2008 Awardee: Richard Hackett

I am over the moon to have won a place at Central School of Ballet where I can work hard to develop my dance skills, and extremely grateful to the Dewar Awards without whose support this would not be possible.

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

Biography

From Bishopton, Renfrewshire, Richard Hackett showed a natural ability for dance from an early age. He joined the Scottish Ballet’s Associate Programme when he was nine and was a pupil for six years at the Dance School of Scotland, in Knightswood. Richard performed his first main ballet role when he was 15 years, as James in La Sylphide by the Scottish Ballet.

Richard was seen as a talented and committed dance student at the Dance School, winning a number of prestigious prizes and awards along the way, including the Choreography Competition, the progress prize in 2004 and 2006, the Randak Trophy for Achievement in 2007. He featured in the school’s Showcase each year.

Richard auditioned for, and was offered a place by, three of the top dance schools in London. He chose to study at Central School of Ballet which, he explains, will enable him to combine a strong classical technique with more contemporary movement.

Richard is a highly motivated and committed dancer and believes that he will be able to develop his potential to the fullest at Central School of Ballet. His long-term aim is to dance with one of the top ballet companies.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award is helping to support Richard while he studies at the Central School of Ballet in London.

Since the Award

After a successful first year, Richard’s funding has been extended for a second year.

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I am over the moon to have won a place at Central School of Ballet where I can work hard to develop my dance skills, and extremely grateful to the Dewar Awards without whose support this would not be possible.

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2008 Awardee: Robert Anderson

I am delighted to accept the Award …. It is very generous and makes it possible for me to take full advantage of this exciting opportunity of studying abroad with a great artist.

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

Biography

Glasgow-born Robert Anderson was one of the first members of the National Children’s Orchestra of Scotland, going on to play with NYOS. Starting first at the RSAMD Junior Department, Robert was awarded the Stevenson Scholarship by RSAMD to continue his studies there as an undergraduate.

Whilst an undergraduate, Robert won numerous prizes for solo playing, chamber music and academic work. He was invited to perform with world-class chamber musicians such as Levon Chilingirian and Alasdair Tait at the Mendelssohn on Mull Festival and subsequently in London, and he was invited by the section principal to freelance with the RSNO. Robert founded and performed widely with the Alba String Quartet, of which it has been said, “Scotland is indeed fortunate to have a young Quartet of this calibre which is prepared to work tirelessly for the advancement of chamber music on all levels.”

Robert graduated with a first-class degree in 2007. He has been invited by “one of the greatest living Scottish musicians, the internationally-renowned ‘cellist Alexander Baillie” to study with him for an MA in Music Performance in Bremen. He is seen as a young ‘cellist with enormous potential and studying in Germany is likely to be enriching both culturally and musically.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help towards Robert’s fees and living expenses at the Bremen Conservatoire.

Since the Award

Robert writes that his first year at Bremen, studying with Professor Baillie, was ‘a life-changing experience’ and that ‘the way I play the ‘cello has undergone a transformation’. Following auditions, Robert received the Caird Foundation’s Bloch Prize for outstanding string player. He also won places in the Baltic Youth Philharmonic and the Netherlands Orchestra Academy and toured with the Vienna Tonkunstler Orchestra in 2009.

Robert’s plans took an exciting turn when he decided not to take up the second year funding to continue his studies with Professor Baillie, but instead accepted an offer from the International Menuhin Music Academy in Bern, Switzerland.

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I am delighted to accept the Award …. It is very generous and makes it possible for me to take full advantage of this exciting opportunity of studying abroad with a great artist.

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2008 Awardee: Ryan Sullivan

I would like to extend my sincerest thanks as this grant will allow me to purchase my desired bassoon.

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

Biography

Ryan from Glasgow is one of a number of up-and-coming musical talents currently studying at the RSAMD Junior Academy, where he received the Wolfson Scholarship in 2007 and 2008. At 15 he is the youngest student of the bassoon, and he is already a seasoned performer in various youth orchestras. Ryan is also a keen pianist and singer and currently sings with the National Youth Choir of Scotland.

Ryan quickly impressed his early teachers with his natural talent and potential, showing rapid progress with the bassoon. Ryan is enthusiastic in his approach to his bassoon studies and hopes to have a successful career as an orchestral player. The only thing holding him back is the lack of a good instrument.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award has enabled Ryan to purchase a professional-standard bassoon to support his playing.

Since the Award

Ryan was able to find a Fox bassoon that suited him and writes that it is a ‘true pleasure to perform on such a beautiful bassoon’. Ryan has since gained places in the NYO Scotland and the Edinburgh Youth Orchestra. In 2010 Ryan will perform Weber’s Bassoon Concerto with the Glasgow Schools’ Symphony Orchestra as his first concerto performance. Ryan looks forward to continuing his music studies at a conservatoire.

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I would like to extend my sincerest thanks as this grant will allow me to purchase my desired bassoon.

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2008 Awardee: Samantha Shields

I am incredibly thankful that my nomination was successful and extremely grateful that I have won this prestigious award to help me study. This means the world to me!

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

Biography

Glasgow-born Samantha Shields has already had a taste of film acting, having played the lead role in the Scottish feature film “Wild Country” alongside Peter Capaldi and Martin Compston. But her first love is of musical theatre. Samantha started her training at Stow College, where her formidable talent and skills were first noticed.

After gaining a degree in theatre performance at Stow College Samantha appeared in the production of the musical ‘Faeries’ at the Edinburgh Festival, where she attracted attention. She has won a place on the Master of  Musical Theatre Course at RSAMD, despite having had no formal training in singing. Samantha is seen as hardworking, reliable and extremely talented, a winning combination.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help with Samantha’s costs to complete the course.

Since the Award

Samantha writes that the biggest moment of the year was playing Mamie Eisenhower in First Lady Suite at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, for which she got tremendous reviews. Her most surreal moment was seeing her image on the side of Glasgow buses and on Irn Bru bottles after she was cast as the lead girl in the IRN BRU MUSICAL campaign. After graduating, Samantha played a lead role in a new play at the Oran Mor Theatre and made a short film which will go on the film festival circuit in late 2009.

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I am incredibly thankful that my nomination was successful and extremely grateful that I have won this prestigious award to help me study. This means the world to me!

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2008 Awardee: Sara Barker

I am excited about the work I will be able to produce towards my exhibition.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 27
ARTFORMS:
 
 
 

Biography

Moving from the Isle of Man to Glasgow to study at the Glasgow School of Art, Sara Barker has lived in Scotland for over 10 years. At art school, Sara won the Emy Sachs Award for Female Artists. Since graduating, Sara has been practising as a visual artist, predominantly as a sculptor, and contributing to the Scottish art scene.

In 2004 Sara founded, and is represented by, the Mary Mary Gallery. In 2006, she was selected by the Collective Gallery in Edinburgh for the New Works Scotland programme. In 2008 she was offered her first solo international exhibition at a major gallery in Bologne.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award helped Sara to develop work for this major exhibition.

Since the Award

Sara writes that the award enabled her to “make the body of work that I had hoped, experimenting with new materials and working in a less pressured way.” Following the highly productive period that the award allowed Sarah, she has since been offered more exhibitions and won the British School at Rome Residency in 2009. This led to more exhibitions with established artists. As a result, Sara has established a steady studio practice based at the Glasgow Sculpture Studios, which, she says, would not have been possible without the award.

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I am excited about the work I will be able to produce towards my exhibition.

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2008 Awardee: Sarah Markey

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 14
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Sarah is a highly talented, multi-instrumentalist with a passion for playing music. She started playing the flute when she was 8 years old and, along with the harp and penny whistle which she also plays, has qualified to British level.

Not content with three instruments, Sarah is currently teaching herself to play the guitar and fiddle. Her ultimate aim is to study music at university and become a professional musician.

It is in the flute that Sarah excels, playing both solo and as part of a band, and she has won many awards in Scottish, British and International competitions.

In 2007, Sarah was part of a group which performed during a visit to Coatbridge of Mary McAleese, President of Ireland. Two years earlier, she had played at a ceremony at Celtic Park with the same group which performed a piece especially composed for the occasion by conductor and composer, James MacMillan.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will enable her to buy a performance standard 6-keyed flute in ‘D’.

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2008 Awardee: Scott Galbraith

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

Biography

Edinburgh born and bred, Scott comes from a family of three musical brothers. Currently a student of violin at RSAMD, Scott had been using a violin on loan from the City of Edinburgh Music School where he was a pupil.

While a pupil at the specialist music school, Scott was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and the Lothian Regional and Edinburgh Youth Orchestras. He was leader of the Edinburgh Schools Symphony Orchestra, the Lothian Strathspey & Reel Society and the School String Ensemble. In Primary 6, Scott played solo in front of Prince Andrew. He has competed in the annual Kirrimuir Fiddle Festival in the solo classes, winning a gold, two silver and one bronze medals over the years.

Scott plays with the musicality and assurance of a more mature student. Now that he is entering undergraduate study, he needs a professional-standard violin to match his talent.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award has helped Scott to purchase a good-quality violin.

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2008 Awardee: Sean Shibe

"I think of the Donald Dewar Trust every day when I pick up the guitar. I know I would not be where I am today without their support"

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 15
ARTFORMS: ,
WEBSITE:https://www.seanshibe.com
 
TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/seantshibe

Biography

Edinburgh-born Sean Shibe started to learn the guitar when he was seven. A year later he won a place at the City of Edinburgh Music School and quickly developed his natural talent. In 2006, the teaching of Marek Pasciezcny inspired Sean to concentrate solely on the guitar. A year later he was offered a place at Aberdeen City Music School.

Sean’s first public solo was at the Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh when he was eight years’ old, as part of the Edinburgh Schools Showcase Concert. In 2007, still only 15, he performed his first full, solo public recital in Edinburgh. After the performance, the composer Haflidi Hallgrimsson approached him directly to invite him to collaborate on the reworking of Hallgrimsson’s piece ‘Jacob’s Ladder’, which Sean performed at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe.  Still at the age of 15, he received scholarship offers from a number of leading UK conservatoires and took his place at RSAMD in 2007 as the youngest musician to ever enter the academy.

Sean has been a member of the NCOS, as a ‘cellist, and a member of the National Youth Guitar Ensemble of Great Britain, under Gerald Garcia. He has been a well known young player of classical guitar in Scotland since he was 11 years old. Sean is both an exciting prospect for the future as well as an engaging and talented performer of the present. He is one of the most talented young guitarists around today.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will enable Sean to buy a professional quality guitar.

Since the Award

In 2008, Sean was a finalist in the first senior competition he entered, the “Westfalian Guitar Spring” in Germany, and later that same year received the Chanterelle Guitar Prize.  In 2009 he won both the Silver Medal at the 5th Ligita International Guitar Competition in Liechtenstein and, later, the 12th Ivor Mairants Guitar Competition run by the Worshipful Company of Musicians. He was the first British winner of this prestigious event, which offers Sean the opportunity to audition for concert performances at the Wigmore Hall in London.

Following his achievement in Liechtenstein, Sean was offered a master class with the Cuban, Leo Brouwer, renowned composer for guitar. In 2011, Sean won the String Section prize of the Royal Overseas League Music Competition, only the second guitarist to achieve this.

Sean performed as part of our 10th Anniversary Celebrations. Find out more here.

Update 2020:

Sean has gone on to become one of the most accomplished and celebrated guitarists of his generation.

Sean was the first ever guitarist to be selected as a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist. He has since been featured on numerous BBC programmes including ‘Front Row’, ‘Inside Music’, and a special series entitled ‘Sean Shibe’s Guitar Zone’.

In 2018, Sean received the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Young Artists – the first ever guitarist to do so – and in 2019, won a ‘Concept Album’ Gramophone Award for his critically-acclaimed recording ‘softLOUD’. His latest album has topped the Official Chart for specialist classical music and he has recently signed a multi-album deal with Pentatone.

Sean has performed internationally at renowned venues and festivals, has appeared with world-leading orchestras and has collaborated with artists including the BBC Singers and performance artist/art filmmaker Marina Abramovic. His imaginative performance programmes include newly commissioned works, expanding the repertoire of the guitar and giving new voice to the instrument.

Sean is a truly exceptional Scottish artist and we are proud to have been part of his journey.

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"I think of the Donald Dewar Trust every day when I pick up the guitar. I know I would not be where I am today without their support"

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2008 Awardee: Sharon Young

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and say that receiving this award will make such a huge difference, allowing me to focus more fully on my studies.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 27
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Sharon, originally from Helensburgh, gained a first degree in Eng. Lit. from Glasgow University before going on to study acting at RSAMD. There she has impressed with her range, depth, wit and flexibility in her acting. In her second year at RSAMD she was selected as a candidate for the prestigious UK-wide Laurence Olivier Bursary Competition.

Sharon’s ultimate ambition is to be deeply involved in Scottish theatre. She has already appeared with Oran Mor in Glasgow, with the NTS/Dundee Rep’s ‘Peer Gynt’, directed by Dominic Hill, and at Perth Theatre. Perhaps because of her first degree, Sharon is noted for a creative and intelligent engagement with the text, and she is particularly valued as a committed ensemble player. Sharon is passionate about Scottish theatre and hopes to contribute to the arts in Scotland in the future.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award has helped Sharon to finance the final year of her drama degree.

Since the Award

Sharon graduated successfully with a degree in acting and the Phil McCall Memorial prize. She has secured an agent and since worked at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh and the Young Vic in London. She looks forward to a long-term career in the theatre.

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I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and say that receiving this award will make such a huge difference, allowing me to focus more fully on my studies.

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2008 Awardee: Shaun McLaughlin

I am writing to thank you for your generous award … this will enable me to concentrate on my dancing and not worry about any major financial burdens.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 16
ARTFORMS:
 
 
 

Biography

After a difficult start in life, spending some years under the care of social services, Shaun has worked hard to build on early talent in dance to become a young male dancer of great promise.
When Shaun started out at the Dance School of Scotland he had had no previous dance experience. In the subsequent five years, he made remarkable progress and has now won a coveted place at Elmhurst School of Dance, with links with the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

While still at the Dance School, Shaun won the choreographic competition award which was performed at the Crawford Theatre, Jordanhill. He also won the Progress Prize in his final year at the school, and for the past five years performed in the school’s end of year shows.

Shaun’s ambition is to become a professional dancer. He writes: “dance is not only my passion in life in fact it is my life.”

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Awards aims to help Shaun achieve his ambition by supporting him in his dance studies at Elmhurst.

Since the Award

Shaun made excellent progress in his first year. He won the upper school choreography competition which was judged by Sir Peter Wright, Marion Tait and Desmond Kelly. His funding continues into year two.

In his second year, Shaun was offered the opportunity to tour with the Birmingham Royal Ballet in The Sleeping Beauty. He was subsequently invited by the BRB to perform in Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo & Juliet. Shaun’s support has been continued into a third year.

Shaun started his third year full of confidence that he would find a job with a major ballet company. After a successful tour with the Birmingham Royal Ballet in Romeo and Juliet it transpired that Shaun had to have an ankle operation. This devastating news effectively halted his progress towards his ultimate goal. Elmhurst fully supported his plan to continue there for a further year to prepare for auditions, and his support from the Dewar Arts Awards was also continued. Shaun writes that without the help of the Dewar Arts Awards, he would not have been able to change his life and become a professional dancer. Update: May 2012

Shaun has gained a place as Second Soloist at The Ballet of the Croatian National Theatre. He will be performing as The Prince in their upcoming production of Cinderella.

Shaun gained a place as Second Soloist at The Ballet of the Croatian National Theatre. He performed as Prince Charming in their production of Cinderella. Read a press article here.

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I am writing to thank you for your generous award … this will enable me to concentrate on my dancing and not worry about any major financial burdens.

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