The snow and ice claimed two victims at this year’s Oxford Music Festival Concert. Firstly, mezzo-soprano Jean Allister, who was due to present the awards, was snowbound, so she was replaced at short notice by Paul Holleley, Director of Arts at Reading Blue Coat School. And secondly, talented young pianist Michael Ng – who last year won the Under-12 Piano class and delighted audiences with his artistic flair and cheeky personality – was similarly trapped, and unable to perform.

But there were plenty of other items to enjoy and, as always, I found myself in awe of the talent of the performers, from very small children to those possibly on the cusp of a professional career. Particularly memorable among the younger participants was the violin and flute partnership of Leo Appel and Amy Muellbauer – two tiny but gifted musicians, who performed Emil Kronke’s Deux Papillons with almost breathtaking maturity and confidence.

Also notable was Yilan Huang’s masterful command of the technically difficult Souvenirs de Sarasate by Potstock; a well-acted performance of Schoenberg’s Master of the House by Mike Kingston; a technically assured performance recital of Liszt’s Sonetta del Petrarco from festival regular Yaolin Zheng; and a well-delivered rendition of Mr Cellophane from Chicago by Nicholas Sims, who came straight to the JDP from singing at the Sheldonian.

Among the older competitors, another festival regular, Penny Grant, impressed as always with her strong, rich soprano voice, put to perfect use here in Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate and Schumann’s Mondnacht. Seventeen-year-old Hector Docx came all the way from Manchester to give an exceptionally mature performance of two Brahms’ Intermezzi, while John Paul Ekins was impressive in his renditions of Liszt’s Vier Klavierstücke and Morel’s Etude de Sonorité.

Perhaps the biggest star of the night, though, was the Oxford Music Festival itself. Now 35 years old, it continues to provide a prestigious platform for talented youngsters, some of whom use it as a stepping stone to a musical career. For more information, visit www.oxfordmusicfestival.org Nicola Lisle