MARIN Alsop -Bournemouth's Symphony Orchestra's principal conductor - and Poole cellist Natalie Clein have both scooped top awards in this year's Classical Brits.

Meanwhile, another former principal conductor of the BSO, Andrew Litton (now the orchestra's conductor laureate), was joint winner of the Critics Award.

New Yorker Alsop was named Female Artist of the Year while Clein, a former winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year Award, was voted Best Young Classical Performer.

After the results were announced, Michael Henson, managing director of the Bournemouth Orchestra, said: "We are absolutely delighted for both Marin and Andrew. It shows what excellent conductors we work with."

He also praised Natalie Clein, saying that the 28-year-old one-time Talbot Heath School pupil, who received the award for her recordings of works by Brahms and Schubert, will be a guest soloist with the BSO in Bournemouth next year.

For Marin Alsop in particular the award will be seen as another triumph for a woman who has made it to the very top in a male dominated career.

She is already regarded as one of the best international conductors in the business and the honour comes just two weeks before she is due to become the first woman ever to conduct the famous Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. She has just returned from a hugely successful five concert tour of Spain with the BSO.

Other winners at the Classical Awards ceremony at London's Royal Albert Hall included Welsh opera stars bass baritone Bryn Terfel and soprano Katherine Jenkins whose Second Nature was voted Album of the Year. The former Welsh school teacher is the fastest-selling opera act since Maria Callas.

American composer John Adams won the contemporary music award for On The Transmigration of Soul - a piece he wrote to commemorate those who died in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre in New York.

Veteran film composer John Williams won the best soundtrack composer award for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and The Terminal, the flautist James Galway was honoured for his outstanding contribution to music and Stephen Hough shared the Critics Award.

The Classical Brits will be broadcast on ITV1 and ITV3 on Sunday May 29.

First published: May 27