Hillston's Jorja Dalton has summed up a whirlwind 12 months by taking out the Griffith Musicians Club's Young Musician of the Year award.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The singer-songwriter was selected as the winner out of a competitive pack of nine talented nominees for the award, with Connor Anderson and Jack Hawthorne the other finalists for the honour.
Jorja received the award in a unique ceremony in front of the Custom Music store on Banna Avenue after the club's traditional presentation night and performance was called off due to restrictions imposed by the impact of COVID-19.
She said she did not expect to receive the award and it was "very surprising" to take out the accolade.
"I wasn't expecting them to even announce it, I thought it was just giving all the finalists our certificates," Jorja said.
"It was unfortunate we didn't get to have a presentation and performance night as that would have been fun."
The accolade sums up a big year for the Hillston Central School student, who was awarded a scholarship to attend the CMAA Academy of Country Music in July and also put in some strong showings in music competitions across NSW and Queensland - including a semi-final appearance at the Gympie Music Muster Talent Search and a second-place finish at the Ekka Country Music Showdown Junior category in Brisbane.
She also took the stage at a number of performances in the region, winning the best original song at the Grass Roots open mic competition and playing at a Day in the Orchard and the city's Bushfire Benefit Concert.
Jorja said while 2019 was a big year, she was hoping in 2020 to make the move into the studio and record some demos while continuing her schooling, but the impact of coronavirus has seen her pick up instruments in-between her classes.
"I'm hoping after the virus is through we can get some shows done," Jorja said.
"Maybe record some demos and get some experience in the studio ... also maybe do some songwriting collaborations."
"I've been teaching myself a lot more and learning more songs on guitar and piano."
READ MORE
With the award came $1000 in cash from the Griffith Musicians Club and a $1000 gift voucher from Custom Music, and Jorja already has plans to put the prize to good use.
"We have an upright piano but it's pretty out-of-tune and we can't really get a piano tuner out here at the moment," Jorja said.
"I'm thinking about a keyboard or a digital piano ... it would be good to get something that doesn't go out of tune."
Griffith Musicians Club president Michael Pfitzner said it was disappointing the club's presentation night had to be called off due to COVID-19 restrictions, but was hopeful the impact of the virus will allow for more people to pick up an instrument.
"With the entries we received, it is a shame our presentation night could not go ahead as this year's event would have been top shelf," Mr Pfitzner said.
"If you were ever thinking of learning to play something, now is the time."
"With tight restrictions on performance venues including wedding receptions, musicians will have to be creative putting more material on live streaming formats or YouTube."