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Guy Johnston has been playing cello since
he was just five years old.
Now 22, he's received many prizes for his
musical talents, including the coveted title of BBC Young
Musician Of The Year.
Guy took time out of his busy schedule to
talk to Norfolk Blast's Tim Fielding.
How did you first get involved in playing
the cello?
My parents run a music school and we were
introduced to various different instruments at a young age.
They run music courses throughout the summer which we always
went to, so I suppose that’s where the early influence came
from.
So you're from a very musical background
then?
Yeah, my Dad's a clarinettist, my Mum’s
a bassoonist and I have two elder brothers and a younger sister
who are all musicians as well.
What did your mates think when you told
them about playing the cello?
Well I was always surrounded by musicians
really. I’ve always lived in a cooped up world of music.
The thing was, I went to choir school when
I was eight at Kings College Cambridge so I was always surrounded
by musicians although there were also, quote ‘normal’ people
there who didn’t sing in the choir. People just respected
what you did.
You're coming to the play at the King's
Lynn Festival later in the month, have you ever been to Norfolk
before?
Yes, I’ve been to King's Lynn before, two
years ago I think. I played in the festival and I did a recital.
I also have a friend who lives in Spalding which is fairly
near.
What do you think of Norfolk?
It's beautiful. King's Lynn is absolutely
divine, I love it there, it's really lovely.
You have received many prizes, could you
tell us a bit about them?
Well, BBC Young Musician Of The Year fortunately
went my way and I have received many wonderful opportunities
from it.
It just keeps growing, three years on and
I'm still plunging into fantastic opportunities. I’m starting
to travel a bit as well. I’m going to Japan and Germany to
play out there so that’s very exiting.
Could you tell us a bit about what you're
doing at the King's Lynn Festival.
I know the festival have a lot of exiting
programmes. The RPO, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, who
I’m playing with, regularly play there during the summer so
I’m happy to have been asked to play with them as I've never
played with them before. Also I have never played at the venue
before, so it should be great stuff.
You can see Guy play at the King's Lynn
Festival on Thursday 31 July with the Contempo String Quartet
and again with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on Saturday
2 August.
Further festival details are available
from the events official website, or from the box office on
01553 764864.
Read
about the King's Lynn Festival from the BBC Norfolk website
King's
Lynn Festival Official Website
The BBC is not responsible for the content
of external websites
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BBC Young Musician Of The Year fortunately went
my way and I have received many wonderful opportunities
from it. 
