Triumph for Rochdale oboe player

Chloe Greenwood made it to the woodwind category finals in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition

A talented Rochdale musician who made it to the final five of the woodwind category finals of the BBC young musician has described the competition as a ‘great experience’

Chloe Greenwood 17, from Littleborough attends Chetam’s School of Music in Manchester and has played the oboe since she was 8 years old.

Ms Greenwood reached the finals after a lot of hard work and studying, unfortunately she didn’t win that round of the competition but is thrilled to have got so far.

“It was a fantastic feeling to be in the last five, it was such a great achievement for me,” said the young musician.

To reach the woodwind finals, Ms Greenwood had to go through two other stages. The first round took place at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and the second at the Royal College of Music in London.

The category finals took place in Cardiff in February and it aired on BBC4 last week, friends and family joined with Ms Greenwood to watch the show and they had a party afterwards.

Although Ms Greenwood missed out on the next stage she said, “I really didn’t expect to get that far and it was a really great experience performing to the different panels in each round and then being on television as well.”

The next step in Ms Greenwood's musical career comes in September when she will move to London to attend the Royal Academy of Music. Ms Greenwood scooped one of the two oboe places on offer and has been granted a full scholarship.

Ms Greenwood is a member of the National Childrens' Orchestra, Halle Youth Orchestra and since 2008 is a member of the National Youth Orchestra.