Guernsey Music Bursary: A Year In
The first recipients of the Guernsey Music Bursary are now all well into their first year of the bursary, so we want to give you an update on how the bursary holders are benefitting from their awards.
You may remember that the bursaries have two distinct elements:
• a financial award
• access to mentoring support.
While all the recipients of the financial award have already put the funds to good use – or have firm plans to do so (see below) – we have been especially pleased by the take-up of the mentoring opportunities offered. In particular, the links with Southbank Sinfonia are working well, with several of the bursary recipients availing themselves of the opportunity to attend Southbank Sinfonia rehearsals and interact with players of their instruments. On a broader level, the link with this London-based orchestra of young professional musicians has been further strengthened by the participation of three orchestra members in the recent GSO Camerata concert and in educational workshops at Guernsey Music Centre.
We have asked each of the bursary recipients to tell us in their own words what the bursary is meaning to them:
Jack Tostevin-Hall (Final Year Royal Academy of Music):
“Receiving the Guernsey Music Bursary has allowed me to purchase cane and specialist equipment necessary to make oboe reeds and has allowed me to make significant progress. The bursary has also allowed me to fund travel to and from auditions.”
Louise Madden (Final Year University of Manchester):
“Since receiving the bursary, I have been enjoying developing my skills as a choral conductor by taking rehearsals for the two university chamber choirs. These rehearsals have been greatly helped by the conducting tuition I have received from Ellie Slorach, funded by the bursary. I have also been in touch with Joey Edwards and talked about my future career plans. Joey has put me in contact with some industry professionals and I have sought advice from them regarding job applications for next year.”
Annabelle Pizzey (Final Year Royal Conservatoire of Scotland):
“I have used my award from the GMB to contribute to a new Mariguax 901 oboe, which has allowed me to take my playing to the next professional step. I have been awarded an apprenticeship with the RSNO since moving onto the instrument and am very thankful to the GMB for their help. I am yet to be able to make a trip down to London for the mentoring opportunities with the Southbank Sinfonia, however I hope to be able to make a journey for this in the new year.”
Maisie Whiteman (1st Year MMus Trinity Laban Conservatoire):
“For me, the bursary contributed to the first term of fees which was a great help. I have been to various rehearsals and concerts done by the Southbank Sinfonia and used this mentoring scheme to immerse myself in an orchestral environment.”
Jacob Wright (2nd Year Royal Northern College of Music):
“This year, through the Guernsey Music Bursary, I have been awarded a mentoring scheme with the Southbank Sinfonia. I have already made the journey down to London to see them twice and I look forward to joining them for rehearsals and learning more about orchestral playing in the New year. This opportunity is greatly helping my musical development.”
Emily Linane (1st Year MMus Trinity Laban Conservatoire):
“I have just finished my first term at Trinity Laban and have been loving the exciting
atmosphere at Music College. I’ve been working closely with the Riot Ensemble and have been enjoying lessons with my new singing teacher, Patricia Rozario. Playing in Trinity Laban’s Saxophone Choir Winter Concert was a highlight of the term.”
Encouraged by the clear benefits that our first group of bursary recipients are deriving from their awards, we are now launching an appeal for funds to enable us to award further bursaries for the next academic year. Auditions will start in late March so we would like to receive donations well before then in order to help us evaluate how many bursaries we can award.
Those who would like to contribute to supporting young musicians from Guernsey through the Guernsey Music Bursary can contact the Bursary Chairman, Stephen Ainsworth at prevert@cwgsy.net.
