A PAIR of musical maestros struck the right chord to clinch a top award.

Rebecca Wallace and Karen McLeod have been named The Rotary Club of Gourock Young Musicians of the Year.

The competition was held in the Beacon, with a solo voice performance section and another to give instrumentalists a chance to shine.

Karen, a pupil at Clydeview Academy, set the bar high with her versions of Per la gloria d’adorarvi by Bononcini and The Tale of the Oyster by Cole Porter.

She said she was ‘surprised and very happy’ to win, adding: “I really enjoyed the competition. I was excited, it was a really nice night.”

Karen, 16, lives with her parents Alison and Craig and younger sister Heather in Gourock.

She has been singing since she was in first year and will sit her advanced music higher next year.

She hopes to to study dentistry at Glasgow University when she leaves school but won’t leave her musical roots behind.

The Inverclyde Schools Orchestra member said: “I want to continue, perhaps through musical theatre.”

Rebecca, 17, below left, from St Columba’s High, impressed judges with her performance of Ghanaian, by Matthias Schmitt, on the marimba.

She said: “It felt great to win. I was completely shocked when I heard my name being read out.

“I was shaking when I went up on stage and when I came off.

“I’ve performed at Inverclyde Music Festival and I got a second, this is the first time I’ve won anything like this.”

The dedicated teenager started playing when she was in first year and seizes every opportunity she can to practise.

All this hard work has paid off and she gained an A in her National 5 exam and is currently studying for her advanced higher.

She hopes to study percussion at Edinburgh Napier University.

The youngster lives in Gourock with parents Colette and Joseph and younger sister Heather, who were in the audience cheering her on.

Rebecca, who also helps out with Inverclyde Schools Concert Band on a Saturday morning, said: “Music provides so many opportunities and the chance to make new friends.”

The winners now go on to the Rotary District competition in March.

The Rotary Club of Gourock would like to thank the Beacon, Studio 12 Photography and event organiser Allister Boyle.