EMI Music Sound Foundation

ABRSM and PureSolo have a winner!

Remember how we told you about the great competition put on by ABRSM in collaboration with PureSolo? Well here are the results…......

ABRSM (the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) is the world’s leading authority on musical assessment, having set the standard for the past 120 years, and annually providing music exams taken by more than 640,000 children and young people, in over 90 countries.

In a unique digital initiative, ABRSM teamed up with PureSolo, the new UK-based online music recording community, to provide exam entrants the opportunity to enhance their practice by creating their own recorded tracks at home using music from Grades 1–5 of the new ABRSM Violin syllabus. This modern method of exam preparation has been available to violinists since July 2011.

The competition was on when ABRSM and PureSolo decided to give one lucky child the chance to play an original Stradivarius (one of the world’s most famous instruments) and have her music recorded in SARM Studios with a surprise visit from virtuoso violinist Nicola Benedetti – this winner just happened to be 16-year-old Laura Ayoub.
This amazing competition was to celebrate the release of the new ABRSM Violin syllabus, and the launch of the ABRSM PureSolo website - a unique online educational tool, which enables musicians to record their own versions of music from the syllabus over professionally-produced backing tracks, ensuring that budding virtuosos can practice and get note perfect.

Quoted from Benedetti regarding her experience with Laura Ayoub “I was thrilled to meet Laura Ayoub. She is a talented, wonderful young musician and it was thrilling for both of us to talk about technique and repertoire and share our experiences of studying the violin. I was extremely impressed with her commitment, hard work and dedication to the violin and I wish her the best of luck for the future”.

PureSolo’s ABRSM platform can be accessed at http://www.abrsm.org/puresolo

MSF Applicant Nominated for a Spanish Music Award!

Cristina Gestido received an award from the EMI Music Sound Foundation in 2007 and it has been written on her CV ever since.

In 2007, Cristina started a Masters Degree at the Royal College of Music in London with Lawrence Power. When she was on her second year, she got to work with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

At the same time, Cristina has been lucky enough to play in many recitals and chamber orchestras in both Spain and England in venues such as St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London or the Fundación Juan March in Madrid.

In 2009, Cristina then continued to go on and work with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, performing several world tours with them. Amazingly, this led Cristina to make a recording with Sting in 2010 and then join him in his world tour “Symphonicities”.

After the tour Cristina returned to Spain where she currently has continued to work; she performs with the Asturias Symphony Orchestra and has her own musical project called ADDISON, a fusion band where she sings and plays the viola, guitar and piano.

Overall, Cristiana has gone from strength to strength, doing what she loves best. She regularly performs music in both fields classical and modern and considers herself a very happy and fortunate violist. This year she has even been nominated for a Spanish Music Award!

Cristina emailed to tell us, ‘I will be always grateful to EMI for trusting me some years ago’.

Tom’s Big Success!

In March 2009 Tom Bradshaw was awarded £750 from the EMI Music Sound Foundation towards a drum-kit purchase.  The award has made a big difference in Tom’s musical progress and he is now 17, is in his second year at college and takes his A levels in the summer.

After the award Tom went on to gain his grade 8 with Distinction with LCM in Drum Kit in winter 2010 and then Grade 8 with merit in Xylophone in spring 2011.

Tom is now principle percussionist with several Hampshire Music Service Ensembles, namely: the Hampshire County Youth Band, Romsey Area Youth Jazz Orchestra and Hamble Area Youth Band. Tom was also principle with the Hampshire County Youth Wind Band but dropped this in Sept 2011. As well as this, Tom plays in several college ensembles.  Whilst at school his band won £500 for their school playing one of their own compositions in an area ‘battle of the bands’ and came second in a regional ‘battle of the bands’.

In summer 2011, Helen Walton – Assistant Head of Hampshire Music Service – asked if Tom would be willing to have his photo taken to represent HMS for a ‘visit Hampshire 2012’ project as she said every time she saw Tom play he seemed to enjoy himself so much and always had a smile on his face! Tom agreed and a website has just gone ‘live’ with his picture on.  There are 7 images of young people engaged in different activities/venues and all the images are very striking, you can either wait for the website to scroll through or click on the numbers to find Tom, then click on the image of Tom (the only one playing drums/involved with music) to read a short bio’ and find links, go to http://www.visit-hampshire.co.uk/plan-your-visit/hampshire-2012.  The drum kit Tom is playing in the picture is the kit Tom put his ‘EMI Music Sound Foundation Award’ towards; it has been well used and has even been to Austria with a tour of the Hamble Area Youth Band last summer. 

On Tuesday Dec’ 20th Tom had an audition at the Leeds College of Music and 2 days later had an email offering him a place, this is for the music degree course in ‘popular music performance’ where he will study drumming.  Tom is really pleased as Leeds was his first choice, the best Christmas present he could have.  So barring disaster at A levels Tom will be off to Leeds in September.

Tom decided on this course as whilst he plays tuned percussion, drum kit is his real passion and on visiting Birmingham Conservatoire decided he didn’t want to spend 3 or 4 yrs practicing tuned percussion when he’d rather be playing kit. Thus, though he plans to keep his xylophone playing going whilst at Leeds, he wants to find a tutor to do it alongside his drum kit.

We wish Tom every success at Leeds and in the future!

Emily Stephens - Another sucess story!

Great News! To start off 2012 with a bang we have heard from Emily Stephens, one of our applicants who wrote to us with news of what she’s been up to.

Emily has just finished her second year with the National Children’s Orchestra of GB as principal Oboe and Cor player which has provided her with numerous opportunities for orchestral playing in many well known venues around the country. Consequently, Emily was asked to play the well known Cor solos in Berlioz “Overture to the Roman Carnival” in Birmingham Town hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.
If you would like to check out her performance, this is featured both on the NCO website, http://www.nco.org.uk/gallery/videos/overture-to-roman-carnival-berlioz/, and on You Tube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jznqLojYyJg . Emily’s piece was even reviewed in the Birmingham Post.

As a result of this success, Emily has received a number of requests to play in semi-professional bands to accompany school plays and musical productions such as Macbeth and Oliver in Gloucestershire including at the Roses Theatre Tewkesbury and Beaudesert Park in Nailsworth. Amazingly, on top of all this Emily finds the time to play second Oboe and Cor alongside her Oboe teacher in the Gloucestershire Symphony Orchestra and performed in Gloucester Cathedral with them in the summer.

Since having her own Cor, Emily has successfully auditioned for a place in the Gloucestershire Youth Orchestra and has just heard that she’s been successful in regaining her place in the NCO Main Orchestra next year. Also, Emily has taken on a pupil from her former Oboe teacher who she is currently teaching once a week in preparation for her Grade 2 examination.

It is great to hear from Emily and we wish her lots more success to come in the future!

Wardle High’s Platinum Success!

On Sunday 20th November Wardle High’s Junior Wind Band took part in the National Concert Band Festival at Rochdale Town Hall.

The National Concert Band Festival is recognised as the largest, enterprising Festival for wind instrument musicians through the UK.

The National Concert Band Festival began over 20 years ago and is now recognised as the largest, enterprising Festival for wind instrument musicians who play in wind bands or big bands throughout the UK.

The annual Festival assesses performances at Regional events throughout the country by experts who award Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze awards. The highest awards also carry an invitation to take part in the National Festival which is two days long and has in excess of 2,400 participants and 900 supporters in attendance – the largest gathering of wind musicians in the UK.

The Junior Wind Band won the North West of England Platinum Award on the evening which means they are through to perform in London at the Royal Academy Hall on the 1st April 2012.

Wardle High’s Junior Wind Band reformed in 2007. Since its reincarnation the band has grown from twenty to fifty members.

This is the second year that the band has taken part in the Festival.

Last year the band were awarded with a Silver Award. This year they were hoping to achieve a Gold Award, and have excelled themselves in achieving the Platinum Award.

Director of Performing Arts, Janet Emsley said, ‘the band played really well, for some of them it was their first festival performance, I am very proud of them.’