1978 BBC Young Musician winner
Michael Hext (Trombone)
1978 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Michael Collins (Clarinet)
- Caroline Dale (Cello)
- Stephen Hough (Piano)
1980 BBC Young Musician winner
1980 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Clare McFarlane (Violin)
- Ronan O'Hora (Piano)
- Elaine Wolff (Cornet)
1982 BBC Young Musician winner
Anna Markland (Piano)
1982 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Paul Galbraith (Guitar)
- Marie-Noelle Kendall (Piano)
- Jeanette Murphy (Horn)
1984 BBC Young Musician winner
Emma Johnson (Clarinet)
1984 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Naomi Atherton (Horn)
- Richard May (Cello)
- Lucy Parham (Piano)
1986 BBC Young Musician winner
Alan Brind (Violin)
1986 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Fiona Howes (Flute)
- Robert Markham (Piano)
- Anthony Neal (Trombone)
1988 BBC Young Musician winner
David Pyatt (Horn)
1988 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- David Horne (Piano)
- Jennifer Sturgeon (Flute)
- Paul Watkins (Cello)
1990 BBC Young Musician winner
Nicola Loud (Violin)
1990 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Leon McCawley (Piano)
- Jeremy Pooley (Horn)
- Jonathan Rimmer (Flute)
1992 BBC Young Musician winner
- Freddy Kempf (Piano)
1992 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Rachel Barnes (Bassoon)
- Thomas Carroll (Cello)
- Kevin Norbury (Tuba)
1994 BBC Young Musician winner
1994 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Claire Allen (Trumpet)
- Emma Bullough (Oboe)
- Colin Currie (Percussion)
- Stuart King (Clarinet)
- Ruth McGinley (Piano)
- Matthew Myatt (Piano)
- Tracey Redfern (Trumpet)
1996 BBC Young Musician winner
Rafal Zambrzycki Payne (Violin)
1996 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Julien Cheriyan (Piano)
- Ben Hudson (Bassoon)
- Katy Pryce (Trombone)
- Sam Walton (Percussion)
1998 BBC Young Musician winner
Adrian Spillett (Percussion)
BBC Music Magazine named Adrian Spillett as one of the best percussionists working today.
1998 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Alison Balsom (Trumpet)
- Juliette Bausor (Flute)
- Alison Farr (Piano)
- Marie Macleod (Cello)
2000 BBC Young Musician winner
2000 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- David Childs (Euphonium)
- Elizabeth Couling (Oboe)
- Owen Gunnell (Percussion)
- Tom Poster (Piano)
2002 BBC Young Musician winner
2002 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Angela Barnes (Horn)
- Benjamin Bryant (Percussion)
- Sarah Tandy (Piano)
- Sarah Williamson (Clarinet)
2004 BBC Young Musician winner
Violinist Nicola Benedetti is one of BBC Young Musician's biggest success stories. She is now one of the UK's most successful soloists, with numerous award-winning recordings under her belt. In 2019, she was awarded a CBE for services to music, and has since founded the Benedetti Foundation to bring music to the lives of more children in the UK.
2004 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Lucy Beeson (Percussion)
- Benjamin Grosvenor (Piano)
- Daniel De Gruchy-Lambert (Trumpet)
- Adam Walker (Flute)
2006 BBC Young Musician winner
2006 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Cordelia Williams (Piano)
- David Massey (Guitar)
- Toby Kearner (Percussion)
- Huw Morgan (Trumpet)
2008 BBC Young Musician winner
Peter Moore became the youngest ever winner of BBC Young Musician aged 12. At 14, he released his first recording – a programme of trombone concertos by Edward Gregson – before later going on to join the London Symphony Orchestra aged 18. He was the youngest ever player to be appointed at the LSO, taking on the role of co-principal trombone.
2008 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Jadran Duncumb (Guitar)
- Erdem Misirlioğlu (Piano)
- Jim Molyneux (Percussion)
- David Smith (Flute)
2010 BBC Young Musician winner
Having won in 2010 with her performance of Saint-Saëns's Piano Concerto No. 2 with Vasily Petrenko and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Ömeroglu joined the orchestra again in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20. Now known professionally as Lara Melda recently made her recording debut on Champs Hill in a programme of works by Chopin, which was awarded a four-star review by BBC Music Magazine.
2010 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Emma Halnan (Flute)
- Callum Smart (Violin)
2012 BBC Young Musician winner
After her 2012 win, Laura van der Heijden went on to study music at St John's College, Cambridge. Despite a heavy academic workload, she released her debut album 1948 with pianist Petr Limonov in 2018, a collection of Russian works for cello and piano. It was widely acclaimed, winning her BBC Music Magazine's Recording of the Month and the 2019 Newcomer Award.
2012 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Charlotte Barbour-Condini (Recorder)
- Yuanfan Yang (Piano)
2014 BBC Young Musician winner
It was Martin James Bartlett's second time on the BBC Young Musician stage, having reached the keyboard finals in 2012.
In 2015, he became one of the youngest ever soloists to perform at the BBC Proms, giving a fiery rendition of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
2014 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Elliott Gaston-Ross (Percussion)
- Sophie Westbrooke (Recorder)
2016 BBC Young Musician winner
Sheku Kanneh-Mason was 17 when he won BBC Young Musician in 2016. Since winning, he has made chart history with a UK top 10 album, partnered with designer Paul Smith, performed at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at their 2018 and has performed with his musically talented six siblings across the world. After his success, his younger sister Jeneba followed in his footsteps, taking part in the 2018 competition.
2016 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Ben Goldscheider (Horn)
- Jess Gillam (Saxophone)
BBC Music Magazine named Jess Gillam as one of the best classical saxophonists working today.
2018 BBC Young Musician winner
16-year-old pianist Lauren Zhang was crowned BBC Young Musician in the competition's 40th-anniversary year thanks to her astonishing performance of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto. In the summer after her victory, she joined a number of BBC Young Musician alumni at the 2018 BBC Proms in an anniversary concert.
2018 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Maxim Calver (Cello)
- Robert Burton (Saxophone)
2020 BBC Young Musician winner
2020 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Annemarie Federle (French Horn)
- Ewan Millar (Oboe)
2022 BBC Young Musician winner
2022 BBC Young Musician runners-up
- Ethan Loch (Keyboard)
- Jaren Ziegler (Viola)
- Sasha Canter (Trumpet)
- Sofía Patterson-Gutiérrez (Flute)
Top image: 2016 BBC Young Musician finalists with 2004 winner Nicola Benedetti