A gifted music scholar at the University of Aberdeen has been crowned as the University's Musician of the Year 2004.
The competition, organised by University Music, was the first of its kind and it premiered to a full-house in the Mitchell Hall, Marischal College, on Sunday night (May 9).
The event was academia's very own version of Pop Idol, and hailed as the winner on the night was B Mus (Honours) Music student, Ross Allan, who impressed the judges with his stirring performance of music by Koussevitzky.
Ross, from Peterhead, is about to enter his third year of study for B Mus, and was one of five finalists who performed at the event, which was held at the Music for a Summer Evening concert.
Ross, (26), said: "It's very rarely that you get the chance to perform solo on the Double Bass. To do that in the splendour of the Mitchell Hall with such an appreciative audience felt wonderful.
"The honour of winning the prize too was the icing on the cake - it was absolutely unbelievable."
The competition was open to all undergraduate students at the University of Aberdeen and students were able to choose their own piece of music to perform, from modern to classical.
Almost 30 students applied to take part, and the first round of auditions was held in March. Dr Roger Williams, Director of University Music, and Stephen Pinnock, Principal of Aberdeen City Music School, selected the five finalists.
The task of judging the final event went to Dr Williams and John Wallace, Principal of the Royal Scottish Academy for Music and Drama (RSAMD).
Dr Williams said: "The competition was a great success. It inspired a lot of people to enter and the five finalists were of an incredibly high standard.
"The winning composition was just stunning. Ross is an astonishingly gifted player and he makes the Double Bass sound like a sensitive, expressive instrument.
"All the finalists did themselves proud."
The other four finalists who competed for the title of University Musician of the Year were: Agnes Bradley (Violin); Anne Buchan (Piano); Debora Haig (Oboe), and Paula Leslie (Tuba).
There has been a long tradition of music at the University and the recently re-established B Mus is attracting new and talented students. Recent honorary gradutes include Lisa Milne, Sir Richard Armstrong, Fiona Kennedy and Raimund Herincx.
There are regular concerts held at the University throughout the academic year in the Mitchell Hall, and performing on Sunday night were the University Concert Band and the String Ensemble.
Concerts are also held in The Music Hall, King's College Chapel and Elphinstone Hall. The large-scale works involve soloists appearing with the University's Symphony Orchestra, Choral Society, Chapel Choir, String Ensemble and Concert Band.