Newbury Spring Festival announces NIKITA BURZANITSA as the winner of the 2025 Sheepdrove Piano Competition

Now in its 16th year, the annual Sheepdrove Piano Competition – held during Newbury Spring Festival – has been won by Nikita Burzanitsa a student from the Royal College of Music.

Nikita Burzanitsa was born into a family of musicians in Donetsk, Ukraine. He started playing piano at the age of 7 with Professor Nataliya Chesnokova. Since 2008 he has studied in Special Music for Gifted Children in Donetsk, Ukraine. In 2015 he acquired complete general secondary education at Comprehensive School of I-III stages No.9 of Toretsk Town Council of Donetsk Region and was awarded with the golden medal “For High Academic Success”(Toretsk, Ukraine). In 2015 he received Full Scholarship at Wells Cathedral School and studied with John Byrne (UK, Somerset).

In 2017 Nikita received Full Scholarship in Donetsk State Conservatory (Donetsk, Ukraine) and a Double Scholarship which includes the Milstein Medal Award Holder supported by International Students House at the Royal College of Music (London, UK).

In 2020 Nikita became a student of Dmitrii Alexeev at the Royal College of Music. In October 2021 he became a Talent Unlimited scholar (London,UK), and in November 2021 he became a scholar of the Piano Charitable Trust, which supports young pianist around the world. In December 2021 received the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Overseas Postgraduate Scholarship, which covers full tuition fees for each year of the Masters course at Royal College of Music (London, UK).

In 2022 and 2023 he became a scholar of Drake Calleja Trust (London,UK), and in 2023 he received a full scholarship at the Royal College of Music to study the Artist Diploma with Dmitri Alexeev. Throughout his time in education he has participated in international festivals and competitions.

Nikita has also performed solo recitals in Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Kazakhstan, France, Belgium, Italy, Great Britain; also he played with symphonic orchestras under the batons of conductors: Nikolay Dyadura, Vladimir Sirenko, Vyacheslav Redya, Natalia Ponomarchuk, Sergey Lihomanenko, Anatoliy Rybalko, Vadim Vilinov, Erzhan Dautov, Oleg Bahtiozin, Alexander Dolinskiy, Vladimir Zavodilenko, Roman Moiseev.

This year’s judges were: Rupert Christiansen (Music critic and writer, and Director, Robert Turnbull Piano Foundation), Mark Eynon (Director, Newbury Spring Festival), Mikhail Kazakevich (Russian pianist and Professor of Piano, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance), Lucy Parham, (British concert pianist and Professor of Piano at Guildhall School of Music and Drama), Elena Vorotko (Artistic Director, The Keyboard Charitable Trust) and David Whelton (Artistic Director of Klosters Festival, Switzerland and former Managing Director of Philharmonia Orchestra.)

All the prizes

The First Prize of £3000 (donated by the Sheepdrove Trust) was won by Ukrainian Nikita Burzanitsa from Royal College of Music who also gave a recital at 12.30pm on Monday 19 May at Newbury Corn Exchange, part of Newbury Spring Festival’s popular Young Artist Recital series, for an additional fee of £750.

Nikita Burzanitsa also won the Audience Prize, of £250 (donated by an anonymous donor),

The Second Prize, of £1500 (donated by the Greenham Trust), was won by Yuxin Pu from China, a student at the Royal Northern College of Music.

The Third Prize, of £750 (donated by the Friends of Newbury Spring Festival), was won by Thomas Masciaga, from Italy, a student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

The Fourth Prize, of £500 (donated an anonymous donor), was won by Alina Pritulenko from Uzbekistan, a student at Trinity Laban Conservatoire.

The Robert Turnbull Piano Foundation winners who each received £300 are Alina Pritulenko and Thomas Masciaga.