2007 Awardee: Caroline Sharp

Please convey my thanks to the trustees … This money has meant that I can give full attention to my studies in London this year without the worry of financial stress.

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

Biography

Caroline Sharp has lived in the North-East of Scotland all her life. She is already recognised as one of Scotland’s foremost young violinists.

Caroline’s ambition is to become a professional musician. She is equally proficient on the piano. Caroline has been offered places to study music by four of the country’s leading conservatoires, and has chosen to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London under Maurice Hasson.

Caroline is considered to be a young artist of exceptional merit, one who combines the innate natural talent to produce the most glorious violin sound with artistic temperament, technique and a flair to perform. Her teachers at the ACMS believe that under Maurice Hasson, Caroline has the opportunity to develop her potential fully and become one of the best violinists Scotland has produced.

Caroline started learning to play the violin at 7 and was accepted into the Aberdeen City Music School when she was 11. She has been part of both the National Children’s Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, the National Youth Orchestra String Ensemble, Camerata Scotland and is currently first violin with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help Caroline with the considerable expenses related to studying in a major city. In her first year at the Academy, Caroline writes that she learnt more than she possibly imagined she would. In her end of year performance, she achieved a staggering 90% and gained a Highly Commended in the John Waterhouse Prize.

During her second year Caroline joined the European Union Youth Orchestra and in 2009 toured Europe with Vladimir Ashkenazy and Andrew Litton. A highlight of Caroline’s third year was performing as a soloist in Glasgow and Blackheath, London. In 2010, she toured again with the EUYO playing in some of the most prestigious concert halls in Europe, including the Royal Albert Hall during the BBC Proms.

Since the Award

Caroline graduated with a degree of music performance from the Royal Academy of Music, gaining a first in her principal study, violin.  She is pursuing a career as a professional musician.

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Please convey my thanks to the trustees … This money has meant that I can give full attention to my studies in London this year without the worry of financial stress.

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2007 Awardee: Caroline Walker

I am looking forward to starting my MA course .. and I am sure it will help me develop my work and open up opportunities for my future career.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2007
AGE AT AWARD: 24
ARTFORMS:
 
 
 

Biography

It has been a long-held ambition of Glasgow School of Art graduate, Caroline Walker, to study painting in London. Brought up in Dunfermline, Caroline completed her first degree in 2004 and went on to work as a gallery assistant to support her painting practice. In 2007 she applied for, and won on her first application, a place on the highly-competitive MA Painting course at the Royal College of Art.

Since graduating from GSA, Caroline has exhibited widely across Scotland, the UK and abroad. In 2006 her work was selected for the highly prestigious John Moore 24 exhibition of painting at the Walker Gallery in Liverpool. She is remembered by her tutors as one of the best students to have come through the GSA in the last 10 years and was one of the most naturally talented painters in her year.

Whilst many students do well at art school and produce works of high quality, only few of them have that extra something which turns them into artists. Caroline is considered to possess those qualities of drive, determination and intelligence to enable her to become a Scottish painter of rare quality.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help towards the considerable expenses to pursue a 2-year Masters in Painting at the RCA.

Since the Award

At the end of her two years’ postgraduate study at RCA, Caroline received 3 awards: The Tom Bendhem Drawing Prize, The Neville Burston Award for a painting student and The Valerie Beston Young Artist Award which provides her with free studio space for a year.  All her paintings in the final show were purchased. Caroline writes, “I genuinely feel that my success at the degree show and the recognition my work has received is the result of having been able to fully commit to the course, which was enabled by the funding from the Dewar Arts Award.”

Caroline’s work was showcased as part of our Tenth Anniversary Celebrations. Find out more here.

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I am looking forward to starting my MA course .. and I am sure it will help me develop my work and open up opportunities for my future career.

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2007 Awardee: Catriona Price

Thank you very much! I’m really excited about the new bow ..I’m going to take my time [choosing it] to make sure I get something just right.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2007
AGE AT AWARD: 19
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Catriona is considered to be a musician of great energy and panache with the potential to become a leading player both in classical violin and traditional fiddle playing.

Born and bred in Orkney, Catriona started out learning traditional Scottish fiddle playing until her teacher persuaded her that classical music was just as ‘cool’. Now she excels in both styles. Catriona has had success in the BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year twice reaching the semi-final. She has already made her mark in composing much of her own material, drawing on her Orcadian roots.

Catriona spent her last two school years at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh before winning a scholarship to study violin at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester under Leland Chen. In 2006 she played in the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall as sub-principal second violin in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain under Sir Colin Davis.

How the Award Helped

Catriona owns a German-made violin and now needs a bow of equal quality to match it. The Dewar Arts Awards enabled Catriona to buy a high-quality violin bow.

Since the Award

After a long period of searching for the right bow, Catriona writes: “The difference in my playing since I got the bow has been tenfold .. The rate of my development and progress over the past year and a half has definitely been accelerated by the opportunity to play on such a fine bow and I am sure that it will comfortably see me through my career, able to help me face any challenge, musical or technical, that I may be given.”

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Thank you very much! I’m really excited about the new bow ..I’m going to take my time [choosing it] to make sure I get something just right.

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2007 Awardee: Charles Gallagher

I am extremely grateful for the fact Charles has been successful in his award. (Theresa Gallagher, mother)

YEAR OF AWARD: 2007
AGE AT AWARD: 13
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Glaswegian Charles Gallagher plays both fiddle and concertina. Having started out by playing Irish Traditional Music on the fiddle, a few year’s ago he was given a concertina on loan to try and since then he hasn’t looked back. After only six months of playing, he came third in the British Championships. At the age of 13, Charles is now the under 15 Scottish and British concertina champion and his tutor considers that he has potential to achieve so much more.

In 2003, Charles was a member of the under 12 Grupai Ceoil, part of the music society, Comhailtas, which brought back the All Ireland Championship cup for the first time in 47 years. As a result the group performed at a concert in Edinburgh hosted by Phil Cunningham and Ally McBain.

Charles oozes talent. He picks up tunes and technique very quickly, and his tutor struggles to find pieces that will continue to stretch and challenge him. Seemingly effortlessly, he shows a remarkable ability to pick up melodies by ear and come up with interesting arrangements for the school’s traditional music group to perform.

Charles is both technically outstanding and naturally musical, and demonstrates an affinity with the concertina rarely seen in one of his age.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award enables Charles to purchase a professional concertina of his own.

Since the Award

Since obtaining his own concertina, Charles has been successful in a number of championships. In 2009 he won the Glasgow Feis, came second at the All Scotland Fleadh and third in the All Britain Championships. His ceilidh band won the All Britain Championships.  He is currently teaching his younger sister to play the concertina.

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I am extremely grateful for the fact Charles has been successful in his award. (Theresa Gallagher, mother)

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2007 Awardee: Charlotte Mackechnie

Thank you so much for this award; each pound helps me get closer to the violin of my dreams (as corny as it sounds it is true!).

YEAR OF AWARD: 2007
AGE AT AWARD: 14
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Charlotte is passionate about music. Her first TV appearance was at the age of five when she sang a solo alongside Carol Smillie.

Charlotte began playing the violin at the age of eight and piano when she was ten. She is also a very promising singer and in 2007 became a member of the National Youth Choir of Scotland. In the same year Charlotte won the BBC Radio 2 Young Chorister of the Year competition.

Since 2004 she has been a student of the RSAMD, Glasgow Junior Academy where she is co-principal second violin of the First Orchestra. Since 2006 she has been part of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. She is also a member of the Junior Chorus of the RSNO, the Starlight Youth Music Theatre, the National Youth String Orchestra of Scotland and the West of Scotland Schools Symphony Orchestra.

Her ambition is to become a professional musician, and already Charlotte shows ability and potential above her years. Her dream is to buy a violin of the quality of the Benjamin Banks violin she has had on loan for some time.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award was given to contribute towards the purchase of the purchase of a professional standard violin.

Since the Award

Pooling her Dewar Arts Award with other scholarships and awards, Charlotte was able to buy a violin by 18th century maker, Benjamin Banks. Since then she gained ABRSM Grade 8 distinction and, amongst other achievements, was highly commended in the Nan Christie Memorial Cup for Strings Open Violin competition at RSAMD.

Charlotte has also begun composing and won the opportunity to compose a short chamber music work under the tutelage of John Maxwell Geddes. Her work was subsequently performed by the Paragon Ensemble in 2008.

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Thank you so much for this award; each pound helps me get closer to the violin of my dreams (as corny as it sounds it is true!).

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2007 Awardee: Cheryl Turner

I will use this opportunity to the best of my ability and I am so grateful to you all.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2007
AGE AT AWARD: 13
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Cheryl is the sixth generation of traditional musicians in her family, an unbroken lineage dating back to the early 1800’s in County Donegal in Ireland. She plays accordion and fiddle, as well as clàrsach, which she started to learn when she was 11. Initially she used a full-size school clàrsach which she shared with five other pupils. Once every three weeks she was able to take it home to practise.

Despite this major drawback, Cheryl has had success in the many Feis and Fleadhs she’s taken part in. In 2006 she won first place at the All Scotland and second at the All Britain in clàrsach. She won first at the Scottish and British Fleadhs in accordion, ceili band and Groupai Ceol for the under 12’s. Cheryl is a member of the East Renfrewshire folk group and is also a member of St Roch’s Ceili band of the Irish Minstrels, Comhaltas.

Coming from a musical family, Cheryl has been encouraged to play music from an early age and is a confident and pleasing performer. She has regular lessons with Gillian Fleetwood and attends workshops whenever she can to develop her musicianship.

In the current vibrant traditional music scene in Scotland, Cheryl stands out as one of Scotland’s bright young talents for her age. She is talented, dedicated and ambitious to be a musician.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will enable Cheryl to buy her own clàrsach.

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I will use this opportunity to the best of my ability and I am so grateful to you all.

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2007 Awardee: Christina Corfield

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the trustees. Their support is deeply appreciated.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2007
AGE AT AWARD: 26
ARTFORMS:
 
 
 

Biography

Bristol-born Christina Corfield moved to Glasgow to study art at the Glasgow School of Art. After graduation in 2003, she stayed on in Glasgow, attracted by the vibrant, challenging and active art scene in the city. At her degree show, Christina won the British Airways Glasgow Student Travel Award which allowed her to spend two weeks in Madrid visiting the Prado and other large museum collections.

Christina is now working as a freelance artist and dedicated to her practice as a visual artist. As a student she displayed the ability to question and critique her work and push it into new territory, both in relation to ideas and methods. Having developed her practice to become stronger and more diverse, now is the time for Christina to continue her studies to take her work to new levels of achievement.

Going abroad to pursue a Masters will help expand Christina’s horizons. She says that as a Briton in the USA, she will be helped to understand the cultural context of her work and become aware of broader issues in art-making and reception. Christina plans to return to Glasgow after completing her studies in San Francisco and help to establish new links between the two cities through exhibitions and residencies.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award supports Christina for the first year of study towards a Master of Fine Art at the San Francisco Art Institute.

Since the Award

During her first year, Christine had three exhibitions in the student galleries of the Art Institute and outside the Institute her work was screened at the ‘Evergold Gallery’ in San Francisco. Christina continues her studies towards a Master of Fine Art.

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I would like to take this opportunity to thank the trustees. Their support is deeply appreciated.

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2007 Awardee: Christina Knox

I am very excited to have had my nomination accepted … Thank you so much for the opportunity you’ve given me!

YEAR OF AWARD: 2007
AGE AT AWARD: 20
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Glasgow-born Christina Knox started to learn the violin at the age of six and has immersed herself in musical activities since then. She has performed with Scotland’s Children’s and Youth Orchestras, NYOS Futures and the prestigious Camerata Scotland, where she was leader on its summer tour in 2006. In 2001 she won a scholarship from the Glasgow Music Festival to attend a European Youth Summer Music Course, and two years’ running she won the St Mungo Trophy and the Grace Dick Memorial Prize for String Playing.

Christina is currently on a joint course at the University of Manchester and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester where she is achieving success. In her first and second years at College she won the Hargreaves Fund Prize for coming top of the year. Christina is particularly passionate about chamber music and regularly performs recitals in and around Manchester with her string quartet. Her long-term ambition is to become a top-flight performer in Scotland.

Christina has been playing with a bow which was bought a long time ago. In order to achieve her full potential she needs a professional bow to take her into her career.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award enabled Christina to purchase such a professional-quality violin bow.

Since the Award

Subsequently, Christina gained a first class degree from the University of Manchester and plans to pursue postgraduate study in performance. She has given solo recitals with the Telemann Ensemble in Glasgow and Millport, travelled to Norway with Camerata Scotland and studied for three months at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with the renowned Polish violinist, Wanda Wilkomirska. She performs regularly with her quartet, the Albion String Quartet.

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I am very excited to have had my nomination accepted … Thank you so much for the opportunity you’ve given me!

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2007 Awardee: Christopher Maxwell

I am extremely grateful to the trustees.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2007
AGE AT AWARD: 21
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Hailing from East Kilbride, Chris Maxwell is focussed on a career in the film industry behind the camera. His career goal is to become Director of Photography.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Awards enabled Christopher to attend short courses at the NFTVS, Beaconsfield.

Since the Award

Chris attended two short courses at NFTS: Camera Familiarisation and Shooting on HD. He writes that the course was excellent for the content, the equipment he was able to use and gain experience on and the expert tuition he received from top professionals.

After observing him on the courses, his tutor strongly encouraged Chris in his career ambition to become a cinematographer.

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I am extremely grateful to the trustees.

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2007 Awardee: Christopher Murray

I am delighted to accept the Dewar Arts Award.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2007
AGE AT AWARD: 23
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Hailing from Glenrothes, Chris Murray studied film and media at Stirling University. As a student he impressed as one of the best thinkers and practitioners about aspects of film-making, especially editing, of his year and demonstrated real creative potential.

From there Chris went on to volunteer for a year, under the auspices of Project Scotland, for Boxstar, the West Lothian Youth Theatre film and media facility. During that year Chris worked on 15 film productions, including So now you can vote!, a short film designed to encourage teenagers to use their vote, contracted by West Lothian Council.

While there, Boxstar staff say that “he developed an in house edit style for the organisation which has resulted in the quantity and quality of our film-making improving significantly.” This also had the beneficial effect of encouraging more young people to get involved in film-making as the quality of the end product improved.

Chris impressed Boxstar so much that they offered him a full-time job at the end of his year. His ambition is to become a top-class film editor, working within the emerging Scottish film industry.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award funds Chris to attend a short course on film editing at the Metropolitan Film School in London.

Since the Award

Christopher successfully completed the short course on film editing. He writes that technically he is much more proficient with the editing software than before he started the course, artistically his knowledge of film has been broadened and he is more focused on his future career ambitions.

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I am delighted to accept the Dewar Arts Award.

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