2006 Awardee: Madeleine Shaw

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the Dewar Arts Awards for their generous financial support of my professional development in music and opera.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2006
AGE AT AWARD: 28
ARTFORMS: , ,
 
 
 

Biography

After three years on a post-graduate programme at the RSAMD, Glasgow, Madeleine gained a place at the prestigious National Opera Studio in London in the face of extremely stiff competition. Madeleine is considered to be one of the most gifted mezzo sopranos of her generation.

She writes of her time at the studio, “It is a dream to be able to work with the coaches, directors and singers that the studio attracts.  I loved every second of my time there.”

Without her training at the Opera Studio, Madeleine says that she would never have had the opportunity of auditioning and going on to work for one of the UK’s leading opera companies.  She writes, “This is the perfect start to my professional singing career that will hopefully go on for many years to come.”

Madeleine is currently a member of the Young Singers Programme at the English National Opera.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Awards helped to fund Madeleine’s studies at the National Opera Studio, London, before launching her operatic career.

Since the Award

Madeleine moved on to become a member of the Young Singers Programme at the English National Opera.

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I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the Dewar Arts Awards for their generous financial support of my professional development in music and opera.

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2006 Awardee: Malcolm Cruickshank

It has been really lovely that ‘unknown’ people in the field of the arts have recognised my worth and been prepared to put their faith in my abilities

YEAR OF AWARD: 2006
AGE AT AWARD: 23
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Malcolm Cruickshank is a graduate of Cumbria Institute of the Arts and his ambition is to develop a successful career in the applied arts.

Born and brought up in Edinburgh, Malcolm is an innovative designer and maker. He excels at combining the unusual and unconventional to create well designed objects that function.

These objects have ranged from ‘wearable art’ to lighting and seating and incorporate embroidery, weave, felt, rubber and ‘found materials’. He is particularly ingenious at seeing the potential in recycled materials.
Since a young boy, Malcolm has been fascinated by the whole process of craft making and impressed craft workers whom he spent time observing with his passion and raw creativity.

One of the solo exhibitions which Malcolm was offered in 2006, titled ‘Haute Kilture’ to present a range of alternative kilts and accessories, was supported by an Award.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Awards contributed towards the costs of Malcolm’s 2006 Jedburgh exhibition ‘Haute Kilture’.

Before the exhibition opened, Malcolm was offered a six-month appointment by Midlothian as a schools’ Artist in Residence. He writes, “I have no doubt that [this award] must have been at least a contributing factor to their final decision.”

Since the Award

After the exhibition, Malcolm was approached by a London gallery who wished to mount his exhibition during London Fashion Week in March 2007. In March 2008 he received the Morton Fraser Award from Visual Arts Scotland.

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It has been really lovely that ‘unknown’ people in the field of the arts have recognised my worth and been prepared to put their faith in my abilities

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2006 Awardee: Michael O’Donnell

I was really struck by [Donald Dewar’s] kind nature and passion for politics and it is a real pleasure to accept an award in his name

YEAR OF AWARD: 2006
AGE AT AWARD: 21
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Michael O’Donnell is, in the opinion of his RCM tutor, one of the finest oboists of his generation who brings a generosity of spirit in all he does. While at the RCM, Michael won the Knights of the Round Table Prize and the Chamber Music Prize.

He has been principal oboe and cor anglais of the National Youth Orchestras of both Scotland and Great Britain and principal oboe of Camerata Scotland. At the end of his third year at RCM, he was awarded the highest mark of any student in his year for his end of year recital. He graduated in 2006 with the top mark in the woodwind faculty and with a first-class honours degree.

Michael was brought up in Scone, Perthshire. His musical ambition is to develop a career in chamber music and orchestral playing. He gained a scholarship to study on the RCM Integrated Masters course (MMus).

Michael is very interested in the Suzuki teaching method and, in addition to his playing, aims to develop the application to oboe teaching.

How the Award Helped

Michael met Donald Dewar in 1997 and then later during the campaign for the devolution of the Scottish Parliament. If he hadn’t gone on to study music, he says he would have gone into politics.

The Dewar Arts Award will help finance Michael through his MMus course.

Since the Award

Michael graduated from the RCM in 2008 with an MMus, Distinction. In late 2010 he was offered the post of 2nd oboe and cor anglais in the Northern Sinfonia and also the post of 2nd oboe in the Irish Chamber Orchestra. Michael writes that he still can’t believe he’s playing in some of the major concert halls of the world. “Growing up in a small village in Scotland, I had no idea my career would allow me to see so much of the world so quickly.”

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I was really struck by [Donald Dewar’s] kind nature and passion for politics and it is a real pleasure to accept an award in his name

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2006 Awardee: Murdo Macrae

I would like to express how grateful I am to the Dewar Arts Awards. Thank you very much for your generosity, it will be a great help!

YEAR OF AWARD: 2006
AGE AT AWARD: 15
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Murdo is currently a pupil at the City of Edinburgh Music School, where he plays clàrsach, piano and pedal harp. He is from the small West Highland village of Nostie in Lochalsh and took up the clàrsach while in primary school in Plockton.  He is a former student of renowned harpist, Savourna Stevenson, and a current pupil of Charlotte Petersen.

Not having a harp of his own made it increasingly difficult for Murdo to practise regularly and make good progress. Despite this, he made an effortless transition from the clàrsach to its larger relative, and in a short space of time Murdo progressed very quickly to achieve outstanding results in his exams. An illustration of his potential and dedication to succeed in a musical career.

Murdo has a passion for his native Scottish culture. He has an outstanding vocal talent, which together with his clàrsach playing have won him 26 gold medals at local and national Mods.

He played at the Skye Festival and the book launch of ‘One City’ and at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival 2006 took part in a public master class with Edward Witsenburg.

Murdo’s ambition is to study pedal harp at music college and develop his interest in composition and orchestration.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Awards helped Murdo buy a Salvi Aurora pedal harp.

Since the Award

Since getting his new harp, Murdo has had much success in clarsach and harp competitions in the Edinburgh Performance Festival in 2007-08.  He also performed solo harp at the National Showcase of Excellence of the Scottish music schools. In 2009 Murdo plans to go on to study harp at the Guildhall School of Music on a scholarship.

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I would like to express how grateful I am to the Dewar Arts Awards. Thank you very much for your generosity, it will be a great help!

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2006 Awardee: Peter Murch

[Having my own instruments] will make a huge difference to my studies at RSAMD and any future career.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2006
AGE AT AWARD: 18
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Percussionist Peter Murch comes from a family of strong musicians. Brought up in Aberfeldy in Perthshire, Peter has been part of the RSAMD YouthWorks programme for the past two years and has now embarked on full-time undergraduate study also at RSAMD.

Despite never having owned his own percussion instruments, but having to borrow ones from school, Peter has worked very hard to turn his talent into promise and potential. His percussion tutor on YouthWorks ranks him as one of the most gifted students to have come through the programme.

As well as revelling in one-to-one tuition from percussion legends at the RSAMD, Peter plays in a couple of bands in his spare time, which have treated audiences to performances of musicality and ‘joie de vivre’.

Now that Peter, aged 18, is studying full-time it is essential that he has his own set of percussion instruments.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will enable him to buy various instruments, such as timpani, drum kit and marimba.

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[Having my own instruments] will make a huge difference to my studies at RSAMD and any future career.

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2006 Awardee: Richard Foley

I would like to thank you for this support.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2006
AGE AT AWARD: 21
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Richard Foley, 21, is still an undergraduate at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee studying gallery textiles.

Richard, from Broughty Ferry, is working to mount an exhibition for and in the wider Dundee community. The underlying purpose is to promote contemporary art in Dundee and to encourage the ubiquitious ‘man in the street’ to engage with contemporary art. The exhibition will be mounted in one of Dundee unused properties in 2007. Richard will create large textile prints, based on drawings by the community, which will become individual art pieces to be displayed around the space.

Richard is considered to be one of the most individual, creative and committed students. His thought processes are highly creative and unusual and it is no doubt that he will become a creative force in the future.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will fund the preparation and mounting of the exhibition.

Since the Award

Richard writes that the project helped him in a number of ways, not least by giving him ideas about his future career choices. The experience Richard gained by curating the community project inspired him to apply for a work placement at the V&A Fashion, Textile and Furniture Deparment. He went on to volunteer in Iceland’s Living Art Museum, an artist-led organisation.

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I would like to thank you for this support.

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2006 Awardee: Roberta Burn

My harp is so important to me. I spend most of my time when I’m not in school playing it, it’s like a companion

YEAR OF AWARD: 2006
AGE AT AWARD: 11
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Roberta comes from a family of dedicated young musicians who between them play harp, piano, euphonium, Northumbrian smallpipes, piano accordion, trumpet and clarinet. Roberta, the youngest, aspires to become a concert harpist.

Currently, she is a pupil at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh which has overseen the early musical education of many of Scotland’s finest musicians. When she auditioned for St Mary’s she impressed the adjudicators with her sense of poetry and magic, as well as technical ability. Roberta stood out as being one of the most talented harpists of her age.

From Berwick on Tweed, Roberta lives and breathes the harp. Her current teacher has seen her make enormous progress in her musicality and technique, the result of a great deal of time and effort spent in improving her technique.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Awards helped to buy Roberta a performance standard harp.

Since the Award

Roberta writes that having a new pedal harp has opened up ‘many fantastic opportunities’. Shortly afterwards she passed Grade 7 on pedal harp with distinction, took a master class with internationally-renowned harpist, Isabelle Perrin, and was accepted into the National Children’s Orchestra of Scotland. In 2008 Roberta became the Berwick Rotary Classical Musician of the year.

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My harp is so important to me. I spend most of my time when I’m not in school playing it, it’s like a companion

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2006 Awardee: Roisin Hughes

YEAR OF AWARD: 2006
AGE AT AWARD: 17
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Roisin Anne Hughes is an extremely talented multi instrumentalist, who can perform to a very high standard on fiddle/violin, flute, whistle, accordion, mandola and mouth organ. She’s also a cracking singer.

Still only 17, Roisin has enjoyed an almost intimidating level of success in championships, including in fiddle, Scottish Champion eight times and British Champion once, and in mouth organ, British Champion seven times. Not surprisingly, Roisin has performed at Celtic Connections, as well as at many other Scottish and Irish traditional music showcases, with one of the bands she regularly plays with, ‘La’.

Roisin’s interest in both Scottish and Irish traditional music stems from her background. Her mother is Irish, and her father’s family have a long tradition with Clyde shipbuilding, near where Roisin was brought up. As well as being an exponent of traditional music, Roisin started playing classical violin at the age of 9. It shows character and talent to master both techniques well, and by fifth year, Roisin became leader of the Glasgow Schools Symphony Orchestra.

For some time, Roisin has wanted to have a performance standard fiddle. She had her eye on a George Duncan fiddle, but had competition from a fiddle collector who spied it for his show cabinet. George Duncan was a Glasgow fiddle-maker who won gold medals for his fiddle-making – he and Roisin have a lot in common.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award provided the money for Roisin to buy the George Duncan fiddle, to release it to be played rather than sit on a shelf and gather dust.

Since the Award

Roisin has had a great deal of success with her new fiddle. In 2007 and 2009 she reached the All-Ireland finals in the Comhaltas competitions. Her band Yuptae has also enjoyed success, playing at the Danny Kyle Open Stage as part of the Celtic Connections and reaching the semi-finals of the Live and Unsigned UK in Newcastle.

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2006 Awardee: Rowan Bell

I am absolutely delighted with your offer... this is more generous than I could ever have hoped for and puts a suitable instrument well within my reach

YEAR OF AWARD: 2006
AGE AT AWARD: 20
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Rowan is a natural musician who can communicate with his audience and convey his passion for the music he’s playing, says his violin tutor at the Royal College of Music, London, where he’s an undergraduate.

Rowan, from Peebles, is currently leader of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and also plays with Camerata Scotland.

In 2005 Rowan won the Kingston-upon-Thames Young Musician of the Year competition as a solo in the concerto class and also as the overall instrumental winner.

He is regularly invited to play solo recitals and to perform with his quartet.

His goal is to become a professional solo performer and for that he needs a good quality violin to match his immense talent and musicality.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Awards will go towards a performance quality violin for Rowan.

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I am absolutely delighted with your offer... this is more generous than I could ever have hoped for and puts a suitable instrument well within my reach

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2006 Awardee: Ruairidh Stewart

Thank you very much for awarding me the money … I will certainly keep in contact with you on how my creative work is progressing

YEAR OF AWARD: 2006
AGE AT AWARD: 17
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Ruairidh, a former pupil of Aberdeen City Music School, started playing drums when he was 12.

His passion and talent for the instrument have helped him excel. In 2006 he achieved Grade 8 drum kit with distinction and gained a place on the degree course at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford.

Ruairidh’s musicianship, great potential and his positive attitude will help him to flourish in such an environment.

Ruairidh, from Newmachar, is also a very thoughtful young man. He needs a drum kit so that he can practise at home, but he recognises that he won’t endear himself to the neighbours if he uses his old acoustic kit. Having a portable, electronic drum kit will be easy to transport and quiet.

But more importantly, he explains, “it will make the task of creating fresh new sounds and music a lot easier as the amount of sounds and effects you can achieve is amazing.”

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Awards enabled Ruairidh to buy a compact, electronic drum kit (which is also quiet).

Since the Award

Ross writes that being able to buy a Roland TD-12 has had a huge impact on his career. Apart from being able to practice whenever he wants, and without disturbing the neighbours, which has helped him to gain top grades, it has helped in other ways. He has improved his drumming technique and is able to produce drum and bass tracks which he can record onto the drumkit and later edit. All this is helping Ruairidh to achieve his career ambitions in the music industry.

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Thank you very much for awarding me the money … I will certainly keep in contact with you on how my creative work is progressing

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