Sadness as poor response hits Rotary Young Musicians competition

Flashback to last year's Knaresborough Rotary Club Young Musicians.

The contest, which has been running for more than a decade, and its associated concert were due to be held this Saturday, November 12 at King James’s School.

But a surprising lack of interest this year has made the event unviable.

Rotary club spokesman, Brian Souter, said “This is a very sad situation. We have been running the event for 12 years and the numbers have been gradually falling, from over 80 a few years ago to under 30 last year. With only seven entries this year the event was no longer viable so we reluctantly have had to cancel.

Part of Rotary’s national competition, last year saw two Knaresborough young musicians reach the national final.

Brian Souter said: “Clearly we need to rethink the way we arrange the event. We need to find out why we have had such a poor response. Is this a reflection of a decline in youngsters learning to play instruments and to sing?

"Is it the timing that is wrong, should we do this on a Sunday or in the evenings during the week?

"We would welcome feedback from parents and young musicians to [email protected].”