The Purcell Chamber Music AcademyPerforming in support of The Bridge Londonat The Bridge London Charity Dinner and Auction 2017

Thomas Gant - Clarinet

Sybren Holwerda - Violin

Alastair Legg - Violin/ Viola/ Voice

First study clarinet under Joy Farrall and second study saxophone under Amy Green at the Purcell School of Music, Thomas Gant has been playing clarinet since the age of 7 and saxophone since the age of 11. He is the current principal clarinet of the Purcell School symphony orchestra and former principal clarinet of the RCMJD Sinfonia, and former principal Eb clarinet of the RCMJD Symphony Orchestra and Symphonic Wind Orchestra, and a former member of the National Children’s Wind Sinfonia. He has played orchestrally at various concert halls throughout the UK, including St. John’s (Smith Square), Cadogan Hall and the Royal Festival Hall, where he played as principal clarinet in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, which remains his most treasured musical experience. As an active chamber musician, a clarinet quartet which Tom was a part of at Purcell took part in a collaboration with the BBC, which involved a day of filming for a Cbeebies programme, and a wind quintet and piano trio of which Tom is a part look forward to a performance at the Wigmore Hall. Tom has also been selected to play in master classes, including the principal Eb clarinet of the LSO, Chi-yu Mo, principal clarinet Andrew Marriner, and saxophonist Kyle Horch. Tom looks forward to performing the Mozart Clarinet Concert with the Watford Symphony Orchestra in 2018.

Sybren Holwerda is a nineteen year old violinist from Holland who learns with Nathaniel Vallois at the Purcell School of Music. Before moving to England he studied with Annechien van Blom at the ArtEZ conservatory in Zwolle, the Netherlands. Sybren received masterclasses from Liza Ferschtmann, Anna Lipkind, Charlie Siem, Natasja Morozova and Itzhak Rashkovsky. Sybren has also participated in the New Virtuosi Violin Mastercourse in Duino, Italy, where he had lessons with Ani Schnarch. He has played in various ensembles and was a member of the ‘Britten Youth Strings Orchestra’ conducted by Loes Visser. With ‘The Orchestra of the Netherlands’ conducted by Jan Willem de Vriend, he participated in a live program on national television. Sybren currently plays a violin, built by Max Möller in 1928, that he borrows from the Dutch Musical Instrument Foundation.

Alastair was born and raised in King’s Lynn, Norfolk. He took up playing violin at the age of 9 under the tutelage of David Montgomery, and singing under Samantha Ashby. At the age of twelve he became the youngest member of the Norfolk Symphony Orchestra, where he developed a love of orchestral repertoire, progressing to co-leader. In 2013 he was awarded the annual Frances M L Wilden and Margaret D Wilden prize (ABRSM) for achieving the highest grade 8 violin exam mark in Norfolk. In 2015, he began studying at The Purcell School of Music where he is a recipient of a scholarship provided by the Music and Dance Scheme. He studies violin with Tony Cucchiara and voice with Tom Marandola, and has performed orchestrally at Royal Festival Hall, Cadogan Hall, and Watford Coliseum, sung at St. Martin-in-the-Fields and St Albans Cathedral, as well as performing as the male lead in a staged production of John Blow’s Venus and Adonis. In 2017, Alastair will take up a scholarship place studying violin at Birmingham Conservatoire under Nathaniel Vallois.

The Purcell School is an independent co-educational specialist music school of around 180 pupils aged from 9 to 18. It is the oldest specialist music school in the UK, having been founded as the Central Tutorial School for Young Musicians in 1962. It has a consistent success in national and international competitions and has an extensive programme of outreach and community work. The majority of pupils progress to music conservatoires although a small number each year elect to go to University to study both music and non-musical subjects. The Purcell Chamber Music Academy has been created to give young musicians an opportunity to extend their knowledge of Chamber Music by interacting and playing alongside eminent classical musicians. Taught by Charles Sewart, Head of Strings at the school, who was previously a member of the Chilingirian Quartet which played to audiences across the world.

The Purcell School | Chamber Music Academy

Daniel Swani - Flute

Lucinda Rimmer - Oboe

Thomas Kelly - Piano

Rowena Taylor - Cello

Daniel currently studies the flute with Anna Pope and recorder with Barbara Law at The Purcell School where he holds a government MDS scholarship. On Saturdays he he attends the Junior Royal Academy of Music where he was awarded the senior woodwind prize and is principal flute in the symphony orchestra. He is currently a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and was previously principal flute with the London Schools’ Symphony Orchestra. This has led to performances at the Royal Festival Hall, Barbican, Royal Albert Hall and a tour of Sweden. He is also a London Philharmonic Orchestra Junior Artist for 2017. In 2012, Daniel was given the opportunity to perform alongside members from the London Symphony Orchestra at the London Olympics Opening Ceremony. He also played alongside the LSO in the 2014 “Open Air” concert in Trafalgar Square. As a soloist, Daniel has been given recital performances at venues including Wigmore Hall, Warwick University, and has been asked to perform for the Leeds International Concert Series 2017. A keen chamber musician, Daniel has played in many baroque ensembles on recorder and flute and has performed live on BBC radio 3. He has been awarded a scholarship offer to study at the Royal Academy of Music as a full time student from September 2017. Daniel is grateful for the generous support of The Walter Bergman Fund and The Felicity Belfield Trust.

Lucinda was born in Tameside, Manchester in 1998 and began studying the Oboe at the age of 12. Having entered the Purcell school in 2012 to study the Oboe under Melanie Ragge and Composition under Karim Said, Lucinda is fortunate to have performed at The Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall and Royal Albert Hall before going on to study at The Birmingham Conservatoire in September 2016 with Emmet Byrne and George Caird. As a member of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Youth Orchestra Lucinda is also lucky to perform at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall. With a keen interest in Composition Lucinda was the winner of the BBC Proms Young Composer of The Year award in 2013 and has had works broadcast on BBC Radio 3 by members of the Aurora Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Tom started in Faversham when he was 3 with a local piano teacher, Michael Belinfante. He progressed with him until gaining Distinction in Grade 8 just turned 8, shortly after being awarded second prize in a competition adjudicated by Artur Pizarro. Aged 10 he performed Mozart Piano Concerto 24 with orchestra in the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury. Since moving to the Purcell School to study with Andrew Ball he has performed in Sacile for Mr Fazioli, the Wigmore Hall, St Martin in the Fields and won the Purcell School’s Senior Concerto Competition prize playing Brahms 2 which he will perform in a major london venue next year. After being lucky enough to receive a full scholarship from RCM he is now preparing for life and further performance opportunities at this renowned musical hub.

Rowena was born into a musical family and began learning the cello at age 6, with teacher Jenifer Kimber. After falling in love with the lyrical sound the cello made, she participated in local festivals throughout her childhood, but also played the piano (taught by her mother). She was in the ‘under 13’ and ‘main’ National Children’s Orchestras, and joined the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music in September 2013 where she began learning with Alexandra Mackenzie. In 2015 she started playing with the National Youth String Orchestra, whom she has toured with around England and Denmark. Now studying with Alexander Boyarsky at the Purcell school, she is hoping to pursue a career in music.

For more information on The Purcell Chamber Music Academy,

please visit www.purcell-school.org