The UK’s Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra Names 2025 Young Soloist Competition Winners

Pianist Firoze Madon was awarded the top prize of £1,000 and the John Crawshaw Award 

Open to international musicians aged 23 and under, the Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra’s (ESO) Young Soloist Competition was established in 1988 as a result of the 11th Duke of Devonshire’s financial generosity to the orchestra.

The top prize of the 2025 competition was awarded to the pianist Firoze Madon, who received £1,000, the John Crawshaw Award, as well as the opportunity of performing a concerto with the ESO. 

Madon studied with Patsy Toh at the Purcell School from 2014 and is currently in his third year at London’s Royal College of Music. 

The 17-year-old harpist Jamaal Kashim was awarded the £400 Colonel Howes Memorial Award, plus was the joint winner of the combined St Cecilia Bequest and the Duke of Devonshire Award of £300 for the best competitors aged 17 and under. 

The Cox Memorial Award of £600 was awarded to the violinist Shlomi Shahaf, and the runner-up prize of £200 was presented to clarinetist Christian Hoddinott and violinist Lin Tokura. 

Tokura, aged 13, also jointly won the St Cecilia Bequest and the Duke of Devonshire Award, and was recognized as the youngest finalist in the event’s 37-year history. 

During the competition, the highly commended junior competitor, cellist Ono Mayuchi, performed for the audience as the jury deliberated. Led by ESO founder and musical director Graham Jones, the jury comprised four panel members.

“As ever, we had some difficult decisions to make as the two days unfolded,” Jones noted prior to the final. “To distinguish between high-standard performances on instruments as varied as double bass and harp, and playing music from Tirincanti to Wieniawski, is not easy but the panel have been the same for a number of years so we know each other well enough to have a constructive discussion when each highlights different aspects of a performance. There were some stand-out performers, particularly in the junior category.”