Tom Acton Memorial Trust

Bethany Davis writes :- I am in year 10 at Colchester County High School. I started learning the cello at school when I was seven, and began bassoon at Tendring Music School when I was nine. This September I started at the Junior Guildhall School of Music with both instruments. At school, I play cello in the orchestra and sing in the senior choir, and I have just started piano lessons. I play bassoon in Essex Young Peoples Orchestra and Essex Youth Symphonic Wind Orchestra, and sing with Essex Young Singers. I often have very busy school holidays with various music courses and tours, but I love it! I hope to study music at university, and use music in my career if at all possible.

Dominic Skingle aged 11 is from Walthamstow. He is a music scholar at Forest School, Snaresbrook where he studies jazz piano, singing and the harp. He has also just started at Junior Guildhall in London last September where he studies violin and classical piano.

Joseph Ataman aged 15 is from Brentwood. He plays piano and clarinet and at 8 years old he began 5 years as a chorister at Westminster Cathedral. In 2006 he joined the City of London School where he started to learn the organ. He is also a member of the London Youth Wind Band and is junior organ scholar at Brentwood Cathedral.

We are delighted to announce the 5 winners of our awards for 2007 made last month. Anthony Camillo an 18 year old pianist from Waltham Abbey is about to start his undergraduate studies at the Royal Northern School of Music. Oliver Farrant is a 13 year old cellist from Brentwood who is about to take up a place at Chetham’s school of music in Manchester. Timothy End is a 24 year old piano accompanist from Goodmayes who is currently taking a postgraduate performing course at the Royal Academy of Music. Elma Appasswamy is a 22 year old trumpeter from Ilford who is also currently studying for a postgraduate diploma at the Royal Academy Sophie Biebuyck is a 21 year old soprano from Brentwood who won the Essex Young Musician Award in 2006 and will thus be giving a recital for us on 15th September as part of her prize – after which the awards will be presented to all the winners. She is currently studying for a degree at Trinity College of Music.

In July we auditioned six very talented young musicians who had applied for financial help from the trust. This is always a great delight and privilege to us to hear such excellent performances and we only wish we could support all six of them.

However in the event we chose the following three:-

Dide Siemmond, an 18 year old violinist from Maldon.

Howard Hutt from Woodford Green who went to university to study music playing the trumpet, and was there
discovered to have a most impressive tenor voice – he is now going to do further study to develop this.

Richard Rayner, a 12 year old drummer from Howe Green.

Come to our Essex Young Musician 2005 Recital at Felsted on September 16th and support them when they receive their awards and keep a lookout for the concert by these three exciting young musicians for the Trust in Spring 2007

I recently had the pleasure of attending a concert given by the four winners of the 2005 Tom Acton Memorial Trust bursaries, which was held at the King Edward VI Grammar School.

In a world where children are constantly bombarded by pop music, it was an uplifting and heart-warming experience. These talented young classical musicians were brilliant. I would like to pay tribute, not only to them for their hard work and dedication, but to their parents and teachers for their love and support. We should be incredibly proud of them and I look forward to next year’s concert.

Barbara Wright (address supplied)