GRAHAM FRASER

FIONA Paterson is a young woman with the sort of unrelenting drive it takes to reach the very top of the classical music world. The 22-year-old flautist from South Lanarkshire has just won the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland's (NYOS) Staffa Award in the finals of the prestigious competition at The Merchants House of Glasgow last week.

Before travelling back to London, where she is a postgraduate student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the former Douglas Academy pupil has the holiday weekend at home to reflect on her victory.

"I am just over the moon to have won this competition. The contest was very important to me, especially since it was to do with NYOS. I have been involved with them for many years, playing in the National Youth Children's Orchestra of Scotland right through to Camerata Scotland. I have so many happy memories from my time there.

"It's really important for me to do something like this in Scotland in front of my friends and family, and all of the people who have supported me throughout the years."

The NYOS Staffa Award has attracted talented musicians from across Britain since it began in 2001. Each year, the principals of the eight music conservatoires in the UK are asked to nominate students for the award. After auditions, the three leading performers are then asked to play in a grand final.

While Glaswegians were enjoying the final day of the SPL season, Paterson and her two competitors were putting the final touches to their programmes.

Her performance last Thursday of the first movement from Ibert's Jeux (Sonatine), the second movement of Mozart's Concerto in D, and the fourth movement of Prokofiev's Sonata had to impress a panel of judges comprising Gavin Reid, director of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; composer Rory Boyle; and Professor Marjorie Rycroft, head of music at the University of Glasgow.

Paterson's victory gave her a £3000 boost to her musical career after she fought off stiff competition from the other two finalists. Hungarian-born viola player Enikö Magyar was awarded a second prize of £1500, and Ann Beilby from Sydney, Australia, another viola player, came third for a prize of £1000.

Paterson is, however, no stranger to competition success. A multiple prize-winner at the 2003 Glasgow Music Festival, at the age of 17, Paterson was victorious at the Albert Cooper International Flute Competition last year. Before graduating with a first-class BMus Honours degree from the Guildhall in 2007, she also won the coveted woodwind prize at the school.

"Everything in my life revolves around my flute," adds Fiona. "I practise up to five hours a day, so it's all a bit intense. When I go out, I sometimes worry where my flute is. I panic when I don't have it with me.

"Since high school, I have felt that I have had to put a lot of other things in my life to the side so I can concentrate on my playing. It is quite difficult being stuck in a room practising all day but, in the long-run, it is about the music and I want to do it justice.

"I know I have the potential to do things that I really want to do. Thinking about that keeps me going. I just think, I can do it. If I don't do it, how will I feel in 20 years if I haven't achieved my goals, because I didn't work hard enough or because I was scared? I am going to go for everything now because I will regret it if I don't."

Paterson took up the flute at the age of nine when she attended Machanhill Primary School in Larkhall, where, contrary to popular belief, it is not compulsory. She grew up in the Lanarkshire town with her parents - Russell, a solicitor, and Christine, a school bursar - and brother - Stuart, who is now a law student at Edinburgh University. Her mother and father have recently moved to a leafy corner of Strathaven.

In her early days at Larkhall, Paterson was taught by Colin Bowen, a trombonist, before she went to the junior school of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, where she was taken under the wing of Sheena Gordon. She went on to Douglas Academy, the renowned music school in Milngavie, during her teens and performed with the West of Scotland Schools concert band and symphony orchestra, and the Edinburgh Youth Orchestra.

Aged 18, she decided to leave her home comforts to pursue her dreams in London. At the Guidhall, she receives personal teaching from renowned flautists Sarah Newbold, Ian Clarke and Philippa Davies.

"London is a very exciting place to live," says Fiona. "At first I found it intimidating and quite difficult because it's a big, lonely place. But once I got into the music community there, I realised there was so much going on.

"There are so many opportunities there and, if you work hard, you can take these opportunities. I love working with all the talented people around me, and have learned a lot from Gareth Davies, the principal flute at the London Symphony Orchestra, and Michael Cox, who holds the same seat at the BBC Symphony Orchestra. I also had the opportunity to work under Sir Colin Davis, and that is something I will never forget."

To date, Paterson has worked with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the Brandenburg Sinfonia, as well as performing with a number of chamber groups. When she finishes her post-graduate studies at the Guildhall in July, she has decided to stay in London to have a crack at the competitive freelance market.

However, a return to Scotland is still on the cards.

"One day, I would like to return home and I am very much hoping I will be able to do a lot more work in Scotland now. It was great playing at the NYOS competition and having the opportunity to play in front of people like Gavin Reid. These people are, hopefully, all part of my future."