THE sweet sound of music filled the air this weekend as The Swindon Music Festival got under way.

Lucy Ranger won The Holmes Music Guitar Trophy in the Guitar Solo: Grades 1 - 2 category with 88 points.

Aaron Notley-Jones won the Guitar Solo: Grades 3 - 4 category with a score of 87, while Nathan Hamlett took the top prize in the Guitar Solo: Grades 5 - 6 category with a judges’ score of 86.

Luke Field won the Guitar Solo: Grades 7 - 8 category with a score of 87.

In the duets, Ben Babbage and James Skinner took The Guitar Duet Shield in the Guitar Duet: Grades 1 - 2 category with a mark of 87, while Nathan Hamlett and Sriram Iyer also won The Guitar Duet Shield in the Guitar Duet: Grades 3, 4 and 5 performances.

Samuel James and Tom Absalom scored 90 marks to win the Guitar Duet: Grades 6, 7 and 8 and The Guitar Duet Shield.

Samuel also won the Instrumental Solo (Jazz): Grades 5 - 8 category to take The Eric Day Trophy with 88 points.

Powells Guitar Ensemble scored 86 to take the lead in the Instrumental Ensemble: 11 and under category, while the Corinium Players scored 87 in the Instrumental Ensemble: 16 and under, which earned them The Ensemble Cup.

The Brass Solo: 12 – 16 years was won by Joseph Marletta with 88 points, while Lucy Burbidge won the Brass Solo: under 12 years category with 86 points. Adam MacArthur won the Brass Solo : any age category after scoring 85 points.

In the Recorder Solo: Grades 5 - 6 category, John hunter won with 84 points, while Stephanie Harkness took first place in the Recorder Solo: Grade 2 competition with 87 points.

Fiona Paterson was awarded top place in the Novice – any voice category after scoring 88 points to take The Jack Winter Memorial Trophy, while harking back to the past saw Catherine Welch win The George Snook Nostalgia Trophy with 87 points for her performance in the Nostalgia – Popular Song (1914 to end of 1940s) category.

The Phyllis Mann Memorial Trophy was awarded to Jennifer Stevenson, whose performance in the Music Hall Song category earned her 86 points.

William Forty won the Jazz Song - any voice category, and The Mervyn Penny Trophy, after scoring 88 points.

David Patrick, the adjudicator for Friday and Saturday said there was a pleasing overall standard with many performances with a lot of musicality about them. He said he had had a thoroughly enjoyable time.