News

Near the end of December last year, musician and former Purcell student Alex Ross sadly passed away. Over the past few months, students and staff, all of whom were extremely fond of Alex, have been coming together to remember the kind, loving and talented young musician that he was. Alex was a keen footballer and…

Welcome to the last January edition of Purcell’s Weekly Highlights!   English National Ballet Recording Current Purcell student Chelsea Becker has been invited to play oboe with musicians from the English National Ballet as part of a collaboration ‘2019 Dance Journeys’ between ENB and the Royal College of Music to produce a recording which will…

Welcome to the latest edition of Purcell’s Weekly Highlights!   MILTON COURT SHOWCASE On Sunday, five of our students; Brian Luo, Alexandra Peel, Elissa Street, Cherry Ge and Chea Woom Lee gave spectacular recitals at the lovely Milton Court Concert Hall. With the help of Musicarta and BMP The Sound Recording Company we were able…

On Tuesday 27th November, The Purcell School hosted its annual Fundraising Gala at Drapers’ Hall; an evening of fine dining and wonderful music to raise vital funds for the School. The evening featured performances from Purcell students, a silent auction, a raffle and speeches from Principal Paul Bambrough, current student Gayatri Nair and alumnus Andrew…

Purcell alumna Alexandra Ridout has been awarded the Rising Star Award at the 2018 BBC British Jazz Awards. The Rising Star Award is given to the best up and coming musician under 25. An incredible 5,500 people voted in this year’s British Jazz Awards and as these are the only awards that the take the…

Recent Purcell graduate, Seth Tackaberry has been listed as a finalist in the BBC Young Jazz Musician 2018 Competition. This year the final is hosted as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival and will be held at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. The event is supported by the Associated Board of the Royal…

The Delegates are a popular soul band that formed here at The Purcell School for Young Musicians and have since gained a large following and have reached over 30,000 views online. Led by Drummer and Arranger Sam Every, the core band consists of some of the brightest young stars on the UK jazz scene, including…

We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Oliver Knussen. A treasured alumnus, composer and conductor, Oliver was one of the leading and most generous musicians of our time, who will be missed enormously. Born in Glasgow in 1952, Oliver’s musical talent was evident from a young age. His father was principal double…

Today, 29th March 2018, marks the centenary of Rosemary Rapaport’s birth. Rosemary Rapaport was a gifted violinist whose talent for teaching was such that in 1962 she co-founded a specialist school for young musicians with her friend, Irene Forster. She felt that the education system was not providing children of exceptional musical talent with the…

We were shocked to hear of Rohan Stewart-MacDonald’s tragic death in a road accident on 13th December 2017 at the age of 42. A Purcell student when the School was in Harrow, Rohan was an outstanding musician and academic, leaving in 1993 with top grades in A Level Music, German and English to go on…