A flute prodigy from Stockport is celebrating after scooping the top prize at a prestigious music competition.

Sofía Patterson-Gutiérrez, 21, won the Gold Medal at the 74th annual Royal Over-Seas League (RSOL) event at Wigmore Hall in London, for her stunning performances of pieces by Boulanger, Ferneyhough and Lieberman.

A previous BBC Young Musician finalist and former student at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, Sofía first picked up a flute during a ten-minute taster session at her primary school in 2014.

She then joined the Stockport Youth Orchestra before going on to perform with the National Youth Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra among others.

She beat Austrian violinist Fanny Fheodoroff, pianist Gabrielė Sutkutė from Lithuania, and Korean soprano Binny-Supin Yang to first place in front of a judging panel led by Tasmin Little CBE.

"It was a thrilling feeling to win the ROSL Gold Medal and an honour to share the stage with such wonderful musicians and perform before such a distinguished panel," Sofía said.

"Playing music that I love at the Wigmore Hall was a truly special moment and I'll cherish the memories of the entire competition – it's been an exciting journey.

"I'm happy that I was able to share my joy of performing alongside the incredible [pianist] Jack Redman in such a beautiful hall and having such a fantastic audience certainly helped!"

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The third-year undergraduate at the Royal Academy of Music also earned £15,000 for her victory in the competition's first ever all-female final.

Grace Meadows, the ROSL's head of music said: "The standard at this year's final was outstanding and a powerful demonstration of the extraordinary young talent coming through classical music right now.

"The Gold Medal matters because those pivotal early years of a career can be so precarious, and the right support at the right time, the platform, the recognition, the financial support, can make all the difference.

"This is exactly why this competition exists."