The 2025 National Youth Music Competition (NYMC) is the second bite at the proverbial cherry for this Grade Nine cellist at Rustenburg Girls’ High School.

“After last year, I couldn’t wait to play again. It is the most amazing experience performing in incredible acoustics and meeting the most wonderful people. I found that the NYMC pushes me to new levels on my cello,” enthuses the 15-year-old Rebecca Gray fro Pinelands in Cape Town.

From a young age, she taught herself little tunes on the recorder or piano. Her real musical journey started with classical guitar lessons at the age of eight. With a twinkle in her eye, Rebecca admits that she was drawn to the guitar because Barbie played a pink one in her favourite movie.

Luckily, it didn’t take Rebecca long to realise that she prefers classical music. She started cello lessons a few months before the lockdown caused by the global Covid pandemic.

Her first cello teacher was Seul Jung, who bravely taught her online during the lockdown and for the remainder of 2020. Currently, Rebecca is learning under Graham du Plessis and Rina Schutte.

The rising star admits that she may be slightly biased, but says the cello is by far her favourite musical instrument. “It has an incredible range of tone and colour which enables the musician to create an extremely expressive and touching performance that leaves a lasting impression on the audience,” she states.

Rebecca’s music-specific role models include the late Jacqueline du Pré and Canadian cellist Luka Coetzee. In general, she looks up to many different people.

She confesses that when she started playing the cello, she believed that the only music worth playing was pop songs. That was until her mother showed her a video of the Saint-Saëns Cello Concert No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33. “I became quite obsessed and feel as though he truly understood the instrument and the various colours one can make. He wrote deeply lyrical yet passionate melodies,” she smiles.

Music runs in the family. Her mother, Cathy Gray, is a music teacher at Rustenburg Junior where she teaches piano, flute and recorder. She also has cousins who play various instruments.

The young musician aims to practice approximately three hours per day. Apart from her music, she loves anything to do with the performing arts, whether it be dancing, acting or singing. She particularly enjoys reading and sewing.

One of Rebecca’s favourite school extracurriculars is Chamber Choir. For this reason, she sees herself as having the greatest affinity with a Nightingale.

For her, it is still early days to have solid career plans. “I would love to pursue music after school, but I also enjoy mathematics.”

Rebecca describes herself as enthusiastic. Her motto in life is to simply enjoy everything she does and to make the most of every moment.