Children in the UK are being given the chance to swap their student violin for a Stradivari in a new competition from the ABRSM and PureSolo. The music exam board and the online recording platform have teamed up with Cremona-based restorer and maker Eric Blot to offer one lucky student aged under 16 the opportunity to play on a Stradivari and make a recording in a professional studio.

The competition marks the launch of the ABRSM's new violin syllabus and a new ABRSM PureSolo website that enables musicians to record their own versions of music from the syllabus over professionally produced backing tracks. Competition entrants can choose to record one of three pieces from the new syllabus: Edward Huws Jones's The Boat to Inverie (from Grade 1); Michael Zev Gordon's Joshi's Dance (from Grade 3); and Handel's Allegro from Sonata in A (from Grade 5). The closing date is 1 September.

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