The 19-year-old Emma Henshall is one of two violinists who will this year contest the National Youth Music Competition.

She entered the NYMC as she was looking for something that would push her and challenge her. “It will be a good experience to refine my technique and simultaneously learn new and interesting repertoire.”

Emma’s musical journey started at the age of six, playing the piano. A year later, she started lessons on the violin. Her first violin teacher was Louise Starker at Rustenburg Girls Junior. Currently, as a first-year student at the University of Cape Town (UCT), she is tutored by Prof Farida Bacharova.

She confesses that she cannot favour one of the two instruments she plays. “Both have their tricky bits and their good moments. I enjoy playing them both.”

Her role models are violinists such as Augustin Hadelich, Hilary Hahn and Kerson Leong. “They are huge inspirations for me in terms of violin playing. It would be a dream to one day sound like them.”

She couldn’t choose an ultimate favourite composer but listed a few that she really enjoyed. “American composer Florence Price wrote a beautiful violin concerto that I heard performed by Melissa White with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO). This was the first time I had heard a concerto written by a woman performed by a woman, and it was a really special moment for me.”

“British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor wrote more for the piano, and I have played a number of his works; his writing has such beautiful melodies.”

“Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov does not need any further explanation. His music is just so incredibly beautiful. It is no wonder he is so many people’s favourite composer.”

“Ethiopian composer Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guébrou writes piano music. I find classical music by African composers (particularly African women!) incredibly difficult to find, and I am so glad my dad introduced me to her.”

Music is deeply rooted in the family. Emma’s parents believe that she might have inherited some of her musical genes from her great-grandfather who was a pianist. Her dad plays double bass and bass guitar, and her mother plays a little bit of piano. Her younger sister, who plans to study music one day, is a vocalist and saxophonist.

Should she be an animal, Emma would like to be a bird so that she could travel the world.

She describes herself as determined. Her practice schedule varies, but she aims to put in three to four hours per day. In her free time, the young musician enjoys reading, swimming and running. She has more than 300 parkruns under her belt.