Christ’s College Music Society held what is hoped to be the first of a long tradition of recital competitions, in honour of the Society’s late Chairman, Charles Blackham.

The competition was opened in April 2011 to all students of Christ’s College, of any standard on any instrument or voice, with the opportunity to perform in front of a panel of judges for the £200 prize. The judging panel was chaired by Dr David Jones, President of Christ’s College, alongside Roxanne Summerfield, Senior Organ Scholar, and Revd Christopher Woods, College Chaplain.

The competition was between four candidates who performed an outstanding variety of music from J.S. Bach’s Adagio and Fugue from Sonata No. 1 for solo violin to Rachmaninov’s Prelude in C# Minor. The candidates were: violinist Benedict Broy, 3^rd year; pianist Nathan Hudson-Peacock, 1^st year; pianist Alex Greaves, 3^rd year; and violinist Kirsty Macpherson, 2^nd year. The standard of performance was exceptionally high, and the candidates all outdid themselves, making the judges’ job a very hard one! After the performances, which took place in the college Chapel, the judges took a 20-minute break to decide the winner, whilst the audience and candidates enjoyed a wine reception in the antechapel. Congratulations go to Nathan Hudson-Peacock, the first winner of the Charles Blackham Recital Prize. The winner was announced by Mrs Sally Blackham, to whom a huge thank you is extended and without whom the competition would not have come to fruition. The society hope to repeat the success of this recital next year, when the competition will happen again in Lent Term. Thank you to everyone who took part for providing us with such a fantastic afternoon, and a special thank you to all those who helped to make the occasion run so smoothly.