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2008 is the 30th anniversary of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Young Musician of the Year. Launched in 1978 by Humphrey Burton and the late Walter Todds of the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s then Television Music Department, the biennial competition has launched the musical talent of a generation of musicians. Now, thirty years on, some of those fresh faces of precocious youth are approaching their middle years.

2006 winner Mark Simpson talks to competitors from the last 30 years to find out how they coped with the pressures, expectations and celebrity that came with competing, and whether the aspirations of youth were fulfilled in their careers.

Mark, now a 19 year old clarinettist, admits that away from the excitement, glory and exposure of the competition, the journey from winning podium to professional career is filled with pitfalls. As he talks with those who have made the journey before him, he speaks candidly about the cross-roads in his career at which he has found himself as a result of winning the competition. He talks to those who have picked their way through the minefield before him, some who have fallen by the wayside, and others who matured through the process.