A young Shetland composer is hoping for more votes after rising into the top five in a global songwriting competition.
Eamonn Watt, who goes by the name Virtual Conductor, is currently sitting in fourth place in the publicly-voted online People’s Voice award in the International Songwriting Contest.
His composition, The Tale of Buckaroo Bill, was created using a virtual orchestra on computer-based software, and was inspired by American hoedown dances and Shetland fiddle reels.
As well as the online competition, which has attracted 18,000 entries, Mr Watt’s track will be among 17 artists being judged in the Instrumental category.
The song took about two weeks to create and features on the 23-year-old’s latest album Haar, and it was also a finalist in last year’s UK Songwriting competition.
Judges for the competition include modern artists such as Kesha and Lorde, and industry professionals such as Dan McCarroll of Warner Bros Records.
Mr Watt, who is from Sandwick, started his own music production company in 2012 and has created four self-made, digitally-composed classical albums.
He is also a drummer in the band led by Shetland singer Lisa Ward, who appeared in this year’s popular television show The Voice.
The pair know each other from their time together involved in music writing groups at the Mareel music and arts venue in Lerwick.
Mr Watt has Asperger’s Syndrome and says that his heightened logical abilities enable him to process sounds and link them together in his mind far more easily and quickly than an average person.
He added: “I am now up to fourth place in the People’s Voice award. The Shetland community has really been behind me on this one and I am absolutely ecstatic.
“It has boosted my confidence to a whole new level and I am a bit more confident now about the future.”
His father, Leslie Watt, said: “We are extremely proud of him and we are very pleased that his music is being recognised for what it is.”
Anyone who wants to listen to and vote for Eamonn’s track should visit
http://www.radioairplay.com/voting
and click on the Instrumental section and hit the green “thumbs up” button.
Online voting closes on April 15.