Music lovers are invited to enjoy a little night music, as pupils from city schools compete in the finals of the Aberdeen Young Musician of the Year 2026 competition at the Cowdray Hall next week.
The Aberdeen Young Musician competition is held in partnership with the Scottish Young Musicians competition, which is open to all young musicians who go to school in Scotland, whatever standard or age.
The winner will go on to showcase their skills at the Scottish Young Musicians Solo Young Musician of the Year 5th National Final on the Sunday 24th May at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow.
Councillor Martin Greig, Aberdeen City Council’s culture spokesperson and Convenor of the Education and Children’s Services Committee, said: “There is a huge wealth of musical talent amongst the young people in our city. The Finals will be a great opportunity to enjoy the wonderful music-making by young performers in our area.
“This is an important event to encourage and nurture creativity and skills in younger generations. The two evenings will be a splendid experience for all music lovers.”
For the fourth year running, Aberdeen Music Service has organised the local competition, which has two categories:
Junior – open to pupils in S3 at Secondary School and below.
Senior – open to pupils in S4 to S6 at Secondary School.
More than 130 Aberdeen pupils auditioned for the first round of the competition in November 2025 and February 2026. The judges, who were Music Service staff, selected 11 Junior pupils and 12 Senior pupils to go forward to the finals.
Aberdeen Young Musician 2026 – Junior Final
Monday 23 March, 7pm, Cowdray Hall, Schoolhill, Aberdeen, AB10 1JQ.
Aberdeen Young Musician 2026 – Senior Final
Tuesday 24 March, 7pm, Cowdray Hall, Schoolhill, Aberdeen, AB10 1JQ.
In Case You Missed it:
Entry to the finals is FREE and unticketed.
The finalists will perform to a panel of external judges, Jenna Main, Violinist & Deputy Head of Business Development at ABRSM and Tim Tricker.
The judges will also select a ‘regional’ finalist who will represent Aberdeen at the Scottish Young Musicians competition at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland on Sunday 25 May.
