A TRIO of aspiring musicians have hit the right note with judges to win coveted honours.

Durham School pupils Harriet Brooks, Phillip Tait and Natalie Carroll are excelling, respectively on the piano, cornet and flute.

Their recent roll of honour includes 12-year-old Harriet earning a first place in the Under-14s piano section at the Tynedale Festival, following it up by being named the most promising pianist aged under 18 by the European Piano Teachers' Association.

Phillip, 13, won the Under-13s and Under-16s brass section at the festival, and won the title of the most outstanding junior solo brass player, of 2006. Natalie, 15, won the under-15 woodwind solo section, as well as the open woodwind solo category, at the Darlington Festival for Performing Arts.

Both Harriet and Phillip are music scholars at the school. Harriet is now looking forward to taking part in the school's Chadeyron music competition. Phillip, who also plays piano and drums, and is in the chapel choir, is also a member of both the National Children's Brass Band and the Reg Vardy Brass Band. Natalie, a flautist for almost six years, sings in the choir and is in the school's concert band.