HUNDREDS of gifted youngsters wowed crowds with their talent at Chesham Arts Festival which came to a climax with a final concert on Sunday.

Judges awarded more than 80 trophies and more than 1,200 certificates to musicians, dancers and artists aged six and over at the 26th annual festival, one of the biggest in Bucks.

One of the stars of the final concert was eight-year-old Gabrielle Teychenne, of Copperkins Lane, Amersham, who picked up the Chesham Arts Festival Cup for intermediate strings.

The grade five violinist said: "I enjoyed it it was really good fun."

Gabrielle has been playing since she was four, and practices every morning before travelling to Godstowe Preparatory School, Shrubbery Lane, High Wycombe.

She said: "When I'm older I might want to be a professional violinist, or a scientist, or else just a mummy."

Gabrielle also plays the piano and the recorder and is a member of the National Children's Orchestra's under 11s players.

She said: "I like baroque music, like Bach and Vivaldi. I sometimes fancy a bit of classical music if I need to relax but I'm normally a bouncy, joyful person."

The festival, an annual competitive showcase for the arts, caters for those over six with classes for piano, strings, wind vocal, classical guitar, composition, prose reading, verse speaking, art and stage dancing.

This year it began on February 2 with the speech section at Ley Hill School. Eight judges offered constructive criticism on performances over two weeks at venues including the White Hill Centre and The Elgiva theatre. A final concert and prizegiving brought the curtain down on Sunday.

Honorary secretary Gwen Woodstock said: "We were all very pleased. The dance section went very well in particular it was excellent. But it was all good really. You can't pick out one particular performance.

"We had quite a good number of people. I'm very proud of the festival. It's time-consuming, but it's only once a year and it's worth it. It's good to give the youngsters a chance to perform and improve their confidence.

"There are only a few winners each year, but a load of people take part just for the fun of it, really. They come back year after year, so they must enjoy it."