Biography

Originally from Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Emma became interested in music at an early age, and began learning the bassoon in school. Keen to take it further, she moved to Glasgow to study at the Music School of Douglas Academy for her final years of school.

Here she found many opportunities and was able to meet and play with lots of other likeminded young musicians. She had the opportunity to play with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain for two years and with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland as Principal bassoon.

Emma gained a scholarship to study on the undergraduate performance programme at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Here she identified the need to purchase her own bassoon, in order to develop as a musician and play professionally.

How the Award Helped

Biography

Jamie took up bassoon whilst at primary school in the southside of Glasgow, and very quickly showed a real aptitude for this complex wind instrument. Within a few short months he sat his grade 2 exam, passed with a high distinction and gained a place to study at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Junior School of Music.

Jamie has an impressive and ever-growing list of achievements. He secured seats with the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain (Under 12) as well as the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland (Junior Orchestra). At Glasgow Music Festival, he won the Hopkinson Award for most promising performer of primary school age, and won the regional trophy at the Robert Burns World Federation Schools Competition.

Jamie is a conscientious and focused learner, whose love of music and the bassoon will ensure his continued success.  He is developing his own sense of style on both the bassoon and the piano, and has ambitions to play in world class orchestras.

How the Award Helped

Jamie’s Dewar Award has enabled him to invest in an instrument and his studies.  This has allowed him to access a number of experiences that his family would not otherwise have been able to afford. He has participated in residential weeks, concert performances and additional studies, building up a repertoire that will stand him in good stead for the future.

Biography

Hannah grew up on a farm on the west coast of Scotland, before moving to Glasgow to study music at the Conservatoire.  A passionate bassoon player, Hannah took every opportunity whilst in Glasgow to play in symphony, chamber and opera orchestras. She went on to gain a coveted place on a masters course at the Royal Academy of Music.

Hannah’s main passion is opera, and she has worked with the Scottish Opera on a production of The Cunning Little Vixen.  She has also developed a strong aptitude for teaching and has been involved in education projects in Scotland and in England, with the English Touring Opera and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.  Hannah also completed a summer of teaching in the the Himalayas, Northern India, for the charity Kinship.

Whilst in the first year of her masters studies, Hannah suffered a family bereavement.  This made the second year a challenging time for her personally and financially.  In spite of this, Hannah remained dedicated to her studies and her education projects, and continued to flourish as a musician.

How the Award Helped

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

Biography

Scottish student Anna Mary Lynch is currently studying bassoon at Glasgow’s RSAMD. Already Anna Mary plays regularly in RSAMD symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles and for NYOS, and has the ambition to become an orchestra player.

Anna Mary’s commitment and talent have seen her do well in her studies so far and recently she won an apprenticeship with the RSNO which enables her to sit in rehearsals with the orchestra. However, in common with many students, her instrument was bought while she was still at school and is no longer of sufficient quality to enable her to reach her full potential as a musician.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Awards made a contribution towards the purchase of a new bassoon.

Since the Award

Biography

At an early age Connor developed a great love for music. He’s been playing the piano for five years and the bassoon for four and has progressed rapidly on both instruments, well ahead of his contemporaries.
As well as being technically advanced, Connor has impressed his teacher with his extreme musicality and musical maturity and sensitivity, which is unusual in someone of his young age.

Connor plays in four bands, including West Lothian’s School Wind Ensemble, and has recently joined the Boghall and Bathgate Caledonian Pipe Band to learn to play the bagpipes.

Currently in the junior department of the RSAMD, Connor’s goal is to take a music degree at the RSAMD. He plays in the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland.

How the Award Helped

Recently his teacher pointed out that his current bassoon had passed its best and was actively holding him back from progressing further. The Dewar Arts Award enabled Connor to buy a performance standard bassoon.

Since the Award

Biography

From Eaglesham in Glasgow, Gillian Horn started playing bassoon three years ago when she was 10. From the start she impressed as a natural musician with an affinity with the bassoon.

She has been playing with an inferior instrument on loan from the local authority. In fact, it has astounded her teachers that her playing has been so good on such a poor instrument. Gillian is a member of the National Children’s Orchestra of Scotland, sometimes playing principal bassoon, and has now been accepted onto the RSAMD YouthWorks, a programme for talented young musicians. She also plays in school and local authority bands, in fact, whenever she has the opportunity.

At age 13, it is uncertain whether Gillian will progress to become a professional musician. However, at this stage she certainly has the potential in her technique and style of performance to become one.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award helped towards the purchase of a good quality bassoon for Gillian.

Since the Award

Biography

For the past two years, Graeme, from Windygates in Fife, has been a student on the RSAMD YouthWorks programme and is now studying for a degree in music also at RSAMD, Glasgow.

Thanks to a commitment and discipline rarely seen in an eighteen-year-old, Graeme has made enormous progress in playing the bassoon and he now shows great potential to become a bassoonist of note. One of his recent performances was of a concerto for bassoon and trumpet with John Wallace, principal of RSAMD, on trumpet.

In preparation for his musical studies, Graeme has been raising finances to buy a performance standard bassoon.

How the Award Helped

Biography

Born and brought up in Edinburgh, Fraser is, according to all who have taught him, a natural musician with the innate musicality and talent to become a professional musician.

Currently studying bassoon at the RSAMD in Glasgow, Fraser is expected to progress onto a successful career in chamber and orchestral music. However, the other side of the coin to musical talent is having an instrument to match.

Like many Daughter of Dewar recipients, Fraser had outgrown his student model of bassoon. It was all the more remarkable that he continued to produce a “beautiful and well-projected sound” from an instrument that had seen far better days.

As Fraser said himself, his old bassoon had been “useful for me to achieve the standard I have reached, but it no longer will be able to cater for my musical and technical needs if I am to fulfil my ambitions.”

How the Award Helped

Fraser received a Daughter of Dewar Award towards a new high-quality bassoon. In 2007, Fraser received a second award to buy a contrabassoon

Since the Award

After graduating from RSAMD with a first class honours and later with a postgraduate diploma in performance with distinction, and carrying off the Peter Morrison prize for overall excellence, Fraser was invited to join the ‘Emergent Leader’ Programme at RSAMD, newly-established by principal, John Wallace. During his time on the programme, he established a senior wind ensemble, called the RSAMD Stevenson Winds, to perform chamber works at the highest level outside the Academy.

In 2011, Fraser was appointed to the position of Principal Contrabassoon with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.