The International Music School founded by Yehudi Menuhin www.yehudimenuhinschool.co.uk — Registered Charity 312010 — Newsletter 58 — Summer 2014 William Dutton, winner of the Strings Category BBC Young Musician of the Year 2014 — Kevin Loh at the Segovia Competition — Copyright BBC Photo Credit Marcus Loh — BBC Young Musician of the Year 2014 — Segovia Winner Congratulations to William Dutton (19) winner of the String Congratulations to Kevin Loh (16) who won first prize Category of the BBC Young Musician of the Year 2014. A former in the 14-16 age group of the 8th Andrés Segovia BBC Radio 2 Chorister of the Year, William’s performance of International Guitar Competition for Young Guitarists Bloch’s Nigun accompanied by Menachem Rozin (18) was stunning. held in Velbert, Germany from 18 to 21 June 2014. In an interview with Aled Jones after winning the Chorister of the Kevin writes: “It is indeed an eye opener for me Year in 2006, William said that an alternative career could be to watching the players as well as making many new play the violin or to sell ice creams. The freezer in Harris House is friends. It was especially challenging as well, since testimony to Will’s love of ice-cream. Fortunately, he has stuck with I had my GCSEs this term and had to return for yet the violin and goes on to study with Pavel Vernikov in Lausanne. another exam.” — Alumni Day – Sunday 8 June Around a hundred former students and staff gathered at the School for our very first Alumni Reunion, many bringing their families with them. They were also joined by present staff and current and former governors, including Zamira Menuhin Benthall, Lord Menuhin’s daughter, making a total of around 170. Returning alumni spanned the entire 50 years of the School, from Jonathan Rutherford who joined the School in 1963 when it opened in London to Chloe Stowers-Veitch who left in 2013. The afternoon began with tea and cake in and around the Menuhin Hall, followed by a talk on the ways in which the School Hsing-Chwen Hsin, Ruth Phillips, Tasmin Little and Kenneth Fox (Bradshaw) — Photo has changed over the last half century from Director of Music Ming-Feng Hsin, Robert Gibbs, Richard Hillier, Elaine Hillier Credits Angela Stockbridge Malcolm Singer and an outline of the School’s plans for the future from Headmaster Dr Richard Hillier. Many thanks to all who came - as well as to all those who Alumni were then given a guided tour of the School (though sent their good wishes but were otherwise engaged. We shall most knew exactly where they wanted to go!) before a concert of certainly not wait for 50 years until we do it again! chamber music in the Hall by current pupils, then drinks and a buffet supper on the lawns outside Music House. The sun shone, the wine flowed and Jean Labourg and his — The 50th Anniversary Alumni catering team did us proud. Concert Series Many thanks to everyone who helped make it such a success – The Founder’s Day Concert with Melvyn Tan and Friends was not least Vanessa Casey, Sally Williams and Daisy Fannin in the sixth in our series of 50th Anniversary Celebrity Alumni the Development Department and especially Alumni Officer Concerts. Elaine Hillier who organised the day and has spent the last four years tirelessly tracking down those alumni with whom we had Melvyn performed with alumni from across the generations; lost touch. Elisabeth Perry (violin 1972), Ning Kam (violin 1993), Simon Rowland-Jones (viola 1967), and Niall Brown (cello 1979). On 15 May the seventh concert in our series with Valeriy Sokolov and Friends took an extraordinary turn when Valeriy was unable to get his visa in time for the concert but we were delighted that Vlad Maistorovici (violin 2004) and Agata Darashkaite (violin 2008) stepped in. We extend our grateful thanks to both. Valeriy is determined to make up for his absence and has agreed to give a recital on Sunday 18 January 2015. On 22 June Alina Ibragimova and Friends gave the last of the Anniversary concerts. Alina (violin 2003), along with Benjamin Marquise Gilmore (violin 2005) and Bartholomew LaFollette (cello 2003) began the concert with Mozart’s Six Slow Movements with Three-Part Fugues (after Bach) for violin, viola and cello K404a. Charles Owen (piano 1989) played Bach’s Partita No 5 in G Major the concert ended with Brahm's Quartet No 2 in A Major. Hun Ouk Park, Tetsuumi Nagata, Agata Darashkaite, Melanie di Cristino — Photo Credit Angela Stockbridge The School would like to thank all musicians who have taken part in this series during the academic year 2013 – 2014. Alumni day - general jollity — Photo Credit LucyAnn Curling Alina’s concert cake — Photo Credit Kevin Laitak Menachem with Marlborough Concert Orchestra — Photo Credit Mark Kent Musical Notes Many congratulations to our Musical Patron Sir András Schiff, awarded a Knighthood by Her Majesty the Queen in the 2014 Birthday Honours. He was born in Budapest in 1953 and has been a British citizen since 2001. — Guitarists in Prague Rosie Bennet (18) writes: Playing a concert in the hall at Křivoklát, a castle west of Prague, was one of the most surreal experiences I have been lucky enough to have whilst at school, if not ever. By day we enjoyed concerts and master classes played and taught by our heroes of the guitar world and by night we talked and laughed with them over dinner and drinks. Looking back it still feels like stepping into a dream imagining the incredible intellectuals and incredible players that we had as colleagues whilst surrounded by 50 km of pine forest. We were able to enjoy the playing and company of Petrit Ceku, Aniello Desiderio, Thomas Fellow, Paolo Paolini, Milan Zelenka and, our pioneer for the trip, Pavel Steidl. I don’t think anything will ever feel as good as the compliments that Daniel Penney (15) and I both received for our performance from these amazing personalities. — Marlborough Concert Orchestra Menachem Rozin gave a sparkling recital of Grieg’s piano concerto as the guest soloist of the Marlborough Concert Orchestra. The School has a long history of providing soloists to play with this orchestra and our pupils are always very well received. A group of students made the two-hour Rosie Bennet — Photo Credit Vilem Zak journey to Marlborough to support Menachem. — Visiting Professors This summer, we were delighted that Paul Ellison, double bass professor from the Shepherd School of Music, Rice University, Texas, returned for his annual visit. Students also enjoyed the company of Atar Arad, viola professor from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. Professor Arad gave a lecture recital of his twelve Caprices, each named after the first name of a composer and inspired by a particular piece of music written for the viola. Sao and Cosima Soulez Larivière in the grotto — Photo Credit Angela Stockbridge — Music in the Crystal Grotto As part of the School’s Outreach programme, YMS musicians performed in the beautiful setting of the 18th-century ‘Crystal Grotto’ of Painshill Park, the first time this very individual setting had been used as a musical concert-space. The sunlight glittered on the waters of the lake outside and the musicians sparkled in an imaginative and varied programme, which was repeated three times throughout the course of the early evening. An unforgettable experience for all concerned. Many thanks also to Painshill Park for allowing us to return with other pupils for a summer picnic the following week. — End of Year Concerts A stunning orchestral concert brought to a fitting end the celebration of our 50th anniversary year - at least as far as The Menuhin Hall is concerned. The last twelve months have seen a series of outstanding Alumni Celebrity Concerts and an equally impressive programme of Showcase Concerts - fulfilling our aim of having every concert presented by the School in the Hall this year being performed by either current or past students. Atar Arad — Photo Credit Simon Larter-Evans The six Summer Festival concerts over four days featured a solo performance from every one of our 75 students, followed YMS guitarists spent a day experiencing the outstanding and by two orchestral ‘picnic’ concerts. The Headmaster and Mrs inspirational teaching of Paolo Pegoraro, professor of guitar Hillier were delighted to host drinks receptions for parents and at the Kunstuniversität Graz. Paolo attended several of the Friends on each of the Summer Festival concert days with some YMS Summer Festival concerts and spent a whole day giving a parents from overseas making this their one visit to England masterclass to the five YMS guitarists. each year. The School also gave a fund-raising concert in Hampstead and an orchestral concert in the Thaxted Festival. The leaving students performed one final time on 9 July in the annual Wigmore Hall concert, and other students gave a concert in All Saints Church, Oystermouth, as part of the Gower Festival on 11 July, three of whom then travelled out to Switzerland to perform in the Enjoying a picnic concert with box office Paolo Pegoraro with Rosie Bennet, Daniel Penney, Sergio Bucheli and Menuhin Festival staff Wendy Gabriel and Penny Wright — Kevin Loh — Photo Credit Simon Larter-Evans at Gstaad. Photo Credit Angela Stockbridge Robert Masters Malcolm Singer writes: Robert Masters, violinist, founding staff member and second Director of Music at The Yehudi Menuhin School (1969–81) died at the age of 97 in Sydney, Australia on 22 April 2014. It is a poignant coincidence that Robert should have died on Yehudi’s birth-date; the two men’s careers were so intertwined for so many years, that it is somehow fitting that they should be linked for evermore in this way.