The winner for us was really the most incredible performer,

musician, technician right from the very start

and we are very, very happy and proud to announce

that the winner of the BBC Young Musician 2016 Brass Final is...

..Ben Goldscheider.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I think Ben overall was just such a rounded musician.

He made mature choices for the programme,

really ambitious choices, but he carried them through.

It was absolutely astonishing and we were blown away by his performance.

-How did you feel?

-I felt really good, actually.

I had a really positive feeling about it.

I was really nervous about an hour before

and then I kind of was walking down here and I was about to go onstage

and I thought, "You know what, what more can I do?

"I've practised hours and hours."

With brass playing, you can worry about splitting notes

and I thought, "I'm not going to be able to prevent that

"so I might as well go for it, split a couple

"and make it exciting as opposed to being safe."

-Well done, you must be thrilled.

-Yeah, I am.

I'm so proud of you!

Mwah!

-I'd better book my train ticket, hadn't I?

-Yeah.

Well, it's been another thrilling night in Cardiff.

Massive congratulations to Ben.

He will be joining us in the BBC Young Musician semifinal.

You can see that next Saturday here on BBC Four

together with the four other category winners.

They'll be competing for three places in the Grand Final.

And you can see all of tonight's performances in full,

plus much more, on our website:

bbc.co.uk/youngmusician

Join us again next week

when we have five wonderful string players all hoping

to win their category and that all-important place

in the semifinal of BBC Young Musician 2016.

We'll leave you with a little taster.

-BOTH:

-Goodnight.

We know from the history of this competition

that the standard's incredibly high.

All the musicians will have put in unbelievable hours and sacrifice.

This is a huge opportunity. It's so important for them.

A lifetime never seems enough to perfect the violin.

You sort of validate all those hours in the practice room.

I've been counting the days. Now I've reached zero and it's fabulous.