Biography

Raised in Buckie, around the coast from Aberdeen, Ryan grew up surrounded by Strathspey’s rich folk music scene. He went on to study piano at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with Nadia Boulanger alumnus Norman Beedie, before moving to London. Here he spent a couple of years in high demand as a music director and session player, before studying for a Master’s degree in composition and arranging at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

As a pianist and keyboard player, Ryan’s concert work has included such celebrated productions as BBC Children in Need, Time Flies: 100 Years of the RAF, the West End Does series, and the RSNO’s annual St. Andrews Night celebrations.

His musical theatre credits include Les Misérables (International Tour), Guys and Dolls (Savoy Theatre & UK Tour), West Side Story (International Tour), Mary Poppins (International Tour), and a workshop of Starlight Express with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Arlene Phillips. And as an arranger and orchestrator, he has written for some of the country’s most prolific ensembles, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award has enabled Ryan to continue his piano studies at Masters Degree level.

Biography

Jacqueline Wheeler is a multi-instrumentalist from Lanarkshire. Growing up in a musical family, Jacqueline began taking guitar lessons at an early age, later progressing onto other instruments including the bass guitar and piano when in her early teens. Discovering a strong affinity to jazz piano, at the age of 16 she began studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Junior Department where she had the opportunity to study with outstanding jazz musicians such as Paul Towndrow, Tom Gibbs, Pete Johnston, and John Lowery. Her studies here enhanced her musicianship and confidence through participation in piano lessons, jazz ensembles, big band, jazz harmony classes, composition, and regular public performances.

As well as regularly performing and jamming with other like-minded young jazz musicians, Jacqueline takes her performance skills and musicianship outside of jazz genre. She plays regular rock and pop gigs for large audiences, including North Lanarkshire’s prestigious ‘Rockfest’ competition in Motherwell Concert Hall, where she received an award for ‘Best Individual Performance’ in 2020.

Jacqueline has a strong interest in other genres outside of jazz, especially R&B, hip-hop, soul, and house. She takes influence from these genres and incorporates them into her own music. Her hard work, talent and passion for music paid off in 2020 when she was offered a place to study jazz piano at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London. Jacqueline had dreamed of studying at this world class institution, to equip her with the skills and connections to guide her in her musical development and into the world of professional music.

Jacqueline hopes to inspire the next generation of musicians through her work and her journey to success.  She is a keen composer and music-producer and hopes to release her own original music.

How the Award Helped

Jacqueline’s Dewar Arts Award enabled her to study jazz piano at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance in London.

Biography

Born on the Isle of Arran, Iain is a critically-acclaimed classical pianist.

After making his concerto debut aged 16 with the Junior RCS Symphony Orchestra, he went on to gain his ATCL diploma in piano with distinction aged 17 and since then has achieved Grade 8 saxophone and clarinet with distinction.

He has won a great number of prizes including 1st prize in the Moray Piano Competition, 1st prize in the National (UK and Ireland) final of the Rotary Young Musician, 1st prize in the RCS’s Dunbar Gerber chamber music competition, 1st in the Lamond Prize solo piano competition, and 2nd prize in the RCS Walcer Prize for Chopin piano solo.

In 2019 he performed his international recital debut at Kaunas Piano Fest in Lithuania. He also gained his Bachelor’s degree from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) with First Class Honours, studying with Jonathan Plowright and Heather Slade-Lipkin, with additional tuition from the likes of Olga Kern and Steven Osborne.

Iain went on to gain a place to study on the Master of Performance course at the Royal College of Music in London.

He has performed extensively across the UK in venues including Barbican Hall, Wigmore Hall, Usher Hall and Glasgow City Halls. He has aspirations to make a career as a soloist or collaborative pianist working with orchestras and instrumental soloists.

How the Award Helped

Iain’s Award supported his studies at the Royal College of Music in London.

Biography

Melek Ipek was born in Ankara, Turkey, in 2014. She grew up in a musical environment – her mother graduated from a music conservatoire and her grandfather is a musicianship manager.  Melek took her first music and rhythm classes from her family members.

When Melek was four, she began taking piano lessons.  Through this, her piano teacher discovered she had exceptional musical ability. She could easily understand rhythms and notes and proved herself to be a quick learner. Melek is very talented and enthusiastic about the piano and is ever growing in her abilities.

After her family moved to Scotland, Melek Ipek started school in Haghill Park Primary. She began learning the piano under her the tutelage of Ms Alina Horvath at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Early Years Music Department. At the beginning of the 2019/2020 term, she also began attending musicianship classes at the Conservatoire.

According to her lecturer, Alina; “Melek is not only able to communicate and express herself effectively in her second language English after a few months but also the language of music. She has a great understanding of musical pitch and rhythm, and she uses her knowledge efficiently in practice.

She has highly developed motoric skills with great muscular hands supporting her sensitive control over the keyboard. Her coordination skills are excellent, enabling her to put hands together easier than most of the other children at her age. Her concentration is exceedingly good, and she is confident in her performance and presence in lessons. She is not only picking up new materials rapidly on the piano, but also has a wonderful clear voice and she loves singing along with the music.

In addition to Melek’s musical qualities, she also has a positive and open personality, she is a fantastic listener and responds creatively to my ideas and suggestions. She is a self-motivated and enthusiastic child, and she is a student with high musical potential who will be able to take her talents to the next level with the support of Dewar Awards”

Melek Ipek has great promise as a pianist and aims to become a very successful musician who encourages others to get into music.

How the Award Helped

Biography

Born in Romania, Daniel began to take piano lessons when he was 8 and played his first concert aged 9. At that point he decided that performing was his ‘in his blood’ and it became his dream to play professionally. Daniel began taking part in bigger competitions such as Romania Music Olympics, in which he achieved First Place.

When he was 13, Daniel moved to Scotland and started working with Peter Evans. He was given the chance to perform Prokofiev’s 1st Piano Concerto with an orchestra, and this opened doors to him.  This included an invitation to play Gershwin’s Concerto in F with the Edinburgh Symphony Orchestra in May 2020.

Daniel’s goal is to become a well-known performer, and an inspiration to others. He wants to show that everyone is capable of following their dreams and that anything is possible with hard work.

How the Award Helped

Since the Award

Biography

Mairi Grewar is a pianist from St Andrews, who specialises in song accompaniment.

Mairi gained an undergraduate degree in Piano Performance, Cum Laude from Central Washington University.  During her time at CWU, Mairi served as accompanist for the Chamber Choir and repetiteur for CWU Opera Scenes concerts, including works from Pucinni’s La Bohème and Bizet’s Carmen.

Mairi has performed a wide range of repertoire, including piano solo works as well as extensive vocal and instrumental accompaniment. She has acted as Associate Accompanist for the University of St Andrews Music Department, as repetiteur for the Byre Opera, and as a teaching assistant for several music module classes.  She has played for regular concerts, choral engagements and chamber groups, and has recorded a selection of Messiaen’s vocal and chamber works for the University of St Andrews record label, Sanctiandree.

After CWU, Mairi went on to study the two year Guildhall Artist Masters Programme in Piano Accompaniment at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.  There she played in recitals and masterclasses across London, performing at the Barbican, St John’s Smith Square and Milton Court Concert Hall. She performed in masterclasses for numerous notable musicians and as part of the LSO Guildhall Artist Platforms. She graduated in 2017 with distinction.

Mairi gained the opportunity to further her studies on the prestigious Artist Diploma in Repetiteur Studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Opera School.

How the Award Helped