Darragh Burns wins inaugural Newry Musical Feis Young Singer of the Year

The expression 'World Class' almost seemed insufficient last night, 13 April, as the seven finalists in the Newry Musical Feis Young Musician of the Year and Young Singer of the Year competitions took to the stage in Newry Town Hall.

Indeed there were entrants from around the world and every single artist that performed would have no problem hosting a concert in their own right.

In the end the spoils were shared with local and not so local. Taking the Young Singer of the Year title and £2500 was the outstanding 19 year old Darragh Burns from Newry.

Darragh Burns is made for the stage. Specialising in musical theatre Burns put his heart and soul into his performances of songs from five musicals, seemingly increasing in power, confidence and emotion as his set progressed. I Don’t Care Much from Cabaret (Kander/Ebb), Out There from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Schwartz/Menken) and Lonely House from Street Scene (Kurt Weill)  started the set but he stepped up a gear for Ugly in This Ugly World from Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (Gillespie Sells/Macrae)  and when he finished his performance of Gethsemane from Jesus Christ Superstar (Lloyd Webber/Rice) it was jaw-dropping.

Local boy certainly did do well and his travelling fans couldn't hold their excitement when he was announced the winner.

The Young Musician of the Year title was justifiably won by Donglai Shi, Canada who gave an awe inspiring performance on the Piano with Chen Qigang, “Instant of a Peking Opera” and Beethoven, Piano Sonata in F minor Op.57 “Appassionata". Whether you were a fan of the piano or not, the sheer skill displayed in transitioning from frantic pace to the gentlest note disappearing into silence was something else. Shi took home the £2500 prize.

Taking second place and receiving £500 in the Young Singer class was Kathy Macaulay from Cardiff while pianist Luke Lally Maguire from Dublin came second in the Young Musician class, also winning £500. The winners prize also includes a sport at a Newry Chamber Music concert.

The Adjudication panel of Gillian McCutcheon, Andrew Nunn, David Quigley, Jonathan Rea & Nicholas Trygstad certainly had a difficult job selection the winners from the seven finalists.

For Newry Musical Feis the success of the inaugural  competition in attracting around 60 candidates with so much talent on offer was a fitting endorsement of all the hard work carried out by the committee.

Both competitions have the potential to help put the feis itself front and centre on the world stage ... but then of course - it's already there!