Hard work paid off last night for a team of school musicians who gave up holiday time to fine- tune their act for the Bermuda Festival.

They went down a storm at the Earl Cameron Theatre at Hamilton’s City Hall as part of the Bermuda Festival.

The eight violinists from the Bermuda School of Music formed the Senior Strings Ensemble, which wowed judges at the January 13 competition that opened the festival.

They came out top in the competition along with young singer Indigo Adamson.

Kent Hayward, executive director of the school, said: “They worked hard, they were the driving force to make it happen.”

The group, who get together for orchestra classes each week at the school, pitched the idea of entering the competition to their teacher, Jennifer Sheridan.

Mr Hayward said preparation required extra work on Sundays and school breaks and the group “worked on choreography to give it a bit more flair”.

Mr Hayward added: “That’s not something you normally see with violins and it made an added challenge.

“As musicians, we normally park and play, so that we can focus on the music.”

He said: “It impressed me to see young people playing at that level.”

The ensemble included outfit changes in their performance.

The group’s members are Jeremiah Samuels and Roneeyah Jones from the Berkeley Institute, Leslie Tucker from Bermuda College, home school student Naphisa Smith, Chrysda Smith and Marie-Sophie Brackstone from the Bermuda High School and Saltus pupils Jackson Spurling and Samson Douglas.