Musicians are pitch perfect at Saltcoats Town Hall

Saltcoats Town Hall recently played host to the North Ayrshire Young Musician of the Year 2026 competition, where talented young musicians from secondary schools across North Ayrshire were selected to represent their schools in an evening of outstanding performances.

The young people competed on Thursday 19 February in the annual celebration of North Ayrshire’s Musical talent, sponsored by the Rhona Reid Charitable Trust and Scottish Young Musicians.

Praised for their musicality and confidence, the runners-up were Martha Hill, a singer from Largs Academy, and Struan Campbell a guitarist from Auchenharvie Academy.

However, it was the exceptional musical talent of bass guitarist Jake Kenny from Garnock Community Campus that saw him awarded with the overall coveted title of North Ayrshire Young Musician of the Year 2026.

Jake wowed the audience and impressed adjudicators Matthew Chinn and Donnie Deacon with dynamic performances of ‘The Pot’ by Tool and ‘Tommy the Cat’ by Primus.

Adjudicator Matthew Chin, Head of RCS Junior Academy shared: “It was a pleasure to return to North Ayrshire for this year’s Young Musician of the Year 2026 competition. The evening was a celebration of the fine musicians emerging from across North Ayrshire’s secondary schools, and it was inspiring to witness such committed and confident performances.

“The overall standard was exceptionally high, with each finalist demonstrating not only technical accomplishment but real musical maturity and artistry which made the adjudication process both rewarding and incredibly challenging. Congratulations to all the young musicians for their hard work and dedication, they should be immensely proud.”

After presenting the prizes at the competition, North Ayrshire Provost Anthea Dickson said: “It has been a delight and great honour to have witnessed first-hand the incredible talent of young people in North Ayrshire. A huge congratulations to every musician who took part in the North Ayrshire Young Musician of the Year 2026 competition – you are a credit to your parents, carers, schools and your community. A special mention also to our Music Service and Music Departments who are clearly doing a brilliant job teaching and mentoring some truly outstanding musicians.

“What is truly remarkable is that up until now, we have never had a bass guitar player win the accolade before, so I am hopeful that Jake’s win will inspire his peers to hone their bass guitar skills too as this unique instrument provides the rhythmic foundation of music across many diverse genres, so the possibilities are endless.”

Soloists were also complemented by the adjudicators for their ability to hold the audience with their strong vocals, character embodiment and striking technical notes.

As overall winner, Jake will now go on to represent North Ayrshire at the Scottish Young Musicians National Final at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in May.

Ronan Watson, North Ayrshire Music Service Manager also shared his pride. He shares: “Congratulations to all the performers. Each one performed superbly and was a credit to themselves and their schools. Thank you to the wonderful Music Departments and Music Service team for the support and encouragement they give to all our young musicians. I would also like to thank our official accompanist Claire Haslin and to Donnie and Matthew for giving up their time to be our adjudicators on the night.”

The North Ayrshire Young Musician of the Year competition is an annual event organised by North Ayrshire Council’s Music Service in partnership with secondary school Music Departments.

The audience were treated to some outstanding performances on a range of instruments including bass guitar, electric and acoustic guitar as well as singing.

Photo caption: NA Young Musician of the Year performers and Adjudicators (Left to Right) Donnie Deacon (Adjudicator, Violinist and Lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow), North Ayrshire Young Musician of the Year Jake Kenny (bass player from Garnock Community Campus), runner-up Martha Hill (singer from Largs Academy), runner-up Struan Campbell (guitarist from Auchenharvie Academy), Matthew Chinn (Adjudicator and Head of Junior Academy at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow), Reuben Lawrence (guitarist and singer from Greenwood Academy, Emily Muir (singer from Irvine Royal Academy) Ciaran Welsh (guitarist from St. Matthew’s Academy), Chaya McLaughlin (singer from Ardrossan Academy) and North Ayrshire Provost Anthea Dickson.

Published: 02 March 2026