News

Final of the Senior Concerto Competition last night, judged by Jonathan Vaughan from the Guildhall. What an amazing way to finish the term! Well done to all the performers, and especially to winners Gina and Martin.

Jonathan Vaughan, Director of Music at Guildhall School of Music and Drama had a tough time yesterday evening choosing a first and second place from our six concerto finalists.  First place went to Martin Bartlett, who will perform Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on Monday 9th March 2015,…

Photo © Watford Observer Two Purcell pupils have reached the finals of BBC Young Musician’s brand new Jazz Award: Jake Labazzi (Jazz trumpet) and Sean Payne (Jazz saxophone).  This is the first year that  BBC Young Musician have added a Jazz Award alongside the established classical music format.  After two rounds of auditions, the panel…

Purcell alumna, Emma Halnan has won the Arts Club-Karl Jenkins Music Award, a classical music competition in collaboration with Classic FM that is now in its second year. ​ Emma impressed the panel of judges with her performances of repertoire by all female composers: Kokopeli by Katherine Hoover and Concertino by Cécile Chaminade.  Her prize is £4,000 – and the…

Nicholas Daniel at the International Double Reed Society Conference   Oboe students at Purcell have an EMG analysis   Looking at the results & seeing what their muscles were doing when they play!     Purcell School oboists participated last week in Electromyography sessions with physiotherapist, Sarah Upjohn and oboist, Melanie Ragge.  Electromyography is a technique…

For the second year running, The Purcell School has featured in a special event forming part of the Deal Festival. Pupils performed solo items and chamber music to a highly appreciative audience in the beautiful surroundings of Deal’s historic Town Hall, a building dating from 1803. After a spirited performance by Eugenie Dalgleish, Chian Chian…

  Young musicians at The Purcell School gave two staged performances of Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, with a libretto by Nahum Tate, over the weekend.  Mary Kate Gill, Head of Academic Music, directed the orchestra which played with clarity and sensitivity throughout.  The elegant Continuo was provided by Oliver Franks and Francesca Lauri on…

A very big well done to Sean Payne (Year 11) who played a warm up set for our Head of Jazz, Simon Allen’s gig at Bracknell Jazz in South Hill Park Arts centre on Friday 11 March.  He also shared the last set with Simon where they played all the numbers together, accompanied by the…

  Well done to Billy Watman (guitar), Mikako Shimatani (violin) and four of our clarinettists (Rachel Hannigan, Michael Madigan, Lily Payne and Thomas Gant) who entertained visitors this weekend at the Bushey Museum and Art Gallery as part of the Bushey Big Weekend Festival.  In a lovely bright gallery space the young musicians performed works…

  BBC Young Musician, the UK’s leading contest for young musicians, announces the winner of its 2016 Jazz Award: 17-year-old trumpeter Alexandra Ridout. Following an extensive audition process, the final of the BBC Young Musician Jazz Award took place on Saturday 12 March at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff.  The five…