18-year-old saxophonist Łukasz Dyczko, from Poland, has been named the winner of Eurovision Young Musicians 2016. The final of this renowned competition took place on Saturday 3 September at the Roncalliplatz in Cologne, Germany.

The 18th edition of the biennial competition for classical musicians aged between 11 and 19 was broadcast live in 10 of the 11 participating countries by EBU Members WDR (Germany), HRT (Croatia), CT (Czech Republic), MTVA (Hungary), PBS (Malta), NRK (Norway), TVP (Poland), SMRTV (San Marino), RTVSLO (Slovenia) and SVT (Sweden). ORF (Austria) will air the programme on 11 September.

The 11 finalists performed a piece no longer than 6 and a half minutes live in front of an audience of around 2,000 people outside Cologne's iconic Cathedral. They were then judged by a panel of 5 world-renowned musicians: cellist/conductor Jonathan Cohen, trumpet soloist Tine Thing Helseth, tuba player Andreas Martin Hofmeir, pianist Alice Sara Ott and the 1988 Eurovision Young Musicians winner, violinist Julian Rachlin (jury chair).

Łukasz Dyczko performed Rhapsody pour Saxophone alto by André Waignein.

He was was born in 1997 in Gorlice, and started playing the saxophone at the age of 10  having previously played the flute.

Łukasz began his studies in 2011 at the Karol Szymanowski Secondary Music School in Katowice. From there he went on to win many first prizes in a large number of international solo competitions including the "Marco Fiorindo" International Music Competition and the International Sax Competition in Wrocław.

As a soloist, Łukasz has played with the Polish Radio Orchestra, Silesian Philharmonic, and Krakow Chamber Orchestra. For many years he has also been a member of various ensembles; playing in octet, quartet, piano trio and duet groups.

Łukasz said: "I really didn't expect this. I don't have a plan now I've won, it was such a surprise. Being in Cologne was a great experience, it was incredible to me and I've made many friends. Thank you to all the people who have supported me."

The winner received a prize of 10,000 euros and the opportunity to perform with the WDR Symphony Orchestra.

Prizes were also awarded to second and third placed pianist Robert Bílý from the Czech Republic and double bassist Dominik Wagner from Austria who received 7,000 and 3,000 euros respectively.

Eurovision Young Musicians was a co-production between the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Member Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR).

EBU Media Director Jean Philip De Tender congratulated the winner and praised the production: "Previous winners of Eurovision Young Musicians have gone on to huge success in the classical world. This edition of the competition shows, once again, that public service media is providing an international platform to the best young classical talent. WDR created an exciting and fresh show and we wish Łukasz well in his future career."     

The full list and profiles of participants for the Eurovision Young Musicians 2016, along with high resolution photos, can be found on the official website, YoungMusicians.tv.

The Participants (in order of performance)