The piece written by 17-year-old Beverley Grammar School student Keryn Tatman will be performed by the acclaimed vocal ensemble, The Tallis Scholars, in Beverley Minster on May 23, as part of this year’s festival.

The competition was judged by Peter Phillips, director of The Tallis Scholars, who was very impressed with the overall standard of the young composers’ work.

He said: “The winning piece, Stabat Mater, was exceptionally good and was quite different in complexity to the other compositions. It has been beautifully written for the acoustics of Beverley Minster and The Tallis Scholars are thrilled to give Keryn’s work its first public performance during the festival.”

Delma Tomlin, director of the festival, added: “We were absolutely delighted with the standard of all six finalists, it is just awe-inspiring to be reminded of what fantastic talent we have in our teenagers. We are planning to run a similar competition next year with The Tallis Scholars in York and look forward to discovering more young talent.”

Keryn, an ex-chorister of Beverley Minster, was excited to have won the competition, as was his family, keen supporters of the festival since its inception before Keryn was born.

“I can’t wait to have my piece performed in Beverley Minster,” said Keryn. “I really enjoyed meeting all the other finalists and was interested to hear their pieces. I intend to study music at Brunel University in London and taking part in the competition will really help me with my application.”

This year’s Beverley & East Riding Early Music Festival runs from May 23 to 26.