A former Hinchingbrooke School pupil made it through to the grand final of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition.

Rob Burton, 18, from Easton, fought off stiff competition from a host of supremely talented young musicians to make it through to the grand final, which was held at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham on May 13.

The teenage saxophonist was tasked with learning the Paul Creston Concerto for Alto Saxophone in just six weeks, before making his final appearance.

He was up against Maxin Calver on cello and Lauren Zhang on piano. Rob played his piece with great flare and colour but was narrowly beaten by Lauren playing Prokofiev.

The expert panel of judges was chaired by composer, performer and writer Kerry Andrew, who also sat across all five category finals and the semi-final. Alongside her on the judging panel was conductor Alpesh Chauhan, cellist Natalie Clein, saxophonist John Harle and pianist Sunwook Kim.

Rob attended Hinchingbrooke School in Huntingdon where he took A levels in music, music technology and fine art. He began playing music at the age of five and has achieved grade 8 distinction on clarinet, piano, recorder and saxophone; the latter he started at the age of nine.

He is now in his first year at the Royal Academy of Music in London studying classical saxophone.

He has won a host of titles despite his tender years, including the Wellingborough Young Musician of the Year, Oundle Young Musician of the Year and was also a national finalist in the Rotary Young Musician of the Year 2016.

Already having been a soloist with Huntingdon Philharmonic and the Bromley Symphony Orchestras, he’ll be performing the Glazunov saxophone concerto in July after winning the Silk Street Sinfonia Young Artists concerto competition, in London.

In his spare time, the 18-year-old is also a keen artist, enjoying drawing portrait and animal commissions. His ‘Cream Scone’ canvas print and his limited edition print of St Andrew’s Church, in Kimbolton, are on local display at Buttercups Bakery, in Kimbolton.

You can play Rob’s BBC Young Musician pieces and his artwork on his website www.robburtonsax.co.uk.