OP Fin Henderson (07-14) has won the top prize of £50,000 in a national music competition organised by Salute Music Makers.

The contest attracted over 2000 initial entrants from which 100 were selected to take part in the competition. The sophisticated voting system, which was run through Facebook, involved a series of rounds to narrow down the top 100 to the top six and then a final vote to decide the winner.

Fin’s two songs and videos, entitled ‘A Million Places’ and ‘Evolution’, secured him the top prize in the closely fought competition. Each of the other five finalists also won cash prizes of £10,000 each.

Fin, who came in to school during the competition to play his songs to students and staff, commented: “It was absolutely amazing to get the win and be crowned Salute Music Maker 2017. It was quite close in the end, which I am actually really pleased about because it means that everybody who got behind me knows just how far their support really did go! I can’t thank everyone enough and I’m excited for what the future brings.”

The OP link to this story does not stop here. Mercury and Grammy award-winning producer Jonathan Quarmby (75-80), himself an OP, curated Fin Henderson’s ‘A Million Places’ track into the initial top 100 for the competition, although the two did not realise this connection until after the competition had finished.

In a press release from Salute Music Makers, Jonathan said: “As soon as I heard ‘A Million Places’, the song jumped out at me. It didn’t have impressive ‘wow factor’ production, or any arrangement tricks. It was simply honest, raw and heartfelt. And fundamentally, that’s what every writer is trying to do; to communicate emotion and help the listener to feel how they felt in the moment when the song was formed. So well done Fin. A great song and a well-deserved win!”