Biography

Raised in Lenzie, Calum began studying music at the RSAMD Junior Academy where he was noticed as someone of talent and innate musicality. He went on to study marimba and percussion at RSAMD from where he graduated with a first-class degree.

During his undergraduate years, he won the Governor’s percussion competition in his second year which resulted in recording a solo in the BBC’s “Classics Unwrapped” series. He also spent a year as guest student at the Mannheim Musikhochschule studying solo and chamber music under the direction of Jasmin Kohlberg and Dennis Kuhn.

Calum regularly participates in international competitions and was the only percussionist to reach the semi-finals of the 2011 Royal Overseas League Competition.

Calum was accepted onto the MMus in solo and chamber music course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly RSAMD). He is aiming to build a solo career as a marimbist/percussionist.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award supported Calum in studying his masters course in solo and chamber music.

Since the Award

2012

Calum’s passion and commitment has allowed him to perform solo debuts within the major concert houses across the United Kingdom and Germany. He has performed with orchestras such as BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Ensemble, Scottish Opera and Mannheim National Theatre.  He has recently made his international debut as guest principal with Jyvaskyla Sinfonietta in Finland and has performed for Royalty with Flercussion in Abu Dhabi.

As well as being a first class performer, Calum’s passion lies in cross-arts collaborations and teaching.  He is now an active and sought after percussion tutor and workshop leader throughout the UK, a musical and artistic director for several of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Summer Schools and is an accompanist for contemporary dance and theatre.

Reviews:

Glasgow Concert Hall Concert, Guardian Review July 2012
Edinburgh Queen’s Hall Concert, Times Review June 2012
Glasgow Concert Hall Concert, Guardian Review February 2012
Edinburgh Queen’s Hall Concert, Times Review February 2012

2021

In 2020, Calum signed to award-winning record label, Delphian.  He released his debut album in 2021 – American Music for Marimba.

Biography

Glasgow born and raised, Michael has performed with a variety of orchestras, including the BBC Merchant Sinfonia, NYOS, the National Youth Wind Ensemble of Scotland and Strathclyde University Orchestra. He studied with Heather Corbett under the Continuing Education Course at RSAMD.

Before leaving Springburn Academy in 2009, Michael completed the Associated Board exams achieving grade 8 with distinction in percussion, grade 4 in guitar and grade 7 with merit in piano. He was successful in gaining a place at the Royal Northern College of Music to study for a degree in music.

Michael’s goal is to become a professional musician.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Award will help towards the tuition, maintenance and other costs while he’s studying at RNCM.

After a successful first year at the Royal Northern College of Music, the trustees were pleased to extend their support of Michael into his second year.

Biography

Jack started playing percussion at the age of 15 and made remarkable progress in a short space of time. For the last two years of his schooling, he studied percussion at the Aberdeen City Music School where he had a master class with Evelyn Glennie.

At the age of 16, Jack joined the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, which is a rare distinction. In 2008 he performed with NYO in the Roundhouse, London, Leeds Town Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall, the Sage Gateshead, Snape Maltings and the London Barbican under Vasily Petrenko. He also played at the Royal Albert Hall under Anatoly Papanov as part of the BBC Proms.

Jack is also a member of the Aberdeen Youth Orchestra, the Grampian Youth Orchestra and the Aberdeen Sinfonietta. In 2008 he won the 18 and under percussion and snare drum classes in the North East of Scotland Music Festival and was runner up in the Ishoka Young Musician of the Year competition.

Jack’s ambition is to become a solo percussionist.  His teachers feel that he has the winning combination of huge talent and hard work to get him to the top of his profession.

How the Award Helped

Jack was offered a place to study percussion by a number of UK Conservatoires and chose to take up a place at the Royal College of Music in London. The Dewar Arts Award will help to cover the substantial expenses to study in London. His award has been extended for a second year, and subsequently for a third.

Since the Award

Biography

Adam is one of the many talented former pupils of the City of Edinburgh Music School at Broughton supported by an Award.

In 2003 he won the John Macleod award for composition at the Edinburgh Competition Festival. In 2004 he reached the percussion finals of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition and in the same year went on to win the Traves Trophy for a half-hour recital, open to all instruments.

He is currently studying music at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he won an entrance scholarship. For three years Adam has performed in the resident orchestra at the MusicaRiva Festival in Northern Italy, with members of La Scala, Milan. He is also a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, their contemporary music ensemble NYOS Futures and Camerata Scotland.

As well as being an accomplished orchestral percussionist already, Adam’s real passion is for solo percussion.

Adam is considered to be a gifted, thoughtful and original musician who has the potential to reach the top of his field.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award is helping towards Adam’s considerable maintenance expenses whilst a student in London.

Since the Award

Adam completed his undergraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music with first-class honours. Adam’s final year was packed with ‘great and new experiences’, during which he performed his first professional solo recital in London.

At the end of the year, Adam was awarded the Meaker Fellowship by the Academy which involves various responsibilities within the percussion department. Adam’s tutors describe him as ‘talented and outstanding’ and view his undergraduate years as ‘a total success story’.

10/11/13 – Adam performs with composer Steve Reich. Further details here.

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

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

Biography

Steven started playing pipe band snare drum at the age of eight. Currently a student of the renowned Jim Kilpatrick at the RSAMD, Glasgow, Steven played snare drum at the world championships in the Shotts and Dykehead pipe band drum corps, led by Kilpatrick.

A Pipe Major of the world champions considers Steven to have achieved a standard of performance equal to the best in the piping and drumming world. In particular, he commented that Steven’s “flair for technical and musical performance is rarely seen in young percussionists of his generation.”

Steven intends to go on to a professional career in music.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Awards will enable Steven to buy a new snare drum.

Since the Award

Having his own snare drum enabled Steven to practise whenever he wanted to, consequently he graduated with a first in Scottish Traditional Music from RSAMD, one of only three students to achieve this. His own drum also opened up other performance and competition opportunities. Most notably he performed with the SOS Allstars Ensemble at the Live Earth concert in 2007. This ensemble included some of the best percussionists in the world. With the Shotts and Dykehead Pipe Band he won second prize in the Scottish Pipe Bank championships.