A TALENTED teenage saxophonist from Ulverston has reached the finals of the BBC Young Musician of the Year – for the second time.

Jess Gillam, 17, is one of five finalists in the Woodwind category for the prestigious competition, which will be televised later this year on BBC 2 and BBC 4.

The gifted musician also reached the finals in 2014, when she received the BBC Walter Todds Bursary for showing exceptional promise in the competition.

Jess will compete again at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in March.

“I am delighted to have reached the BBC Young Musician Category Finals," said Jess. "I really enjoyed the experience when I competed in 2014 and the opportunities and performances that came from it were fantastic.

“The competition is a brilliant platform and I can’t wait to compete this year.”

The category finals will take place on March 6-10, followed by the semi-final on March 13.

The final will take place at the Barbican, London, on May 15, where the three finalists will be accompanied by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mark Wigglesworth.

Since taking up the saxophone at the age of seven, Jess has been awarded several scholarships, made a guest appearance with Jools Holland and performed as a concert soloist with the Worthing Symphony Orchestra.

Most recently, she was the youngest of 2,600 delegates to perform at the World Saxophone Congress in Strasbourg.

Jess became the youngest ever endorsee for Yanagisawa saxophones, one of the finest saxophone manufacturers in the world, when she was aged 13.

She runs her own concert series in Ulverston, bringing international names such as Courtney Pine, Snake Davis, Tommy Smith and the Apollo Saxophone Quartet to the town.