Coming top in the competition for the 2018 Bermuda Festival was the last thing 11-year-old singer Indigo Adamson expected.

When her name was called as the winner last Saturday night, Indigo said, “I was looking around to see who it was”.

Now, she will take centre stage at the festival on January 30, along with seven violinists from the Bermuda School of Music, and runners-up, the CedarBridge Academy band Brothers in Music, who Indigo said were “amazing”.

Indigo has been singing all her life, and started by copying songs from popular operas.

Entering a school talent show with her friends led to singing lessons last year, in which Indigo learnt “how to sing with my own voice instead of imitating”.

It helped that Indigo, who sings in the Bermuda School of Music youth choir, also has a rock star for a godmother in Bermudian singer/songwriter Heather Nova, who introduced her to the work of the Hayley Westenra, a New Zealand artist with a similar range.

Nova also introduced the two directly, leaving Indigo tongue-tied during a surprise Skype call from the singer.

Hugs and words of encouragement from other entrants on Saturday night in the Earl Cameron Theatre helped Indigo not to lose her nerve.

“I was really scared,” she said. “I enjoyed myself once I started singing.”

So did the crowd, as Indigo gave them Dream a Dream by Charlotte Church, followed by Westenra’s Dark Waltz, which got her a standing ovation. With two weeks before the big show, Indigo’s next performance remains a work in progress.

“We’re still deciding,” she said.

David Skinner, director of the festival, said: “If Saturday night’s experience is any guide, what with its full house enchanted by a night of outstanding music-making, then the gala performance on the 30th will be a night to remember.”

Mr Skinner thanked judges Dale Butler, Barrett Dill and Chris Darrell, as well as MC Patrina Paynter, coaches David and Theresa Minors, and Aspen, sponsors of the event.

Tickets for the Performance Night at City Hall can be obtained online from www.ptix.bm.