Conservatoire Success for Creative Bablake Pupils

Late last month, two of Bablake's exciting young musicians began their studies at a conservatoire - a real achievement for them and a very promising taste for any future music training.

Enya Bowe will be attending Birmingham Conservatoire every Saturday to study flute and piano, while juggling her final year GCSE studies. She joins this institution at a very exciting point, as it moves into a state-of-the-art new building close to Millenium Point in Birmingham. Her teachers will be Jo Kirkwood for flute and Petra Milarova for piano. 

Enya commented: "I feel so privileged to have the opportunity to study music at the Conservatoire. I am so excited to take my music-making to the next level by having lessons with such accomplished musicians and being involved with some of the wonderful ensembles, choirs and orchestras that the Junior Conservatoire run. I am also looking forward to learning more about aural and music theory. I just cannot wait!"

On the same day, new Bablake Shell music scholar Harry Scott-Burt began studying 'cello at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Harry, who achieved a distinction for Grade 8 'cello whilst still in Year 6, will be studying with Bozidar Vukotic, founder of the Tippett Quartet and well-known recitalist and freelance principal cello with many leading professional orchestras.

Harry said: "I love playing in orchestras and I am really looking forward to the Academy orchestra, as well as the opportunity to play really good chamber music with other young people. I could not wait to meet my ‘cello teacher because he is quite famous!"

All is very well in the Bablake Music department, since, in the summer vacation, Emma Blackett and Charlotte Merry enjoyed an excellent opportunity playing with the National Scout and Guide Symphony Orchestra (NSGSO), while promising Grade 8 cellist Anna White deserves our congratulations for a successful audition for the CBSO Youth Orchestra, following her previous performances with the National Children's Orchestra. 

This week's HMC conference is discussing 'creativity' in education, so it is excellent to see Bablake directly supporting this theme so clearly, nurturing the arts and proving its Artsmark status. As well as being involved with other creative projects, this year, of course, we celebrated our 30th consecutive year of taking a production to the world famous Edinburgh Fringe festival.