After a show-stopping performance during the 2009 National Youth Concerto Competition (NYCC) finals concert on Sunday 25 October, 11 year old Sydney resident Rachel Siu was awarded the winning prize in the contest's 34th year, making the performer the competition’s youngest ever winner.

Rachel beat out some of Australia’s finest young string soloists after two rounds of the competition. She was first selected by the competition judges on the basis of her promising audio application to become one of just three finalists in the Finals Concert, titled String Sensations, held at the Old Museum Building, Bowen Hills, in Brisbane.

On Sunday 25 October, Rachel impressed the judging panel of professional musicians John Willison, David Lale and Patricia Pollett with her performance of Haydn’s masterful Cello Concerto in C major, playing with the Queensland Youth Symphony under conductor John Curro AM MBE. Rachel competed against two strong performances from James Dong (aged 17, from Victoria) and Adele Xiang (aged 15, from Victoria) but ultimately her controlled and expressive musicianship convinced the judges to award her this year’s title in the prestigious competition.

NYCC founder and conductor Curro said,

“The QYO’s NYCC has seen an extraordinary development in the quality and standard of its participants and 2009 was no exception. The wonderful finalists playing master works for their instruments were virtually flawless. Concertos by Shostakovich, Haydn, and Tchaikovsky, demanding enough to tax the most advanced soloists, were carried off with aplomb.”

“In the end, after much deliberation, we chose Rachel Siu as the winner, an extraordinary feat for an 11 year old,” Curro continued. “She seems destined for a successful career as a soloist.”

Presented by Queensland Youth Orchestras, the NYCC is the most significant competition in Australia for aspiring young string players. Now in its 34th year, the competition not only showcases the outstanding talent of young musicians, but also the high standard of string teaching in Australia.

As well as gaining a $2,500 prize, Rachel joins the ranks of some of Australia’s greatest musicians, including the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s Richard Tognetti, Canberra Symphony Orchestra conductor Nicholas Milton, violinists Jane Peter, Zoe Black and Ray Chen, and cellist Li Wei Qin.

Rachel’s win adds to the young cellist’s already impressive resume. In 2008, she won first prize in the under 12 section and second prize in the open-age concerto and sonata sections in the McDonald’s Performing Arts Challenge. Rachel performed her first concerto recital at age 10 with Beecraft Orchestra, and has also attended masterclasses with Natalia Pavlutskaya, Alexander Ivashkin, and Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt.