This year’s recipients of bursaries under the Guernsey Music Bursary scheme have given a recital for their supporters in the Dorey Centre at St James.
There are a record number of recipients this year and six of them performed pieces of their own choice at the recital. Four are receiving a bursary for the first time, three of them violinists and the fourth a singer. A particular feature of this group is that three of them, Sam Cole, Archie Purdue and Joseph Stoller, have been playing together in the Vivace! Quartet since they were 10 years old. Sam is about to start a 3-year undergraduate degree in music at Oxford University, Archie is going up to Cambridge University to study music whilst holding a choral scholarship with the Choir of St John’s College, having spent the past year as a Choral Scholar at Hereford Cathedral.
Joseph Stoller is going to the Royal College of Music to start a Bachelor of Music degree having spent the past two years with the National Youth Orchestra.
Of the three other performers at the recital, Benjamin Childs (piano) and Madeleine Vaudin (flute) have already been receiving a bursary for the past two years and the third, Anya Blue Robins (violin), is receiving one for the first time to help support the first year of her Masters in Performance degree at the Royal College of Music.
Guernsey is extremely fortunate indeed to have nurtured such a talented group of young musicians. All of them will be returning to the island from time to time to perform in concerts or recitals. This is in fact one of the conditions for receiving the bursary. A key feature of the bursary award is that in addition to the financial support, the bursary holder can avail themselves of mentoring support from the orchestra Sinfonia Smith Square in London. An excellent example of the opportunities arising from this link is that it can lead to award of a fellowship in the orchestra as the next stage of their musical career. This is exactly what Annabelle Pizzey has achieved. Having received a GMB bursary for the past three years, she is now about to join Sinfonia Smith Square as one of only two oboists. Applicants for this annual programme number upwards of 400 from all over the world so Annabelle’s success is no mean achievement, as well as being recognition of the major role played by the Guernsey Music Centre, which she joined aged nine, in her career development.
Finally, the directors of the GMB have announced an extension of the programme with a new tie up with the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM).
Guernsey students attending the college for undergraduate and post graduate degrees who have been awarded the Guernsey Music Bursary will be eligible to receive the RNCM’s Guernsey Music Award, which will support the recipient of the Award with mentoring from one of their key alumni, who will be hand-picked to ensure that they can offer the individual student the most relevant and helpful guidance as well as introducing them to the most helpful networks and partner organisations. Jacob Wright who is also a bursary holder this year and is about to embark on the RNCM’s specialist Master of Music in Performance (MMus) degree will be eligible for this new initiative.
The RNCM is also committed to at least one visit to Guernsey per year from staff or faculty to work with Guernsey students and will explore opportunities for Guernsey Music students to visit RNCM for coaching sessions with RNCM teachers and opportunities to sit in on rehearsals or masterclasses and tour their facilities.
The Guernsey Music Bursaries have been made possible by generous donations from music lovers in the island, who recognise that taking this first step onto the professional ladder is a crucial one for young musicians.
Pictured: Left to right – Sam Cole, Joseph Stoller, Anya Blue Robins, Benjamin Childs, Madeleine Vaudin and Archie Purdue
