I FEEL sure that those who watched this year's BBC Young Musician of the Year competition would agree that the standard of playing was phenomenal.

Televised in May, the whole music-loving nation was gripped (I certainly was) as 17-year-old pianist from Essex Martin James Bartlett landed the 2014 title performing Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in the final at Edinburgh's Usher Hall.

One of the most prestigious classical music competitions in the world, it has launched the careers of many internationally renowned artists such as Nicola Benedetti, Emma Johnson, Alison Balsom and Freddie Kempf.

Ulverston's own rising musical star Jess Gillam was one of the 2014 competition's category finalists and such was her own performance that she received the BBC Walter Todds Bursary for showing exceptional promise in the competition.

Now, the talented and enterprising young saxophone player has organised a concert at the Coronation Hall in Ulverston featuring some of the other soloists from the BBC competition - finalist and awesome percussionist Elliott Gaston-Ross and another gifted category finalist, pianist Hayley Parkes.

Staged tomorrow night (Friday, December 5, 7.30pm), Jess, Elliot and Hayley will also be joined in the Coro concert by students from Manchester's Junior Royal Northern College of Music - Jodie Buckland (trumpet), Kate de Campos (viola) and Jess' sister Patsy (clarinet), who at just 11 is a member of the National Children's Orchestra.

Jess started playing sax at the tender age of seven and studies at the Junior Royal Northern College of Music with Ruth Bourn, where she was accepted with the Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music Scholarship in 2011. She has subsequently won awards at RNCM for demonstrating outstanding talent and has performed in concerts for the college across the north west.

Two years ago aged 13, Jess became the youngest ever endorsee for Yanagisawa Saxophones, one of the world’s finest saxophone manufacturers.

She has also shared the stage with Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra at Carlisle's Sands Centre; has played with Snake Davis several times and was described by him as “one of the best young sax players in the UK,” and she runs her own annual concert series in her home town where previous acts have included Snake Davis and the Suspicions and Courtney Pine.

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