Horsham teen takes 1st place at national competition

A pupil at a Horsham independent school has beaten stiff competition to win first prize the Senior Piano Repertoire Cup in the ‘15 and under’ category at the Devizes Eisteddfod festival.
By Megan O’Neill
Published 10th Jan 2022, 11:51 BST
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Fifteen-year-old Oliver Porritt has a music scholarship at Christ’s Hospital school.

The Devizes Eisteddfod is a five-day competitive festival of music, drama, speech, dance, writing, art and photography for people of all ages.

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For his entry to the competition, Oliver was required to play two contrasting pieces; the first was Clair de Lune by Debussy and the second was Elegie Opus 3 by Rachmaninoff.

First place for 15-year-old Oliver at piano competition.First place for 15-year-old Oliver at piano competition.
First place for 15-year-old Oliver at piano competition.

When asked how he found the experience, Oliver said: “It was pretty nerve-wracking, but I managed to block out any distractions and get into the zone”.

Oliver’s piano teacher, Mr Hartman, said: “I was delighted to hear about Oliver’s success – he is such a talented musician and works incredibly hard. A quality I really appreciate about Oliver is that when he finds something difficult, he always sticks with it with a smile.”

Music is taken very seriously at Christ’s Hospital, where music tuition is subsidised to a degree found in no other independent school in the country.

All professional concerts at CH are free to all pupils and accessories and music are provided entirely free of charge to every music pupil.

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