2008 Awardee: Jon Savage

Without this award it would have been impossible for me to continue training with the Royal Ballet.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 17
ARTFORMS:
 
 
 

Biography

Rutherglen-born Jon started his training in dance at the Dance School of Scotland, where he showed himself to be extremely talented from the start. He decided early on that he wanted to become a professional dancer. During his six years at the Dance School he worked hard to achieve a very high technical standard.

In 2008 Jon achieved the RAD Advanced II vocational graded examination, which is a standard of training attained by only a few male students worldwide. In the same year he auditioned for vocational dance schools in London and was offered places at the English National Ballet School, Central School of Ballet and the Royal Ballet School. Jon accepted the Royal Ballet School which had offered him a place onto the second year.

Jon is a versatile dancer who has the facility to become principal in a classical company. He has an excellent natural physical facility and ideal physique for classical ballet, but is also able to dance a whole range of styles.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help Jon through his two years of study at the Royal Ballet School.

Since the Award

Jon graduated with credit from the Royal Ballet School in 2010 and was offered a place with the Cape Town City Ballet.  Jon writes that the best time of his two years at RBS was when he toured Japan for 11 days with his year group visiting four different cities and dancing both classical and contemporary pieces.  Jon writes that “without your continual support, none of the past two years would have been possible.”

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Without this award it would have been impossible for me to continue training with the Royal Ballet.

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2008 Awardee: Jonathan Cheyne

I am delighted to accept your offer. Being given this money to buy a set of reel-pipes is a fantastic opportunity for me.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 17
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Jonathan, from Bishopbriggs, is the first member of his family to be musical. He learnt to play the Highland bagpipes at the age of 12 and quickly developed a passion to play and perform to the highest standard. He is now studying music at Scotland’s own conservatoire, the RSAMD.

Jonathan has a particular love for, and interest in, traditional music. Last year he won his first solo competition in Skye, and has played at many of the major traditional music concerts, including Celtic Connections and Piping Live. He is a member of the elite National Youth Pipe Band and was the Pipe Sergeant at the Soroptimist Convention in Glasgow.

Last year Jonathan performed with the 98th Highlanders, with Cantara, at an International Celtic Music festival.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will enable Jonathan to buy a set of Fred Morrison reel-pipes which is an essential part of his equipment as a professional piper.

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I am delighted to accept your offer. Being given this money to buy a set of reel-pipes is a fantastic opportunity for me.

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2008 Awardee: June Naylor

This is such a great contribution to my new harp and I am extremely grateful.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 20
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Born in Inverness and brought up on Skye, June learned the harp when she was 12 years old. June spent a year studying at the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music in Plockton before going on to study at Strathclyde University, where she is studying with renowned Celtic harpist Savourna Stevenson.

June is a member of award-winning band ‘Bodega’, winners of the BBC2 Young Folk Award. With the band’s increasing success, they travel extensively internationally to perform, and consequently June’s student-model harp is beginning to look careworn. June is considered to be a real talent and rising star in Traditional Music.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help June purchase a professional model harp with flight case.

Since the Award

After buying a new harp, June went on to study music at the University of Strathclyde where, on graduation, she won the prestigious Alexander Stone Award for excellence. She is a member of the successful five-piece band Bodega, winners of the 2006 BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award Winners and the 2009 Folk Band of the Year at the Trad Awards. The band tour worldwide and are currently working on their third album.

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This is such a great contribution to my new harp and I am extremely grateful.

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2008 Awardee: Kate McDermott

I am very grateful for this award which I know will be invaluable towards my future career as an orchestral musician.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 23
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Hailing from Lanark, Kate received her first degree studying clarinet at the Royal College of Music in London. In her final year, she received the Edward and Helen Hague Senior Woodwind First Prize and then returned to Glasgow to pursue a Master of Music at the RSAMD as a student of Yann Ghiro.

While at RCM, Kate added the E flat clarinet to her repertoire. After her move to RSAMD, she began to learn the bass clarinet, knowing that this would increase her chances of employment with the top orchestras, but could not afford the cost of a new instrument.

Kate has freelanced with many British orchestras, such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and was chosen to play in Scottish Opera with the RSAMD apprenticeship scheme. Subsequently, she was on trial as principal clarinet with the Varmlandsoperan in Karlstad, Sweden. Kate is a bass clarinettist of extremely high calibre who produces performances which exude class.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award has helped Kate buy a professional bass clarinet to help her with her future career.

Since the Award

Subsequently, Kate writes that having a bass clarinet has played a large part in helping her gain trials with a number of leading orchestras and she doubts whether she would have applied for some orchestral jobs if she didn’t have her own bass clarinet.  Currently, Kate is on trial with one European and four UK orchestras and is a member of the clarinet quartet Acentejo Quartet.

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I am very grateful for this award which I know will be invaluable towards my future career as an orchestral musician.

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2008 Awardee: Katherine Brown

This is a really exciting time for me, and I look forward to letting the Dewar Award trustees know and see how this internship shall shape my career.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 21
ARTFORMS: , ,
 
 
 

Biography

Edinburgh-born Katherine studied textile design at Duncan of Jordanstone Art College, in Dundee. She specialised in knitwear design and says of her knitting that “as well as wearable, [it] is also conceptual. Involving storage and folding concepts it is very structural and matches very well with Bless’s aim at ‘designing the perfect product’”.

In her final year at art college, Katherine was seen to find her own voice and technique to express her perception of design through textiles. She approached her studies with maturity, intelligence and wit as her confidence grew in her chosen field.

Katherine set her heart on working for BLESS, considered to be a cutting-edge European design company and secured a 3-month unpaid internship with them through her own efforts. Spending time in their studios will enable her to broaden her professional design understanding.

Katherine also exhibited her work at the 2008 BraveArt (now entitled, ROAR).

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award is helping towards the short internship with the Berlin-based international design company, BLESS.

Since the Award

As an intern, Katherine did a lot of running around for her BLESS colleagues to source materials for the collection being worked on for Paris Fashion Week. Because they knew of her passion for knitting, they asked Katherine to handknit some of their designs. Some months after she returned to Glasgow, Katherine was thrilled to see one of her handknitted pieces in a fashion magazine. She is now back in Glasgow working on a new collection. Katherine writes, “BLESS was an invaluable experience that has already started to shape my career.”

Katherine’s work was showcased in our 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Roots to Shoots. Find out more here.

A short film from Katherine, which formed part of our 10th Anniversary Exhibition: Roots to Shoots.

Knit One, Kill One is “a humorous exploration of an inner torment and love-hate relationship with knitting. Katherine Brown showcases her Masters’ Collection inspired by cult TV series Twin Peaks in a short film, which plays with the idea that knitters and serial killers share behavioural patterns.”

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This is a really exciting time for me, and I look forward to letting the Dewar Award trustees know and see how this internship shall shape my career.

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2008 Awardee: Laura Kelly

I feel I have been on a long journey from the beginning of my studies through to the present day and am so proud to receive the opportunity to study at the Royal Academy of Music…. without the support from the Dewar Arts Awards the continuation of my studies wouldn’t be possible.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 22
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

When she was seven Laura Kelly, from Moodiesburn, joined the Scottish Children’s National Chorus and the National Youth Choir of Scotland. Her passion for singing continued, and she went on to study singing at the RSAMD, graduating with a first class honours and achieving the top grade in her BMus final examination.

Laura possesses an attractive mezzo soprano voice with a distinctive timbre. Past awards include both the Agnes Duncan trophy and the Young Opera Society trophy at the Glasgow Music Festival. While at RSAMD, Laura won the Hugh S Robertson prize and the George McVicar Memorial prize for Scots Song. She took part in a number of the opera school’s productions, performing as mezzo soprano soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria, Haydn’s Mass in Time of War, Haydn’s Nelson Mass and Mozart’s Coronation Mass. Laura was selected by the RSAMD to represent them in Japan at the Barakura Flower Show in Tateshina Heights.

Laura won a place at the Royal Academy of Music, London, to continue her studies with Jennifer Dakin and Audrey Hyland. She then progressed to the Master of Music (Opera) course.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help towards the costs for Laura to complete an MMus (Opera) degree at the RAM.

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I feel I have been on a long journey from the beginning of my studies through to the present day and am so proud to receive the opportunity to study at the Royal Academy of Music…. without the support from the Dewar Arts Awards the continuation of my studies wouldn’t be possible.

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2008 Awardee: Laura Sergeant

The ‘cello [I am buying] is one of the nicest I have played …..I am incredibly grateful for this award.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 18
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

From Larbert, in Stirlingshire, Laura is currently studying ‘cello at the RSAMD, Glasgow. She is a member of the Nova String Quartet which was formed in 2006 by a group of students at the RSAMD. Laura previously attended the RSAMD Junior Academy where she showed outstanding potential as a ‘cellist and was awarded a scholarship.

Laura is a member of the NYOS, where she leads the ‘cello section, and has played with the prestigious Camerata Scotland. She won the Forth Valley arts festival in 2005 and last year won the Rotary International Young Musician award for Central Scotland.

In 2007 she toured Scotland in an apprenticeship scheme with the Scottish Ensemble and Raphael Wallfisch. In 2008 she attends the Singapore National Youth Orchestra Chamber Music Festival.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will contribute towards the purchase of a professional standard ‘cello which Laura needs to support her career as a musician.

Since the Award

Subsequently, Laura wrote to say that after a long time of searching for the right cello, she eventually bought one from one of her tutors.  She writes, “as I progress as a cellist, I am able to find new sounds which were not available on the lower quality instrument I previously owned.” Laura is currently continuing her studies in Bremen with renowned Scottish cellist, Alexander Baillie.

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The ‘cello [I am buying] is one of the nicest I have played …..I am incredibly grateful for this award.

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2008 Awardee: Liam Harley

I am delighted to accept the Dewar Arts Award. I would like to thank everyone involved for allowing me this fantastic opportunity.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 15
ARTFORMS: , ,
 
 
 

Biography

From a very musical family, where all the members play musical instruments, Liam started to learn music on a penny whistle, quickly graduating to the concert flute. He is now extremely accomplished on both instruments and is the 2008 Scottish flute and whistle champion. He competed in the All Britain Championships playing solo flute and whistle.

When Liam was loaned an old practice set of Uillean Pipes at school, he made remarkable and quick progress on this challenging instrument. A pupil at Holyrood Secondary School in Glasgow, Liam is a member of the school’s traditional music group ‘Oran’, playing both flute and the pipes, which has performed at the school’s award ceremonies and other concerts. He says himself that, “playing the pipes is my favourite thing to do and gives me such pleasure.”

Liam is occasionally able to play his tutor’s full set of pipes and has been told that he has the ability to go far. His ambition is indeed to compete in the All Britain and the World Championships in Ireland playing the pipes, but without a good quality set his progress will be seriously hampered.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award enables Liam to purchase a set of Uilleann pipes.

Since the Award

Subsequently, Liam writes that since receiving delivery of his new pipes, he has played at many ceilidhs, school functions and family gatherings.  Currently, he is focussing on final school exams but hopes to compete at the 2010 Glasgow Feis.

His long-term aim is to excel at playing the Uilleann pipes, which he has been told by the experts takes many years of practice.

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I am delighted to accept the Dewar Arts Award. I would like to thank everyone involved for allowing me this fantastic opportunity.

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2008 Awardee: Linsay Croall

I was delighted to receive ... your support. The award will allow me to take full advantage of the opportunities that studying at the Tamarind Institute provides.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 25
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Born and raised in Edinburgh’s Leith area, Linsay moved to Aberdeen when she entered Gray’s School of Art in 2000. In 2004 she was awarded the John Kinross scholarship from the RSA and received the David Gordon Memorial.

After graduation, Linsay worked as a print-maker for the Edinburgh Printmakers and, currently, she works part-time for Peacock Visual Arts. She is also developing her own art practice. Linsay has a developing interest in lithography, which is a dwindling artform in Scotland.

After a brief summer workshop at the Tamarind Institute in New Mexico, she applied for and was accepted onto their nine-month, intensive Professional Printer Training Programme. Linsay will be the first Scottish print-maker for over twenty years to study at this internationally renowned centre of excellence. During the course she will strengthen and refine her technical skills in both stone and plate lithography.

When she returns to Scotland, Linsay hopes to pass on her skills to others, as well as develop her own art practice and collaborate with other visual artists.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will enable Linsay to take up this unique opportunity to study at the Tamarind Institute.

Since the Award

Studying lithography in the dry heat of New Mexico offers unique challenges. Linsay was told that “if you can print a stone in the desert, you can print a stone anywhere.” The intensive course comprised learning the techniques of stone lithography and then collaborating with artists to produce and edition their work.

Linsay writes that, “In the few months since [I returned to the Peacock Gallery] I’ve already editioned six stones with invited artists, have an ambitious one drawn up and ready to etch and various tests ongoing. All the artists have been delighted with the results so far …” The Education Director of the Tamarind Institute commented that the graduate art students at the Institute wanted to work with Linsay because of the special attention she gave to their collaborations.

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I was delighted to receive ... your support. The award will allow me to take full advantage of the opportunities that studying at the Tamarind Institute provides.

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2006 Awardee: Lisa Norman

I would like to thank the trustees very much for their kind offer. I am looking forward to ... exciting opportunities to play baroque horn.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2006
AGE AT AWARD: 22
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Lisa, from Hawick, graduated from Edinburgh University with a first-class honours degree in music and the final year dissertation prize.

As an experienced player of the French horn, Lisa developed an interest in the 18th century style of natural horn. She helped set up an ensemble at university whose repertoire includes music from the late baroque music era. In 2007, she performed on a classical horn the double horn concertos and orchestral suites by Telemann with the Edinburgh Philomusica and on natural horn Handel’s Water Music with the Edinburgh Symphony Baroque. For these occasions she was able to borrow instruments.

Lisa plans to continue her researches into the evolution of the hand horn technique. As she says, “There is lively debate amongst horn players and scholars as to the correct playing techniques and I am very excited about the prospect of contributing to our understanding of the subject.” Owning her own baroque horn would help Lisa pursue both her academic interest and to contribute to the musical community in Scotland.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award has helped Lisa purchase her own baroque horn.

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I would like to thank the trustees very much for their kind offer. I am looking forward to ... exciting opportunities to play baroque horn.

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