Marimba player Jordan in Davison Young Musician win at Ely Cathedral

Jordan Ashman is the winner of the 2021 Davison Young Musician Award.

Jordan, from Milton, performed his winning piece – Hombre d’Août by Eric Sammut – on the marimba at a concert in Ely Cathedral last week. A student at Hills Road Sixth Form College, he started off playing drums 10 years ago before being admitted to the Junior Conservatoire at the Royal College of Music to study percussion.

“I got notified a week beforehand,” says Jordan of the win. “It was an online competition at first so I sent in a video and went down to Ely Cathedral to perform it – finally in front of an audience – and I was given the award there as well. People were very enthusiastic, it was probably something they hadn’t seen before. It was good.”

Tim Davison, co-founder of the Davison Young Musicians Award, said: “Jordan’s performance was truly excellent. He has a great future.”

Jordan’s concert schedule has been restricted this year, though he plays with the marimba with the Virtuosi GUS Band and the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain. After being invited to join the Royal College of Music’s Junior Conservatoire aged 12, he joined the Royal College of Music three years ago.

He is currently studying music technology, maths and physics at Hills Road, and will either continue his musical journey or “go to university to study sound engineering”.

Patron of the Davison Young Musicians Award, Commodore Duncan Lustig-Prean, said: “As the patron of the award I selected Jordan because of the sheer artistry of his performance. His dynamic range was astonishing, showing considerable musicality. He displayed a maturity of interpretation well beyond his years and I look forward to his musical career with great enthusiasm.”