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20th YMFE Scholarship

Three students have achieved professional recognition as the best young Brass and Woodwind talents in the UK after winning the finals of the 'Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe Scholarship Awards' held at the Adrian Boult Hall in Birmingham Conservatoire on Thursday 5^th February.  Highly prized by students and highly regarded by the music establishment and conservatoires in particular, this year’s finalists came from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama, The Royal College of Music, The Royal Academy of Music, and The Royal Northern College of Music.

Winning finalists Tom Poulson – Trumpet (Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama), Hannah Morgan – Clarinet (Royal College of Music) and Dominic Childs - Saxophone (Royal College of Music) each received £2000 to put towards furthering their studies and classical music careers.

In their twentieth year and with a rotating instrument emphasis, the 2009 scholarships were dedicated to Brass and Woodwind and this year’s awards attracted a record number of entries from students in full time music education from all over the UK.

Nine students representing some of the UK’s leading Conservatoires were selected as finalists by a preliminary judging panel to each perform a programme of 30 minutes duration at the live final in front of a capacity audience, gaining valuable experience and feedback from a world class artist and tutor Judging  panel including:

David Purser - Head of Brass at the Birmingham Conservatoire, Bryan Allen - Head of Brass at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Janet Hilton - Head of Woodwind at the Royal College of Music, Paul Goodey, Head of Wind, Brass and Percussion at the Royal Northern College of Music and John Reynolds – Head of Woodwind at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

The Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe is a charitable trust founded in 1990 with a remit to assist talented young musicians. It currently operates in 31 countries. Each year the instrument emphasis rotates between Piano, Brass & Woodwind, Strings, Percussion and Voice. The three awards of £2000 each offer a unique opportunity to get noticed, develop and progress a student's career.

Last year was dedicated to Piano and the standard of winners was so exceptionally high that Yamaha Senior Director Mike Ketley announced a surprise bonus for winners Sasha Grynyuk (GSMD), Alexander Romanovsky (RCM) and Vyacheslav Sidorenko (RNCM) of a debut showcase concert in the Wigmore Hall in London in 2009.

Chair of Jury David Purser told us, “It was a great pleasure to be involved in the adjudication of the finals of the annual YMFE scholarships. As on previous occasions the standard of the finalists was inspiringly high, with a range of brass and woodwind instrumentalists presenting polished and imaginative programmes with a high degree of technical and - more importantly to the jury - musical accomplishment. In recognising and nurturing talent at this level - when students are on the point of blossoming into fully-fledged professionals - the YMFE scholarships serve an invaluable function, helping the students to further their studies at this crucial point in their careers. From my own point of view, as chair of the panel, I particularly appreciate the nature of the awards, where three equal scholarships are granted. I am not a great fan of competitions, and this even-handed approach means that the decision-making process is a much more agreeable business than is sometimes the case.”

Yamaha Education Liaison Manager Bill Martin stated, "By supporting the cream of today's emerging young artists through Yamaha's scholarship programmes we can also inspire young people to follow in their footsteps and aspire to make music a central part of their lives, too - whether at a professional level or as a life-enhancing social and leisure activity. I was blown away by the incredibly high standard of this year's finalists. In addition to giving us some virtuosic playing they engaged and entertained us too and this is especially true of our three winners, It's a powerful testament to the fantastic job that our leading conservatoires are doing and we are delighted to be able to support and acknowledge their excellent work in this way. Watch out for Tom, Hannah and Dominic over the next few years; I think you'll be seeing a lot more of them!"

 

Mike Ketley, Senior Director at Yamaha Kemble Music UK Limited stated, "Over the 20 year distinguished history of these awards, each year the standard has consistently seemed to improve and this year has been no exception. We received so many excellent entries and all the finalists were quite outstanding. We are delighted to be able to offer these scholarships in order that these talented musicians can further their studies."  

The finalists and their instruments were -:

Miss Hannah Morgan, Clarinet, RCM

Mr Paul Alexander Vowles, Clarinet, RNCM

Mr Gavin Zev, Flute, RCM

Mr Tom Poulson, Trumpet, RSAMD

Mr Dominic Childs, Saxophone, RCM

Miss Laura Lucas, Flute, RCM

Mr William Duncombe, Clarinet, RCM 

Mr Joseph Arnold, Bass Trombone, RAM

Mr Paul McEachran, Saxophone, RCM