Rotaract Director Plays Host at Youth Competition Finals
This spring Rotaract Great Britain and Ireland’s Director of Transformation, Danny Brown, took to the stage to host the national finals of the Rotary Youth Competitions at the Grange Theatre, Cheshire.
Danny Brown
Danny leads the development and delivery of our organisation’s strategy and he is also an award-winning youth work practitioner and consultant with extensive experience across the youth and charity sectors.
Recognised as a trusted voice in rights-based practice and youth advocacy, Danny has supported organisations and practitioners to meaningfully involve young people in shaping the services designed for and with them. His work has contributed to policy change, national media attention and involved engagement with key stakeholders including the UK Government, Parliament, national bodies, and leading charities.
Rotary is proud to offer a range of competitions that encourage and celebrate young people’s talents and the 2026 national finals proved to be a spectacular showcase of musical and culinary talent as well as youth social action.
From local heats through to national finals, these competitions offer an opportunity for participants to share their talents and skills, gain confidence and experience, and challenge themselves in a fun and friendly environment.
The national competitions Rotary offers, through and thanks to the support of local clubs, includes;
Young Artist
Young Chef
Young Environmentalist
Young Musician
Young Photographer
Young Writer
Rotaract Great Britain and Ireland are proud to play a role in supporting these opportunities and to be working closely with Rotary to make that happen.
Speaking to the more than 250 people in the audience who attended the finals, Danny said;
“The opportunities that Rotary creates go far beyond today’s programme. They are countless in their number and limitless in their potential - don’t let today be the only time you connect with Rotary!”
The event also saw remarks from James Thomas, the former Rotaract GBI Chair and now Rotary District Governor.
Below you can find out more about the National Final for the Young Musician and Young Chef Competitions and the Rotary Young Citizen Awards.
Hitting the Right Notes
For more than 15 years, the Rotary’s Young Musician Competition has been shining a spotlight on some of Great Britain and Ireland’s brightest musical talent. Open to young people aged 11-17, each year the competition garners hundreds of entrants, nominated by Rotary Clubs.
The competition is split into vocalist and instrumentalist categories, showcasing a wide range of genres and performance styles, from classical to musical theatre.
For the national finals, 12 young musicians competed, having overcome three previous qualifying rounds, including district and regional finals.
Judged by Professor of Strings Gemma Dunne, contemporary musician and pianist Adam Swayne and operatic singer Grace O’Malley (herself a former Rotaractor) had to make the unenviable decision of who would be crowned champion.
From left to right: Adam Swayne, Gemma Dunne, Grace O’Malley
In the competition final, Anxo Garcia was named the winner of the instrumentalist category following his virtuosic performances of Ballade No.3 in A flat major, Op 47 by Chopin and Toccata from Pour le Piano by Claude Debussy.
Anxo Garcia
Speaking after the final, Anxo said;
“It feels wonderful! I feel extremely honoured and extremely grateful and it's all been such an enjoyable experience, I am very happy to have won it.
It’s incredibly important that we pursue our passions, and for me that is sharing music with other people and playing the piano.
It’s important to take advantage of every opportunity you get in competitions or festivals to build confidence. Always do it for the love of the music, even though it is a competition.
We all get nervous playing, but that is just a sign that we care about doing the best we can. I feel extremely honoured and grateful and it's all been such an enjoyable experience.”
Anxo started playing piano at the age of five and also plays the organ and violin. He hopes to pursue music at university and conservatoire and has aspirations to become a concert pianist.
Anxo was sponsored in the competition by the Rotary Club of Maidstone Dawn Patrol.
In the vocalist category, Grace Hillis was named the winner after her powerful performances of O Mio Babbino Caro - Puccin, Le Colibri - Ernest Chausson and Poor Wand’ring one - Gilbert & Sullivan.
Grace Hillis
In addition to singing, Grace also plays piano and violin and is the principal violinist in her school’s symphony orchestra and chamber orchestra.
Grace was supported by the Rotary Club of Wellingborough.
Each category also named a runner up. For the vocalist category, Lily Wells took home that accolade for her incredible, characterful performance and Wilson Chan was awarded runner-up in the instrumentalist category, for his polished and lively performance.
The 12 young people who made it to the final where;
Instrumentalist Category
Allen Zeng supported by the Rotary Club of Newcastle Gosforth
Wilson Chan supported by the Rotary Club of Coventry Phoenix
Anxo Garcia supported by the Rotary Club of Maidstone Dawn Patrol
Tailin Liu supported by the Rotary Club of Bishop’s Stortford
Hannah Qian Yi Yap supported by the Rotary Club of Bristol
Ewan McAree supported by the Rotary Club of Arbroath
Vocalist Category
Rhian Fernandes supported by the Rotary Club of Chester-le-Street
Dylan Wallace supported by the Rotary Club of Blairgowrie & District
Grace Hillis supported by the Rotary Club of Wellingborough
Emily Price supported by the Rotary Club of Salisbury
Lily Wells supported by the Rotary Club of SW Peninsula
Rei Harris supported by the Rotary Club of Ascot & Wokingham
A huge congratulations to all this year’s talented finalists and their accompanists, who produced a stunning display of music.
A Recipe for Success
Rotary’s Young Chef Competition has acted as the spring board for culinary success with past winners including Martha Collison who went on to compete in the fifth series of the Great British Bake Off and Tom Hamblet who went on to win BBC’s MasterChef: The Professionals in 2023.
Having made it through three three previous qualifying rounds, 7 young people made it to the national finals where they had just two hours to prepare and serve a two-course menu, which was judged by Lisa Mullins, Marketing Manager at Filippo Berio, BBC MasterChef Finalist, Anurag Aggarwal and International Salon Culinaire judge, Stuart Smith.
Rotary Young Chef has proudly been sponsored by Filippo Berio since 2007.
Rebekah De Groot was named the winner of the Rotary Young Chef Competition after impressing the judges.
From left to right: Daniel Chandler (Young Chef Team Lead), Lisa Mullins (Marketing Manager at Filippo Berio), Rebekah De Groot, Heather Stuart (Chair of Rotary GB&I)
Rebekah opted for a main course of pan-fried halibut, served with langoustine ravioli, asparagus spears and langoustine bisque. That was followed by rhubarb and custard tart, served with poached rhubarb, lemon and mascarpone cream and rhubarb and rosemary sorbet for dessert.
Speaking after the final, Rebekah said;
“I really enjoyed being a part of it and am incredibly honoured to be the winner. This whole competition has been such an amazing experience from start to finish and it has inspired me further in my love for cooking.”
With a broad passion for cooking and enjoys experimenting with new flavours and techniques; Rebekah enjoys surfing, crafting, hiking, acting and public speaking when she is not in the kitchen.
Rebekah is a student at The High School of Glasgow, who have given her huge encouragement at every stage of the competition. Rebekah was sponsored in the competition by the Rotary Club of Troon, Ayrshire, Scotland.
For coming out on top in the competition, Rebekah will enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Tuscany courtesy of Filippo Berio, where she will visit the prestigious Toscana Saporita cookery school and enjoy several foodie excursions.
Runner-up in the competition was Casian Burdusel.
From left to right: Heather Stuart (Chair of Rotary GB&I), Casian Burdusel, Emily (Filippo Berio)
Casian prepared a main course of stuffed red mullet canoe, served with tomato, olive and caper concasse over citrus vinaigrette salad, followed by a dessert of dark chocolate Chantilly mousse, served with almond oat crumble, raspberry, olive oil and sea salt.
Speaking after the final, Casian said;
“Seeing everybody’s dishes, seeing what people can make, it’s very inspiring. Cooking is a lot of work, but it also gives you a lot.”
Casian, who was supported by Rotary Club of Barking, sees cooking as being about creativity, culture and sharing something meaningful with others.
The 7 young people who made it to the final where;
Freya Blackmore supported by the Rotary Club of Kingsholm
Lexi Horne supported by the Rotary Club of Norwich
Jemina Hall supported by the Rotary Club of Sleaford Kesteven
Freya Thorogood supported by the Rotary Club of Jersey
Matilda Walden supported by the Rotary Club of Skipton
Rebekah De Groot supported by the Rotary Club of Troon
Casian Burdusel supported by the Rotary Club of Barking
Congratulations to all the participants in this year’s final and to competition sponsors Filippo Berio for their ongoing support.
Young Citizens
As part of the event, Danny handed over the stage to Abbie Breakwell to host the Rotary Young Citizen Awards.
Danny Brown and Abbie Breakwell
Abbie is a Rotary Great Britain and Ireland Ambassador who started her journey with Rotary through Interact before going on to win the Rotary Young Citizen Award in 2018.
In addition to her work with Rotary, Abbie is a Wheelchair Tennis Paralympian for Team GB who is currently ranked 23rd in the world and has over 90 awards to her name.
Now in its 19th year, the Rotary Young Citizen Awards were launched to celebrate the amazing achievements of young people. Since then, hundreds of inspiring young people have been recognised for their social impact, volunteering and fundraising.
Seven outstanding sets of young people have had their social impact and volunteering efforts recognised as part of the Rotary Young Citizen Awards 2026.
This year’s winners have shown outstanding commitment to causes that matter to them, from supporting those impacted by domestic abuse to promoting financial literacy, and from community cohesion to climate action.
Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland is proud to share the incredible stories of the winners.
Winners were all nominated by their Rotary in their local community.
