The magnificent musical maestros in running for Tele Community Champion award

ANTICIPATION is building for one of the most looked forward to categories of the Tele's Community Champion Awards night — that of live music.

We have four fantastic finalists shortlisted this year for the coveted trophy and we're looking forward to enjoying pitch perfect performances at Greenock Town Hall next month.

It was a tough job for the judges to whittle all the nominees down to the four who are in contention for the prize but we hope you'll agree that it's a great line-up.

Riverside Youth Band
This quite brilliant band has achieved extraordinary levels of success recently.

Its youth and training bands were both crowned Scottish champions on the same day, with the youth band qualifying for the 2025 European Youth Championships in the process.

The Youth Band was competing in the senior section for the first time in its history, while the training band had never participated in the Scottish Youth Championships at all.

Riverside has won trophies at the Scottish Solo and Ensemble Championships, as well as the West of Scotland qualifier, Inverclyde Music Festival and the Inverclyde heat of Scottish Young Musician as its members represent Inverclyde with pride on stages near and far.

Home for Joy
This Greenock alt-rock band headlined a venue after being selected for a national youth music touring project.

Home For Joy were among hundreds of groups and musicians who applied for the Hit The Road initiative, which is now in its tenth season.

The project gives young people aged 14-19 the chance to tour their music, gain industry experience and connect with new audiences and professionals.

Home For Joy, who take inspiration from the likes of Radiohead and Muse, joined Low Tide from Edinburgh and Dundee’s Adam and the Observers on tour.

Each act topped the bill at a venue in their home town and Home For Joy’s headline gig was held at the Beacon Arts Centre in March.

Chol Riak
This musical maestro taught himself to play the piano by watching YouTube videos and has been named as one of Inverclyde's top young musicians.

Piano prodigy Chol Riak, 17, blew Inverclyde Music Festival adjudicators away with a stunning and emotional performance of Chopin’s Fantaisie Impromptu .

His outstanding efforts earned him a chance to attend the festival’s final concert, where he was awarded the George Parkhill Prize for Piano, which is given to the best pianist in the competition.

The talented Notre Dame High School pupil is able to play some of the most complicated piano pieces ever written, despite only learning to read sheet music recently.

Chol said: “I started playing like four years ago, at the time I didn’t know how to play any piano.

“It’s hard to explain how I do it, I just listen to the music and try to copy what I see in the video."

Maria McMaster
This singing sensation schoolgirl who lost her dad when she was just a baby is reaching for opera stardom after featuring in an American rapper's video which has been viewed 24 MILLION times online.

Maria -  whose father Laird lost his life in a hillwalking accident when she was six months old - is set to make her dreams come true after being offered a coveted place at the world-renowned Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Maria, 17, was singled out to line up with singer and record producer Post Malone, one of the world's best selling artist with 80 million record sales, when he shot his latest multi-million pound production of his single Mourning, on location at Loch Lomond.

It is just the latest high note for the St Columba's High, Gourock, sixth year pupil who is only one of two females from Scotland to be offered a place studying classical voice and opera at the Royal Conservatoire.