2022 Awardee: Shubbe Kabanda

The opportunity to study what I am passionate about with support from the Dewar Arts Award is something I am incredibly thankful for and appreciate greatly.

Biography

Born in Glasgow, classical guitarist Shubbe Kabanda has been involved in music from an early age. Initially playing percussion and participating in school and community choirs, she later took up the guitar. During her senior years of secondary education, she was chosen to receive cello lessons, which inspired her to progress down the path of becoming a classical musician. Her season at the Junior Conservatoire reinforced her desire for music and kickstarted her journey into higher education. She is now an undergraduate at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland under the tutelage of Sasha Savaloni.

In 2023, Shubbe achieved runner-up in Glasgow’s Scottish Young Musician Competition at the City Halls. She was part of the 2022 and 2023 Big Guitar Weekend events at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She was also a part of the Glasgow CREATE guitar ensemble, choirs, and percussion ensemble, performing in their Christmas and spring concerts. For the Gold Music Leadership Award in secondary school, she was given the opportunity to work with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, volunteering in the community.

How the Award Helped

Shubbe’s award helped her to purchase a classical guitar and supports her BMus studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

The opportunity to study what I am passionate about with support from the Dewar Arts Award is something I am incredibly thankful for and appreciate greatly.

2022 Awardee: Haneen Hadiy

"This award has been a privilege and opportunity to pursue a dream. The award has fully supported me in conducting a solo exhibition in Iraq to reveal my work to the people of my homeland. My years of practice in the making have been immensely involved in my Iraqi culture therefore, an opportunity to visually present my creations in the land of Iraq is a huge successful step forward in my career as a visual artist."

Biography

Haneen Hadiy was born in Glasgow, Scotland to Iraqi parents in 1999. She started her career as a visual artist at the age of eighteen. Haneen Hadiy has exhibited around Scotland, London, New York and Los Angeles, revealing the unseen attractions of her motherland. In 2018 she organised an exhibition in Glasgow, giving the opportunity for exposure to Iraqi artists living in Iraq. Haneen regularly travels back and forth from Iraq to Scotland to explore her identity within both cultures. When travelling to Iraq, Haneen continuously focuses on revealing the existing scenic attractions of her homeland. Her works are known for their distinctive intimacy and integrity. She continuously experiments through a variety of mediums to explore her family history, cultural heritage, and identity as a diasporic artist.

How the Award Helped

Haneen’s award will support the development and installation of a solo exhibition of her work in Iraq. The exhibition will feature a collection of personal works that address and diminish cultural stereotypes.

"This award has been a privilege and opportunity to pursue a dream. The award has fully supported me in conducting a solo exhibition in Iraq to reveal my work to the people of my homeland. My years of practice in the making have been immensely involved in my Iraqi culture therefore, an opportunity to visually present my creations in the land of Iraq is a huge successful step forward in my career as a visual artist."

2022 Awardee: Kira Charleton

Kira Charleton

“Receiving an award from the Dewar Trust has honestly been life changing. It has allowed me to complete my final year of Master’s at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama whilst preparing for the next step in my journey. They have allowed a small town girl to keep working towards her big dreams of changing lives through music.”

Biography

Kira Charleton is a soprano singer from Ayrshire, who possesses a fresh sounding voice and the ability to sing both classical music and music theatre. Her talent and hard work earned her a place at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, from where she graduated with a 1st Class Honours Degree in 2021. During her undergraduate studies, Kira was the only female candidate selected to compete and represent the college in the highly regarded, Junior Kathleen Ferrier competition. Following this, she partook in many performances, with the main highlights being selected as a finalist for the E A Redman competition and playing the Mezzo-Soprano role in the Edward Barnes opera “The Hiding Tree”.

Kira regards herself as an enthusiast who thrives in a challenge and when collaborating as part of an ensemble or company. In 2019, she worked alongside choral master, Steven Harris and conductor, Carlo Rizzi as part of RWCMD’s 70th Anniversary Opera Gala celebration. Upon moving to Cardiff, Kira also became a member of the BBC National Chorus of Wales as a choral Scholar. This provided her with a wealth of performance opportunities, such as regularly appearing live on BBC Radio Three and in televised performances as part of the London Proms in the Royal Albert Hall.

Kira is fiercely dedicated to music and believes that her life will continue to be moulded around music. She is a determined individual who has faced the odds and is aware of the hard work required to be successful. Kira believes that to be a singer is to understand the art of storytelling and she has the commitment and abilities to achieve her goals.

Kira has generously received support to study from a Peter and Janet Swinburn Scholarship, a Girdlers’ Charitable Trust Award, and the Dewar Arts Award. In 2021, Kira won the Eileen Prize Price for lieder singing and the Mabel Linwood Prize.

In May 2022, Kira played the Dutchess of Montalbano, in Lennox Berkeley’s comic opera, A Dinner Engagement. As well as this, she took part in the chorus of RWCMD’s spring production of The Marriage of Figaro in the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff. Kira was also awarded a bursary to perform in the Welsh National Youth Opera’s production of Cheryomushki in October 2022.

How the Award Helped

Kira’s Dewar Arts Award has enabled her to further her studies at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, where she is pursuing a MMus degree in Performance.

Kira Charleton

“Receiving an award from the Dewar Trust has honestly been life changing. It has allowed me to complete my final year of Master’s at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama whilst preparing for the next step in my journey. They have allowed a small town girl to keep working towards her big dreams of changing lives through music.”