Forest Arts Music Hub

We look forward to welcoming Sharon Guy and Saphran Ali as our Walsall Young Music Star Final Adjudicators for 2026

Sharon Guy 

Sharon studied clarinet and piano at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, then went on to complete a PGCE in Secondary Music Education at Birmingham University.  She has been a secondary music teacher for over 30 years, most of which have been spent in Walsall Schools. Sharon is a keen performer and plays with the City of Lichfield Concert Band, Hazel Slade Big Band and the Doorknobs Band. She also plays for several music theatre companies in the orchestra on a vast variety of woodwind instruments.

Saphran Ali

Saphran began his musical journey at secondary school after discovering a “strange instrument” that quickly became a lifelong passion – the Euphonium.

He is Principal Euphonium of Langley Band, a Championship Section brass band, with major successes including Midlands Regional Championship victories in 2010 and 2024 and Best Instrumentalist awards in 2009, 2017, and 2020. Saphran is also Musical Director of the City of Birmingham Brass Band, leading the ensemble from the Fourth Section to the Second Section and securing consecutive appearances at the National Brass Band Championship Finals. He additionally directs several community and youth ensembles and regularly performs and conducts at leading venues in the UK and abroad.

A graduate of Birmingham Conservatoire with a PGCE in Secondary Music Education, Saphran joined Services for Education in 2013 and is now Assistant Head of Ensembles, supporting students and staff through high-quality ensemble leadership, adjudication, observations, and workshops.