THE £5,000 top prize in the RTE Musician of the Future Competition was won last night by Dermot Dunne, the Dublin accordionist.
As part of his prize he will be engaged for a concerto performance at the National Concert Hall with one of RTE's orchestras. He will also appear in recital in France during the forthcoming celebration of Irish culture, I'Imaginaire Irlandais.
The Eurovision Prize, awarded to the highest placed competitor born in or after 1977, went to Gerald Peregrine, the Dublin cellist, who will represent RTE at the Eurovision Competition for Young Musicians in Lisbon next June.
The winner of the composition prize was Elaine Agnew, the Belfast composer, and the ensemble prize went to the Primavera Piano Quintet from Cork.
The international jury also decided to make two special awards to the young Dublin composer, Andrew Hamilton, "for outstanding promise", and to Peadar Townsend, the Cork percussionist.
