High spirits in Gstaad (see back page)
Transcription
High spirits in Gstaad (see back page)
The International Music School founded by Yehudi Menuhin www.yehudimenuhinschool.co.uk — Registered Charity 312010 — Newsletter 55 — Summer 2013 — Welcoming the organ The new chamber organ, generously donated by the Friends, was well and truly put through its paces on 18 May in an inaugural concert featuring James O’Donnell, Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey and one of the world’s leading recitalists. As well as playing solo pieces by Froberger, Kuhnau, Purcell and Byrd, James performed with students as continuo player in works by Purcell, Bach and Handel, and as the soloist, with the School’s junior orchestra, in a Handel organ concerto. Photo credit: Angela Stockbridge We are extremely grateful to our Friends for the generous donations which made the purchase of the organ possible. Many of them came on stage to inspect the result of their investment. From the quality of the music and the warmth of their applause, I feel sure that they will have been more than satisfied. — High spirits in Gstaad (see back page) Photo credit: Richard Hillier Director of Music Malcolm Singer wrote a work specially for the occasion. Scored for double string quintet and organ, Woodstock’s Whistle (named after the organ’s builder Vincent Woodstock) included passages where the organ’s stops were left half-open (producing the ‘whistle’) and where the blower was switched off and the sound died away, producing mysterious harmonics. James wrote afterwards: ‘It was a joy to play with your students and to have the chance to play a brand new piece.’ Photo credit: Elaine Hillier — Musical Notes — Classes from the masters Photo credit: Elaine Hillier Photo credit: Angela Stockbridge The School celebrated Founder’s Day - the anniversary of Lord Menuhin’s birth on 22 April 1916 - in fine style this year with a concert given by violinist Zakhar Bron, pianist Irina Vinogradova and YMS cello professor Thomas Carroll. Zakhar Bron had a busy two days of masterclasses with our students: an inspiring start to the Summer Term. Congratulations, too, to bassist Philip Nelson (17) who won equal first prize at the International Society of Bassists Convention in Rochester, New York for the best performance of a piece by Bottesini and was placed second in the 15-18 section of the competition. Philip, together with Marcus Gaved (14), also participated in workshops and had time for an excursion to Niagara Falls. And just before the end of term pianist Sohyun Park won through to the final stages of the Norah Sande Award at the Eastbourne Festival. Well done to them all. — Concerts from north to south YMS students performed as soloists throughout the country this summer. In the first week of term, Cansin Kara (17) was performing in a concert of chamber music by young Turkish musicians at St James’s Piccadilly in London (together with alumna Nazli Erdogan (2012)), exciting considerable interest in the Turkish press. Photo credit: Angela Stockbridge Soon afterwards the bass players were treated to two days of teaching from Paul Ellison, Lynette S Autrey Professor of Double Bass and Chair of Strings at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Houston, Texas. And the end of term saw a return visit from Jonathan Leathwood, who brought with him YMS alumni Tom Ellis and Laura Snowden for a day of classes with our guitarists. — Competition successes Many congratulations to Elvina Auh (13) who won the class for her age-group (those born 1997-2001) in the Andrea Postacchini Violin Competition, held annually in the town of Fermo, Italy. Well done, too, to Louisa Staples (13) who also reached the final stage of the competition. Photo credit: Andrea Postacchini Competition In the same week, Juliette Roos (17) performed the Bruch violin concerto with the City of Southampton Orchestra in the beautiful and historic setting of Romsey Abbey. Afterwards one concert-goer wrote: ‘Congratulations to Juliette on a fabulous performance - it was heartstoppingly brilliant!’ On the same day as Juliette played in Hampshire, William Dutton (18) played Tartini’s Devil’s Trill in Leeds at an event staged by ESTA (European String Teachers Association) whose organiser commented on Will’s inspiring ‘playing, professionalism and maturity’. Later in the term, Sam Staples (16) gave a recital in Grays Inn Chapel, whilst Juliette also performed The Lark Ascending in Canterbury Cathedral with Canterbury Choral Society, whose conductor called her playing ‘exquisite, controlled and uplifting’. — Haim: UNESCO ambassador Photo credit: Richard Hillier Photo credit: Elaine Hillier As Haim Choi (17) prepared for her performance of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto with the Thames Philharmonia in Teddington in June, she had no idea that, following her encore performance of Arirang, a traditional folksong from her homeland of South Korea, she would be appointed as a UNESCO cultural ambassador by a UNESCO representative present at the concert – the first ambassador under 40 in 60 years! Well done indeed, Haim. The orchestra also played in concerts in The Menuhin Hall, both as part of our Summer Festival and at an event held in aid of the Forces Children’s Trust, as well as taking part in the Harwich Festival (where the students enjoyed being part of a ‘drowned piano’ installation on the beach) and Music at Leamington Hastings (in Warwickshire), and finally travelling to the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad just after the end of term, where they were joined by YMS alumna Alina Ibragimova. A wonderful way to end a busy term. — Demidenko delights Photo credit: Elaine Hillier Photo credit: William Dutton Former YMS professor Nikolai Demidenko (above with current YMS professor Ruth Nye and alumna and staff pianist Akiko Chiba) returned to the School to give a sensational concert in a packed Menuhin Hall on 7 May. Rapturous and prolonged applause meant that a programme of Beethoven, Rachmaninov and Chopin was followed by no fewer than four encores. — Showcasing percussion Showcase concert regulars were treated to a feast of percussion when YMS students were joined by percussionist Simon Limbrick in performances of their own compositions, inspired by the workshop he held at the School in the Spring term. Works by Maxim Calver (13), Nicole Petrus Barracks (15), Philip Nelson, Cansin Kara and Daniel Penney (14) rubbed shoulders with masterpieces by Tartini, Beethoven and Mozart. — Orchestral Outings This term saw the School orchestra performing its summer programme both locally, further afield and abroad. The first concert of the summer season came in front of an appreciative audience at the Banstead Festival. Starting with Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik and ending with Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht, the programme also included Bach’s A minor violin concerto (soloist Chloe Stowers-Veitch, (19)) and Peteris Vasks’s violin concerto Distant Light (soloist Charlotte Saluste-Bridoux (17)). Festival Chairman Stephen Oliver wrote afterwards: ‘Our audience knows that whatever the orchestra is due to play will be exhilarating, so they arrived in droves and were thrilled once again.’ — Outreach Musicians from the School this term visited various care homes in the area - Cedar Court in Cranleigh, the SeeAbility group in Leatherhead, and Sunrise Care Home in Banstead where one of our long-standing and most loyal Friends, Muriel Holyman, is a resident. Kevin Loh (15), Evie Calver (11), Cansin Kara, Rosie Bennet (17), Dorothea Schupelius (17) and Ju Yeon Chae (18) also visited the Princess Alice Hospice in Esher to play to the day patients there. After chatting to the patients (and enjoying tea and cakes!), they played again in the main foyer so that they could be heard in their rooms by those patients too ill to attend the concert. One of the nurses conveyed the thanks of a young man who had arrived just that day: a keen concert-goer, hearing the students’ playing had helped him to feel more settled in his new surroundings. This year’s outreach programme concluded with the summer Schools Concerts in the Menuhin Hall, featuring YMS students as well as the ‘Chance to Play’ students from Cobham Free School, ably tutored by Oscar Perks and Chloe Stowers-Veitch. — Welcome to our new pupils — Hugo Haag 11, violin, UK — Leonardo Jaffe 15, violin, Brazil — Yuriko Matsuda 15, violin, Japan — Joseph Pritchard 13, cello, UK — Varvara Sevortyan 15, piano, Russia — Tom Yang 8, piano, UK — And the rest — Out and about with the Ds In July the youngest pupils took part in a science day in Crawley - The Big Bang South East – which culminated in a show of ‘magical’ science demonstrations and illusions, full of mystery, suspense and laughs! Evie Calver writes: ‘I enjoyed visiting the reptile and amphibian tent. One snake was so big it took four of us to support it. I touched a boa constrictor, held (and dropped!) a cockroach and looked at a tarantula.’ Hugo Haag (11) comments: ‘Some scientists helped us measure how strong our grip was. Most of us found that our writing hand was the strongest. We also measured our lung capacities.’ Coco Tomita (11) adds: ‘We were given the challenge of building a free-standing tower with straws, card, tape and paper. My group could not even get the tower to stand but it was great fun anyway.’ Tom Yang (8) writes: ‘One of my favourite things was a yellow McLaren car, which cost £250,000! There was also a Dalek which kept following people along paths, a moving traffic cone and a water robot, which shot water at everyone. Its operator must have been having great fun!’ Photo credit: Janet Poppe Photo credit: Angela Stockbridge Summer Term Awards Maths Challenge Intermediate Silver Kevin Loh, Ler Ler Ma Intermediate Bronze Sergio Bucheli, Marcus Gaved, David Horvat, Joon Hurh, Leyla Cemiloglu Junior Silver Katie Morgan Junior Bronze Joseph Pritchard, Louisa Staples Evie Calver writes: ‘In June we spent a day at the Milestones Museum of Living History in Basingstoke looking at life in Victorian times. Our first activity was trying on Victorian clothes. Coco and I dressed up as Headmaster’s Commendations Evie Calver, Coco Tomita, Tom Yang, Will Duerden, Maxim Calver, Songha Choi, Katie Morgan, Natasha Petrovic, Louisa Staples, Otoha Tabata, Elvina Auh, Barys Chmel, Sao Soulez Larivière, Daniel Penney, Katherine Yoon Distinction Certificates Maxim Calver, Songha Choi, Katie Morgan, Natasha Petrovic, Joseph Pritchard, Louisa Staples, Otoha Tabata, Elvina Auh, Sao Soulez Larivière, Daniel Penney, Katherine Yoon, Sergio Bucheli, Dillon Jeffares Effort Prizes Coco Tomita, Tom Yang, Daniel Penney, Otoha Tabata, Dillon Jeffares, Nicole Petrus Barracks, Daisy Gilfillan, Sarah Kim Brackenbury Awards Otoha Tabata, Sarah Padday, Ursula Perks, Natasha Petrovic, Chloe Stowers-Veitch, Thea Butterworth, Breanainn O Mathuna, Katie Morgan, Louisa Staples, Sergio Bucheli, Songha Choi, Cosima Soulez Larivière, Helena Dawn Yah, Philip Nelson, Barys Chmel, Evie Calver, Nicole Petrus Barracks, Kevin Loh, Ler Ler Ma, Phoebe Goddard, Tom Yang, Will Duerden, Coco Tomita, Leyla Cemiloglu maids, Tom wore a sailor suit and Hugo was a country-boy. There were life-size streets you could walk through. We went inside shops, a fire station and the railway ticketoffice and watched a play in which a woman pleaded with the wife of the factory owner not to be evicted from the family’s tied cottage because her husband had been off work ill for four days. We tried to vote to stop the family being sent to the workhouse, but we were told children couldn’t vote. Janet laughed until she was told that women had no vote either! We also visited a Victorian games arcade and consulted a gipsy fortune-teller. It was a very exciting day.’ Photo credit: Leonid Plashinov Johnson — Student farewells — Jamal Aliyev continuing his studies with Thomas Carroll at the Royal College of Music — Ju Yeon Chae Photo credit: Janet Poppe — A different kind of practice Jenny Dexter, Duke of Edinburgh coordinator, reports from the Lake District on the practice expedition for the gold award: ‘We had a really good time and I was impressed with the students’ commitment and hard work. The walking was really tough but they all rose to the challenge. We camped out on the mountainside for two nights and had all sorts of weather, including 60mph winds and beautiful sun. They students worked well as a team and kept each other going when it got difficult. We are looking forward now to the assessment week in July!’ taking a gap year before applying to college/ university in the autumn — Yume Fujise studying with Boris Kuschnir in Vienna — Daisy Gilfillan reading English at Worcester College, Oxford — Sarah Kim studying with Andrew Ball at the Royal College of Music — Kellija Moncaka auditioning later this month at the Latvian Academy of Music in Riga — Rosalind Phang studying with Bernd Goetzke at the Hochschule für Theater und Musik in Hannover — Juliette Roos studying with Pavel Vernikov at the Conservatoire of Lausanne Photo credit: Dan Dexter — Exams are over! The end of the exam period was celebrated with a barbecue and traditional whole-school cricket match followed by a party in Harris House for the A group students. On a balmy evening some pupils sat outside in the garden while others danced to the Beatles. A ritual burning of mock papers set the seal on an excellent day. — Chloe Stowers-Veitch continuing her studies with Simon Fischer at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama — Bella Tang studying with Christopher Elton at the Royal Academy of Music — Wei Ting Wu continuing his studies with Lutsia Ibragimova at the Royal College of Music — Helena Dawn Yah continuing her studies with Natasha Boyarsky at the Royal College of Music Photo credit: LucyAnn Curling In addition, Barys Chmel will be continuing his musical studies at the Belarusian State Academy of Music in Minsk. We wish all our leavers the very best for the future. — Staff News We shall miss them all and wish them all the very best for the future. — Happy 60th birthday, Malcolm! — Arts club prize for Bart Photo credit: Richard Lewisohn Cello professor and alumnus Bartholomew LaFollette has been awarded the inaugural Classical Music Award by The Arts Club in collaboration with Decca Records. Congratulations, Bart. The 60th birthday of Director of Music Malcolm Singer was celebrated with a concert on 13 July consisting of performances (by students and staff) of Malcolm’s music from the last forty years. These included Opening Rites (2006), created for the opening of The Menuhin Hall, and the spoken Fugue (1974) which Malcolm wrote whilst a student at Cambridge. A special gift was a musical board game, devised by YMS teacher Oscar Colomina i Bosch, which followed the course of Malcolm’s career and where landing on a square prompted the performance of a snippet of music specially composed by Malcolm’s colleagues and former pupils. Friends and family flew in to Stoke d’Abernon from all over the world and the concert was followed by a most enjoyable and convivial party. — Simon on the Fringe Simon Larter-Evans, Housemaster of Harris House, will be playing English master Basil Spears in David Hare’s play Southdowns with a group from St Edward’s School, Oxford at the Edinburgh Fridge. The play is based on Hare’s own experience of being a scholarship boy at Lancing College in the 1960s and runs from 19 to 22 August at The Space, 63 Jeffrey Street, Edinburgh EH1 1DH. Catch it if you can! — Staff welcomes and farewells Joining the staff this term were Simon Larter-Evans (formerly at St Edward’s, Oxford) who moved into Harris House as Housemaster, with his wife Dawn, and also took over as English Teacher; Ann Sweeney, who is now our resident Senior School Nurse (previously at St George’s, Weybridge); and Wendy Gabriel, who is the new Box Office Assistant in The Menuhin Hall. We are very glad indeed to welcome them to the School. — Alumni News Nicholas Logie (1967) has just been awarded a PhD by the Open University for his thesis on ‘the role of leadership in conducting orchestras’. He writes: ‘This info might amuse some contemporary colleagues from my YMS years: during my four years at School, academic achievement was not one of my priorities!’ If there are any aspiring conductors who would be interested in reading the thesis, let us know and we can put you in contact. Antonio Lysy (1979) has been touring the US, Canada and Europe with a multimedia project dedicated to his father Alberto Lysy and entitled Te Amo, Argentina. This year also marks the 25th anniversary of the festival Incontri in Terra di Siena he founded in Tuscany. Lisa Öberg (2001) is moving to Switzerland in the summer to take up her post as co-principal of the Argovia Philharmonic. Photo credit: Jules Lawrence Photo credit: Angela Stockbridge We said farewell in July to the following staff: Lisa Öberg, former pupil and assistant violin teacher since 2008, who is moving to Switzerland; Nathan Williamson, a much valued member of the general music teaching team since 2005, as well as a fine pianist in his own right; and Jeanne Rourke, who has been with us for just two terms as a temporary, but immensely popular, history teacher. Also leaving us is Lauren Garrett, the tireless and dedicated Administrator of the Friends of the School, who is returning with her family to her native New Zealand. Anna Harpham (2002) gave birth to a daughter Eleanor Jane on 9 July. Mother and baby are both doing very well. Alina Ibragimova (2003) performed with the YMS Orchestra at the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad as soloist in Peteris Vasks’s violin concerto Distant Light and the Bach A minor concerto. Laura Snowden (2008) has just been awarded the first ever scholarship from the Julian Bream Trust, enabling her to fund her postgraduate guitar studies at the Royal College of Music. Laura also took part in the Bath Guitar Festival at the end of July, giving a solo recital, as well as performing with Tom Ellis (2007). Aisha Syed (2009) took a break from her studies at the Royal College of Music this term to perform in an Alumni Showcase concert in The Menuhin Hall with YMS staff pianist Nigel Hutchison, in the presence of the Dominican Republic’s ambassador, Dr Federico Alberto Cuello Camilo and his wife. The Dominican Republic is clearly very proud of Aisha - and so are we. Photo credit: Elaine Hillier — Governor News It was with great sadness that we learnt of the death on 12 April of Sir John Burgh aged 87. As well as being a governor and vice-chairman, John was secretary of the Opera Committee at Covent Garden, chairman of the National Opera Co-ordinating Committee, and chairman of the board of the Royal School of Music. John had a distinguished career in the Civil Service and served as PPS to such figures as George Brown, Barbara Castle and Shirley Williams. John later became Director-General of the British Council and president of Trinity College, Oxford. The wisdom of John’s counsel and warmth of his friendship will be much missed by us all. More sad news followed when we heard that Mark Sheldon, governor from 1995 to 2011, had died on 3 May aged 82. Mark was senior partner at Linklaters solicitors in London and towards the end of his time there was Chairman of the Law Council. His legal expertise was greatly valued by the School. Two new governors were appointed to the governing body this June. Stuart Mitchell enjoyed successful careers at Morgan Grenfell Asset Management and J O Hambro Investment Management before setting up S W Mitchell Capital LLP. Stuart has taken on the important role of Chairman of the School’s Appeal Committee. Andrew Hunter Johnston has led both the Managed Funds and Charities Teams at BlackRock Investments UK and is Chairman of the Holst Singers and a trustee of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust. Andrew will serve on both the Appeal and Finance and General Purposes Committees. May 2013 saw the publication of The Nibelung Ballad, a new retelling in verse of the story of Wagner’s Ring by YMS Chairman of Governors Richard Morris. The text, published to coincide with the composer’s bicentenary, is enhanced by drawings by Richard’s daughter Hatty. Copies cost £7.50 and are available at selected retail outlets, including the Royal Opera House shop, and online at: amazon.co.uk/The-Nibelung-Ballad-Story-Wagners/ dp/1481964704. Tuesday 10 September 2013 Tasmin Little & Friends Tasmin Little (violin), Susie Meszaros (viola), Paul Watkins (cello), Timothy Gibbs (double bass), Melvyn Tan (piano) Tuesday 26 November 2013 Akiko Ono & Friends Akiko Ono (violin), Sidonie Bougamont (violin), Rebecca Brown (viola), Matthijs Broersma (cello), Per Rundberg (piano) 50th Anniversary Celebration Concerts in The Menuhin Hall Many thanks to all of our eminent alumni who have agreed to perform in a special series of concerts to celebrate our 50th birthday and support our Anniversary Appeal. To purchase tickets please book online at www.menuhinhall.info or call the Box Office on 08700 842020. Saturday 11 January 2014 Colin Carr & Friends Rosemary Warren-Green (violin), Krysia Osostowicz (violin), Garfield Jackson (viola), Colin Carr (cello), Mary Wu (piano) Saturday 8 Febuary 2014 Thomas Carroll & Friends Corina Belcea (violin), Rafal Zambrzycki Payne (violin), Kostia Boyarsky (viola) Carla Maria Rodriguez (viola), Thomas Carroll (cello), Jun Sasaki (cello), Alex Scott (double bass), Anthony Hewitt (piano) Tuesday 4 March 2014 Nicola Benedetti & Friends (Sold Out) Nicola Benedetti (violin), Leonard Elschenbroich (cello), Wu Qian (piano) Tuesday 22 April 2014 Melvyn Tan & Friends Elisabeth Perry (violin), Ning Kam (violin), Simon Rowland-Jones (viola), Niall Brown (cello), Melvyn Tan (piano) Tuesday 15 May 2014 Valeriy Sokolov & Friends Valeriy Sokolov (violin), David McCarroll (violin), Vladimir Maistorovici (violin), Tetsuumi Nagata (violin), Pau Codina (cello), Miho Kawashima (piano) Sunday 22 June 2014 Alina Ibragimova & Friends Alina Ibragimova (violin), Ben Marquise Gilmore (viola), Bartholomew LaFollette (cello), Charles Owen (piano) Photo credit: Angela Stockbridge — From the Headmaster After an end of term marked by some hugely enjoyable concerts – including the sparkling evening in the Wigmore Hall, masterfully planned as ever by Director of Music Malcolm Singer - the orchestra flew out to Switzerland to perform in the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad. Blessed with excellent weather and appreciative audiences, the students were a credit to themselves and the School. One concert took place in glorious sunshine (accompanied by the sound of cowbells and bleating goats) at the top of the Wispile mountain, the other in the more formal but no less beautiful setting of the church in Saanen, where the orchestra was joined by YMS alumna Alina Ibragimova. It was a joy to have her with us: the students, no less than the audience, hung on her every note and she in turn seemed to delight in making music with them, as do all of our alumni when they return to the School. Alina will be returning to The Menuhin Hall again in the course of the next year as one of the performers in our 50th Anniversary Celebration Concerts (a full list can be found in the alumni section of this newsletter). These eight concerts promise to be very special indeed. I hope very much that you will be able to come and help us celebrate our fiftieth birthday! Elaine joins me in hoping that the fine weather continues and you enjoy a relaxing summer. — Anniversary Appeal Update Since our appeal began in 2012 many of you have donated generously towards our bursary fund. The aim of this fund is to enable the School to offer places based solely on a young person’s musical potential, ensuring that those deserving of the opportunity are able to study at a prestigious specialist music school like ours. Over the last year we have raised £580,000 towards our bursary fund. We are particularly grateful for the support given by Mrs Hilary Cowan, who frequently attends concerts in The Menuhin Hall with her mother Mrs Margaret Slade OBE who herself has been a Friend of the School for many years. Mrs Cowan’s donation helped us significantly to reach our first half million for the bursary fund. We also appreciate the support of the Ronald and Rita McAulay Foundation who have donated to the appeal by offering a 100% bursary to enable a student from East Asia to study at the School for the crucial seven terms before they qualify for a Music and Dance Scheme bursary. The Estate of Mrs Jean Whiteley this year bequeathed a significant legacy to the School with the purpose of setting up a violin scholarship in her name. All of these gifts will ensure gifted young musicians are able to access the specialist musical education we are able to offer. With over half a million pounds now also raised towards the building of the music studios, we are delighted to have secured the first million of our total £6,000,000 Anniversary Appeal target. We continue to be extremely grateful to all of those who have given to our appeal. Whether small or large, each and every donation is so important to us if we are to reach our goal. Thank you. Supported by Music and Dance Scheme If you would prefer to receive your newsletter by email please drop us a line at [email protected] and we will update your preferences. If you are interested in hearing more about the Appeal and how you can help please contact the Development Director on 01932 584797 or [email protected]
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