The very best of young county talent was on show at Devizes Town Hall on Saturday night when the first Young Musician of Wiltshire competition took place in the Assembly Room.

Twelve of the best classical performers between the ages of 12 and 19 delighted the audience and some of the performances were jaw-droppingly brilliant.

The trophy and first prize of £100 was won by 13-year-old Joel Munday, who lives in Devon but takes music classes from Michael John-son in Seend. Mr Johnson, the new director of Devizes Junior Eisteddfod, organised Saturday’s contest.

Joel stunned the audience with his performance of the first movement of Mendel-ssohn’s violin concerto, accompanied on the piano by Gemma Beeson, not just technically brilliant but full of passion and expression.

Another 13-year-old, the prodigiously talented violinist Chere Yee Law, took second place with her powerful and emotional renditions of Brahms’s Scherzo in C Minor and Fritz Kreisler’s Praeludium and Allegro. Chere is a pupil at St Laurence School in Bradford on Avon and won last year’s performance prize at Devizes Junior Eisteddfod.

Third prize went to Emily Neve, a 15-year-old pupil at Dauntsey’s School. She showed that the alto saxophone was a concert instrument of stature with her accomplished performances of Iturralde’s Pequena Czarda and Bozza’s Aria.

But there was strong competition for the prizes. Miranda Bardsley, a third former at Dauntsey’s, gave a thrilling performance of Dvorak’s Sonatina before Adam Lomas, from Avebury Trusloe and currently studying at Wells Cathedral School, performed two pieces on the trombone.

Violinist Miranda Bardsley, a sixth former at Dauntsey’s, premiered Serenade by Dominic Irving, accompanied on the piano by Mr Irving himself before Hannah Crocker, a 17-year-old student at Sheldon School in Chippenham, showed the quality of her voice with an aria from Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte and a jazz number by Roger Quilter.

Anahita Falaki was another violinist who impressed with a piece by Smetana before the only pianist in the contest, Lewis Sayle, performed pieces by Brahms and Christopher Norton.

After the interval, Joel Munday’s sister Hannah performed the final movement of Max Bruch’s violin concerto before Katey Rylands, a 13-year-old pupil at St Laurence School, sang three contrasting songs.

The competition was completed by Katherine Stonham, a Year 9 student at John of Gaunt School in Trowbridge, whose performance of Ravel’s complex Tzigane was astoundingly competent.

The jury of Jasper Thorogood, Carole Oakes and Andrew Hansford took little time to come up with their three winners.

Mr Thorogood said: “You should really choose a piece that you can perform comfortably. The level of difficulty is less important.”