Huge congratulations to Jack Bungey, 17, pianist from Strontian, who has been named Highland Young Musician of the Year 2026 — and will now go on to represent the Highlands at a national level.
Jack, a pupil at Ardnamurchan High School, claimed the coveted title at the 2026 Highland Young Musician of the Year competition, held on 22 March at the Highland Archive Centre in Inverness. His winning programme featured two technically demanding and beautifully contrasting pieces — Schubert's Impromptu op.142, no.2 and Rachmaninoff's Prelude op.23, no.5.
He will now represent the Highland region at the Scottish Young Musician of the Year competition in May at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow. We wish him the very best of luck!
The runners up
Jack was pushed all the way by two outstanding performers. The competition's runners up were Hamish Dingwall (18, vocalist) and Tacita Angell (17, pianist) — both pupils at Ullapool High School. A superb result for that school to have two competitors reach the podium.
There could only be one winner, but all the performers should be exceptionally proud.
Head of Music Development
All the competitors
The standard across the board was exceptionally high, with the following young musicians all taking part:
- Amara Nunag — cello
- Isla Preston — piano
- Jessica Hughes — voice
- Eilidh Fisher — oboe
- Leah Bullivant — violin
- Eilidh Boyd — tuba
What the judges said
This year's judges were Michelle Dierx, violinist with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and Alexander Davidson, Principal Teacher of Music Instruction and Performance at Moray Council.
Alexander reflected warmly on the quality of the performances:
"We have had the pleasure of experiencing a range of well-prepared music this afternoon and it is clear that all performers have worked tirelessly, making the most of the teaching received and support given to music education from High Life Highland."
The official accompanist was Catriona Mackenzie, originally from the Highlands and now pursuing a busy career as a soloist and accompanist across the UK.
A month-long celebration of youth music
The competition followed hot on the heels of the sell-out Highland Young Musicians Concert Festival at Eden Court on 7 March — making March a truly memorable month for young musicians across the Highlands.
Our Head of Music Development, Norman Bolton, summed up the occasion beautifully:
"The whole of March has been a real celebration of youth music across High Life Highland and today we have had the pleasure of hearing some of the best young musicians from across the Highlands as soloists. Without exception, they all played to an extremely high standard, so the judges had a difficult task.
"The quality of music we heard at the competition is only made possible through the absolute hard work and commitment first and foremost by the pupils themselves — but there's also a lot of people around who support them on their journey, from family and friends, private tutors, or our very own High Life Highland music instructors covering the whole Highland area.
"Very many congratulations to Jack. There could only be one winner, but all the performers should be exceptionally proud of participating today and for the high quality of their performances."
Find out more
Our music instructors work with young people of all ages and abilities right across the Highlands — from first lessons to competition level.
