St Albans teen musician is flying the flag for the recorder

A 17-year-old musician who was runner-up in the BBC Young Musician 2026 competition has said she is "proud to be flying the flag for the recorder".

Alma Nunez Debretzeni, from St Albans, was one of three finalists in the competition on Sunday.

The teenager performed Graham Fitkin's Recorder Concerto in the final, which was won by 18-year-old violinist Sofia Demetriades.

"People have a stereotype that it's a beginner's instrument or a primary school one," said Debretzeni.

"People come to me and say 'I did not know the recorder can do that'."

The Year 12 student said her classmates had been "very sweet" and watched her perform on television before warmly welcoming her back to school on Monday.

She has been studying psychology, music and English at A-level at Parmiter's School near Watford, but said the contest had inspired her to follow a new path.

"I was planning on studying psychology and training to be a psychotherapist, but this whole experience has been incredibly inspiring and made me realise music is what I want to do most."

Although she also plays the cello and sings, Debretzeni said she wanted to continue showing people how versatile the recorder could be.

"The recorder has always felt natural to me, like a second voice and I feel like [it is] a way of expressing emotion."

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