CYM Awards, New Tutors

LIZBETH ELLIOTT PRIZE

The 2020 winner was bassoonist George Webb. This prize is awarded each year to a student from the Woodwind Department who has made an outstanding contribution during the academic year.

George Webb has become known at CYM for his love of the contra bassoon. He would appear weekly in the office at 4pm after a full day’s music making to collect the keys for the cupboard where the contra bassoon was stored. He would then duly practise for an hour. George has been a reliable, musical, rhythmic member of the Woodwind Department, always happy to take on any challenge that he was set. It is for these reasons that he was awarded the Liz Elliott Prize.

CYM BRASS PRIZE

The 2020 winner of this prize was Hannan Connell (RCM trumpet scholar). Thanks to the generosity of the National School Band Association, this prize is awarded to a student who has made a significant contribution to the Brass Department during their time at CYM.

During her time at CYM Hannan has developed into a fine trumpet player. Her performance for the CYM@50 Gala Concert in June was both accomplished and showed flair and flexibility of tone. She has recently started at the Royal College of Music having received a scholarship to study there.

JACK PETCHEY AWARDS

The Jack Petchey Foundation was set up to inspire and motivate young people across London and Essex by providing exciting projects and programmes for them to get involved in. They also recognise the outstanding achievements of today’s young people by awarding them for their hard work and positive impact in their community. CYM is proud to be part of their scheme and able to nominate three students each term to receive one of these awards.

As well as receiving a certificate themselves, they also choose how to spend a £250 grant to benefit their department or CYM as whole. The following students were those nominated for these awards this year – congratulations!

SPRING TERM Sam Kilwin – guitar

Nominated by Tim Pells. For his superb commitment to CYM over many years. Through difficult times personally he has just kept coming, never given up. He passed his Grade 5 Theory and Grade 7 Guitar, and has evolved into a person of quality who is a pleasure to work with, and is very much part of the team in his attitude to others as well as his own learning.

Lilia Goldstein – recorder

Nominated by Andrew Robinson. Lilia is a committed student with wide interests in sound and styles. She has been exploring contemporary repertoire and performing from memory. Her work was rewarded with a Distinction in her Grade 8 exam, and she represented the Recorder Department in the CYM Open Day Concert, performing the Sammartini Concerto. She is a valued member of the Senior Recorder Ensemble, with interesting and very welcome musical ideas.

Grace Byrne – voice

Nominated by Lynda Richardson. For achieving Distinction in her Grade 6, her first singing exam, and after a few months of lessons, gained a Merit for Grade 7 shortly after. She has also been prepared to sing solos at sight in Chamber Choir and has been a rock of support and leadership in the soprano section of the choir.

SUMMER TERM Adrian Angol Henry – composition

Nominated by Ehud Freedman. Over the years I have been teaching Adrian, he has been unfailingly dedicated to composing in his minimalistic and dramatic style. He has been consistently writing about places that bear a personal meaning to him, painting vivid emotional pictures of these places. He also rose to the challenges to improve fundamental techniques with good results and continues to add value to the Composition group as a whole year after year.

Stephanie Barker – woodwind

Nominated by Julie Beaman. Stephanie has done incredibly well in her studies and, defying all the odds, gained a place starting this September on the BMus course at Trinity Laban. She was always happy to help others and very caring towards younger students. She has been willing to be involved with every musical opportunity offered.

Thomas Buss – piano

Nominated by Cathy Riley. Thomas has made significant progress in his two years at CYM. Despite a very limited instrument to practise on at home, he has really developed his piano playing, achieving a well-deserved Distinction for Grade 8 last December. He has also embraced CYM with commendable enthusiasm this year, as a Composition student, pianist for the Studio Orchestra, and one of the solo pianists for Carnival of the Animals. Thomas has a great attitude and is always keen to try new challenges.

Last year we welcomed a number of new tutors to CYM and featured three of them in the Summer UPBEAT. In this issue we are delighted to introduce you to three more, who many of you will have met before lockdown, Niall, Jessica and Ruben.

Jessica Price (double bass)

Jess Price is a double bassist from Hertfordshire. She has just graduated from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance where she studied with Neil Tarlton. Jess is passionate about teaching; she has taught privately since age 15 and has looked forward to building a career teaching children. Prior to higher education, Jess attended the Purcell School of Music and enjoyed three years in the National

Niall Webb (clarinet)

Niall was born in Guernsey, and from an early age attended the Guernsey Music Centre, which is a similar kind of Saturday music school to CYM.

He studied at both, Trinity College of Music, and at the Royal Academy, with a long list of professors that included Keith Puddy, Andrew Marriner and Nicholas Rodwell. After graduating he worked abroad for the Kwa-Zulu Natal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New Arts Philharmonic in South Africa.

Niall returned to the U.K. at the start of the century, and has been teaching and working as a freelance

Youth Orchestra. She has since played with many orchestras including the Parallax Orchestra for a few recording sessions. This included taking part in a string orchestra recording for a Bring me the horizon album which was nominated for a Grammy! Jess is also a singer and is currently employed as a choral scholar at St Mary’s Hendon for Richard Morrison. Besides music, Jess is a keen circus performer and fire eater!

Ruben Zilberstein (violin)

Ruben Zilberstein was born in Stockholm, Sweden and started his violin studies at the age of 4. He has somehow kept practising ever since.

He went on to study with Prof Henryk Kowalski at The Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Jacob’s School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, and with Prof Detlef Hahn at The Royal Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo and The Royal College of Music in London. player ever since. He currently teaches at Sussex House School, and is Head of Woodwind at Forest School. He has performed with various orchestras including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Northern Ballet Theatre.

Niall has a particular interest in contemporary performance, a highlight being working with Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, which meant playing on stage surrounded by giant cactuses, and on another occasion, playing by candle light in the ruins of a collapsed stone wall!

A specialist in new and contemporary music, Ruben regularly performs with a variety of groups across Europe and projects collaborating with living composers. Ruben also has a special interest in performing and teaching Klezmer music, a tradition he feels strongly about preserving.

When not playing or teaching, Ruben enjoys horticulture and building little musical robots using Arduino.