A young pianist from the Isle of Man has earned the title of Laureate of the International Piano Festival held in Mazovia, the Polish region where Frederic Chopin was born.

Former Castle Rushen and Scoill Phurt Le Moirrey pupil Annabel King, aged 15, who is now studying at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, travelled to the town of Sochaczew, 35 miles west of Warsaw, to take part in the event.

An international jury of pianists from Poland, Serbia, Italy and the UK presented the Laureate’s award to Annabel after she performed the D minor Prelude and Fugue from Book 2 of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier and Chopin’s B flat minor nocturne and G flat major etude.

Annabel was one of six participants from Chetham’s, and played alongside 48 students from institutions in Warsaw, Krakow, Poznan, and other Polish towns as well as from the host institution in Sochaczew.

The 29 recipients of the Laureate’s award - including all six members of the Chetham’s contingent - were invited to perform at a Laureates’ concert on the final evening of the festival and again the next day at Chopin’s birthplace, Å»elazowa Wola.

Annabel said: ’The International Piano Festival in Chopin’s Mazovia genuinely inspired me as a pianist. I had the chance to visit the birthplace of Chopin, which was a surreal experience and one which will stay with me forever, as from a very young age I’ve admired Chopin and his magnificent repertoire for the piano. I also got the chance to visit Warsaw and went inside the church in which Chopin’s heart is buried, another memorable moment.

’Backstage at the Laureates’ concert I met some lovely Polish pianists. We all played again at Chopin’s birthplace the next morning and I felt fantastic. Seeing the jury smile and applaud me at the end made my Poland experience all the more worth it.

’I am grateful to family and friends in the Isle of Man who have given me so much support since my move to Chetham’s two and a half years ago. In particular I would like to thank Arts Aid Isle of Man, the Admiral Feteris Foundation and Hadrian’s Charitable Trust for the assistance they have given me.’