Eighteen-year-old classical soprano Katie Marshall has won through to the area finals of the Rotary Young Musician competition.

The talented Uppingham teenager secured her place by scooping the senior vocal class and best overall vocalist at the Rotary District 1070 district final staged at Leicester Grammar School yesterday.

Katie, who is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Rutland, has already made it through the local and regional heats.

Success at the area final in Doncaster next Saturday will see her secure a place in the

national final on Saturday, May 4, at Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford, Essex.

Katie told Oakham Nub News: "I'm really proud to be representing Rutland in this amazing competition.

"I'm very happy to have won the senior vocal class and best overall vocalist in the district final - there were so many very talented people taking part."

Katie, a former pupil of Uppingham's Leighfield Junior School and Oakham's Catmose College, sang Voi Che Sapete by Mozart and Ave Maria by Bach Gounod in the most recent round of the competition.

Having won many classical singing awards around the UK as well as being nominated for a Classic BRIT in 2018, Katie has performed at the O2 in Next Brit Thing and alongside stars such as Julian Ovenden on the Downton Abbey Christmas CD.

She performed with André Rieu's soprano Mirusia Louwerse on her tour in the Netherlands, was a guest soprano on G4's Christmas and 'Back For Good Tour', Britain's Got Talent's Jonathan Antoine's UK tour and Britain's Got Talent's Vox Fortura 2017 tour.

Katie supports many charities and is an Ambassador for the Prince's Trust, The Born Free Foundation, Children's Air Ambulance and Sponsor Stars and spends a great deal of her free time performing for these charities both locally and across the UK.

Her latest album, Voice Devine, is a collection of arias, sacred and musical theatre songs produced by VOCES8 musical director who also recorded Katie's self-titled EP.

The album was recorded in London with the Kent Sinfonia Orchestra and mastered at Abbey Road Studios by Simon Gibson who has also re-mastered the complete studio recordings of Maria Callas.

The National Young Musician Competition is an established and successful competition promoted by Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland and is open to all levels, grades and styles of young instrumentalists and vocalists.