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: 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: Shian Blackwood

I’d like to thank you very much for the offer of the award!

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 19
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Shian Blackwood from Dunscore, near Dumfries, has been studying clàrsach for six years. In 2003 she was awarded the junior trophy for harp playing in the Dumfries Music Festival. In 2006 she received a Dewar Arts Award to buy an electric harp.

Shian is currently studying music at Stevenson College in Edinburgh. She writes: “The electric harp you so kindly granted me funding for has helped me advance in my studies and personal abilities as a player.” She has studied with our own Maeve Gilchrist, one of the first Dewar Arts Awardees.

Shian reached the point where she needed to upgrade her acoustic harp. Rather than ask us for money to buy a new one, she has asked for funding to go on a course to build her own 33-stringed acoustic harp. We were delighted to help and look forward to hearing the Bohemian harp she hopes to build under the tutelage of Christoph Locherbach from Southern Germany.

How the Award Helped

In 2006, Shian received an award to purchase an electric harp. In 2008, she received an award to attend a harp-making course which resulted in her making her own acoustic harp.

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I’d like to thank you very much for the offer of the award!

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2008 Awardee: Stephanie Irvine

We are very grateful to the Dewar Arts Awards for the confidence they have shown in Stephanie. It has given her a real boost. (Sally Beamish, mother)

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 12
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Twelve-year old Stephanie from Gartmore is both a strong singer and extremely talented clàrsach player. She has already recorded a Burns song for use on the soundtrack of ITV’s South Bank Show, and she sang the role of Catriona in Shenachie in the Highland Quest finals broadcast on BBC TV.

From the start Stephanie displayed a natural talent for clàrsach playing far above average for her age. She is involved in a number of groups at her school and participates in the school orchestra, playing challenging parts especially arranged for the harp.

Stephanie is also interested in composing, developing arrangement ideas and is a natural communicator through her music. She is a talent to watch out for in the future.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award helped Stephanie to purchase a professional harp to help her development as a musician.

Since the Award

Stephanie writes that since getting her new harp, a Starfish ‘Glencoe’ model, the difference in the sound her playing makes is “incredible” and that having her own instrument has helped her to have “a greater sense of my own musical identity”. Stephanie plays in her school orchestra, performed at the official opening of the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park Visitor Centre and at the opening of her own school new building.

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We are very grateful to the Dewar Arts Awards for the confidence they have shown in Stephanie. It has given her a real boost. (Sally Beamish, mother)

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2008 Awardee: Wui Man (Raymond) Yui

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

Biography

Wui Man (also known as Raymond) is a gifted pianist who moved to Aberdeen with his mother in the early 2000’s. Having no piano to use at home, Raymond would practise at school, and even during the holidays he continued to pracise there for hours every day.

Raymond audition for the Aberdeen City Music School, and at his audition he impressed the board with his considerable music potential and impressive motivation.  He was accepted as a student, allowing him to dedicate himself to his passion and talents.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Awards supported Raymond in his studies at the Aberdeen City School of music. He lived there as a boarder and was able to practise piano at any time.  This enabled him to quickly develop his skills, both in music and in his spoken English.

Since the Award

Raymond made his concerto debut with the Meadows Chamber Orchestra in Edinburgh in 2010. Crowned as the Aberdeen Young Musician of the Year 2011, he performed concertos with various orchestras in Scotland. He has given recitals at the Aberdeen International Youth Festival and the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, and during his studies at ACMS he performed with a jazz band in venues such as the Blue Lamp, and the Edinburgh Jazz Bar.

Raymond has gone on to study at the Guildhall School of Music, and has received additional support from the Awards to facilitate his continued success.  He has won the Springboard Concerto Competition, leading to engagements with the Brighton Youth Orchestra. He continues to go from strength to strength and has a bright career ahead of him.

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2008 Awardee: Aidan Crosbie

Aidan was truly thrilled about the award. (Suzanne Crosbie, mother)

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 12
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Glaswegian Aidan Crosbie comes from a musical background, with both brother and cousins playing Scottish and Irish traditional music to a high level. Aidan started playing traditional music at the age of six when he joined Comhaltas, playing banjo, whistle and drums. Playing with his sibling and cousins in professional bands and groups around Scotland, Aidan quickly developed confidence performing at school, charity events and festivals including prestigious events such as Celtic Connections.

Aidan regularly enters music competitions, in 2004 coming second and in 2007 winning the All Britain Fleadh for both banjo and drums.

Aidan is considered to be a very talented young musician. He plays with excellent technique combined with a musicality and maturity beyond his years. He is dedicated to his music making and this dedication and enjoyment shines through his playing.  His aim is to study for a degree in traditional music at the RSAMD and already has the talent and drive to blossom into a very fine Scottish musician.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Awards enabled Aidan to buy a professional banjo of the quality he set his heart on.

Since the Award

Aidan writes, “Since receiving the Daughter of Dewar Award, my musicianship has improved enormously – I have benefited from top class tutoring, I enjoy my banjo playing much more, and am delighted at the positive feedback I receive.”

Since buying a new banjo, Aidan has had much success in competitions. In 2009 he won first place at the Glasgow and Scottish Fleadh’s in solo, duet and trio categories and also in duet and trio in the All Britain Fleadh, all of which qualified him to compete in the All Ireland Fleadh in August 2009.

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Aidan was truly thrilled about the award. (Suzanne Crosbie, mother)

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2007 Awardee: Alan Benzie

I believe it is really important to develop my own “voice” both compositionally and as a performer, and I would also love to be a voice for Scottish jazz on the international scene.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2007
AGE AT AWARD: 17
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

To have a life in music has been Alan’s dream since he was eight years old. A graduate of St Mary’s Music School, Alan started his musical career by learning the violin and was a member of the National Children’s Orchestra of Scotland. He represented the City of Edinburgh by playing solo violin in the UK Holocaust Memorial concert.

Then he discovered jazz. He switched to playing the piano, set up a jazz quartet (Take 4) at school, with whom he has performed throughout Scotland and helped to launch a BBC youth initiative. Take 4received the School’s Director of Music’s discretionary Award for Musical Achievement.
Up until then, Alan was largely self-taught on the jazz piano. He then had the benefit of tuition from a number of leading pianists/composers who helped him develop and refine his technique and composing. A self-confessed obsessive jazz pianist by this time, Alan took every opportunity to play – with Tommy Smith’s Youth Jazz Orchestra, the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and his own jazz quintet. He also was a regular performer in Edinburgh’s Jazz Bar, which led to great opportunities to play gigs with the best jazz musicians around.

Being offered a scholarship to study jazz piano at Berklee was a dream come true. By this time, Alan was being noticed as a jazz pianist of huge potential and, unsurprisingly, he won the BBC Scotland Young Jazz Musician of the Year at the same time as being accepted by Berklee.

On arrival at Berklee Alan made history by being awarded the highest ‘rating’ of any Scot entering Berklee for more than 20 years.

As well as allowing him to be in some of Berklee’s top student ensembles, this also gave him the opportunity to study with Berklee’s premier piano teacher, JoAnne Brackeen. He writes,”I had been hoping that it might be possible to study with her later on in my studies if things went really well, so I’m over the moon to have it happen from the start.”

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Awards is supporting Alan’s studies at Berklee.

Since the Award

Alan spent four remarkable years at Berklee, getting straight ‘A’s’ for his studies, winning the 2009 Alex Ulanowski Award for outstanding composition, taking over the piano chair of the Berklee Rainbow All Stars ensemble and culminating in receiving the 2010-11 Billboard Award.

He graduated Summa Cum Laude in the summer of 2011. In his last semester, he represented Berklee with his quartet at the Monterey Next Generation Festival. He went on to the Rochester International Jazz Festival to perform with his trio as part of the ‘Made in the UK’ series. He also had time to play with a couple of jazz legends; in one of Hal Crook’s ensembles at Berklee and with Jerry Bergonzi on one of his latest projects.

Alan writes of his whole Berklee experience that “I’ve been able to get a taste of what it’s like to play with some of the best musicians out there….and thereby learn some important lessons that no classroom can give you.”

July 2015 – Alan and his trio released the acclaimed debut album ‘Traveler’s Tales’, inspired by Alan’s travels as a musician, the landscape of Scotland and his love of Japanese animation.

Alan Benzie performing ‘Glass’

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I believe it is really important to develop my own “voice” both compositionally and as a performer, and I would also love to be a voice for Scottish jazz on the international scene.

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