The Rotary Club of Burnham On Crouch and the Dengie Hundred held the annual Young Musician Competition in the Music Centre, Ormiston Rivers Academy on the 9th January 2026.
The four independent members of the Judges’ Panel, fifteen Rotary members and guests in the audience were entertained and much impressed by the ten contestants from the Academy. We were welcomed by our host Laura Turnnidge, Head of Department, Creative Arts. Her guidance and encouragement for her students shone through in the performances that were praised by the judges. (The Club also wishes to thank the Academy for the generous refreshments too!)
Two competitions rolled into one event: the instrumentalists and the vocalists. Each entrant received a Rotary Certificate and there were cash prizes for the winners. Furthermore, the winners in each category go into the District Final to be held in Chelmsford Cathedral.
It was a very close competition, highly praised by the Head Judge, Terry Saunders, on behalf of the Panel. The instrumental section was won by Sam Smith on electric guitar. He played ‘Sweet Child of Mine’ with a backing track by Guns N Roses. The vocal section winner was Paige Spurgeon who sang ‘I Can Hear the Bells’ with backing from the musical ‘Hairspray’.
Above from left to right are shown the instrumentalist winner Sam Smith, vocalist Paige Spurgeon, and Laura Turnnidge receiving a bouquet from Vice President Chris Nutt.
The judges were Terry Saunders, Rev Anne Sardeson, Sue Jones and Sheila Nutt. The Club are extremely grateful for their expertise (and teamwork) in what was a very difficult task conducted under pressure to make their assessments in the time available!
Above we show the judges, Sheila, Sue, Anne and Terry on the left with the contestants.
The Competition is part of the Club’s Youth Committee work, led by Dennis Bloomfield. Many thanks to Janet Dine for organising this event!