News

On 6th August 2017, alumnus Kerem Hasan became the recipient of the Nestle and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award 2017. The world-wide competition, which is in it’s eighth year, aims to discover young conducting talent and offers the winner both an important financial contribution towards their career and the opportunity to conduct the Festival concert…

It is with the deepest of sympathy that we pay tribute to alumnus James Redfern who sadly passed away earlier this month. James was a truly gifted pianist, and during his time at The Purcell School he won first prize in the Weimer Liszt International Piano Competition for Young Pianists. He studied with instrumental teacher Tessa…

  On 29th April 2017, the New World Symphony premiered the latest work by Purcell alumnus, Oscar Bettison, at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, USA. The startling new score, ‘Lights in Ashes’, is an orchestral re-imagination of the seventh and final movement of Bettison’s earlier work, ‘O Death’, for ensemble and electronics from 2005-2007. ‘O…

  Mali in Oak is the unforgettable new album from Purcell Alumnus and master Kora player, Tunde Jegede, and visionary guitarist Derek Gripper. It is also the third release from the innovative new record label, Globe Music.A celebration of West African songcraft, Mali in Oak brings together two musicians – an African born in Europe…

Gone: A Girl, A Violin, A Life Unstrung by Min Kym is a remarkable and original memoir which provides a fascinating insight into the unseen world of professional musicians and their instruments.In 2010, Min Kym’s 1696 Stradivarius violin, valued at £1.2 million, was stolen while she and her partner ate a sandwich at London’s Euston…

Pupils of The Purcell School were recently honoured by a visit from alumna Anne Denholm, Official Harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales, who delighted them with an inspiring recital and engaging question and answer session. Anne, who first studied at The Purcell School in 2007 and was also a member of the Junior Department…

  Heartfelt congratulations to alumnus Jacob Collier, who became a two time Grammy award winner yesterday. Jacob was nominated for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella (for You and I) and Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals (for Flintstones) at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. He was successful in both categories, and takes home not one…

Purcell alumna, Mica Levi has been nominated for Best Original Score at the 2017 Academy Awards and Best Original Music at the 2017 EE British Academy Film Awards for her work on Jackie, the biopic about former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Mica studied at The Purcell School from the age of nine, and then…

We would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Martin James Bartlett for reaching the finals in the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe Scholars competition. The foundation provides around 900 scholarships across Europe for students in full time enrolment at Conservatoire. The scholarship programmes have existed for nearly 20 years and provide 1000-2000 Euros towards the…

Congratulations to alumnus Yevgeny Sudbin on making it to number three on Forbes list of The Best Classical Recordings of 2016 with his latest CD, Scarlatti 18 Sonatas. Yevgeny, who moved to London in 1997 to study at The Purcell School, has been enjoying an illustrious career. He has collaborated with some of the world’s most…