BIO
I was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, into a family that had a mostly mixed background, with ancestors that had careers in music. I have always loved music, ever since I was very young; at three, I was obsessed with Bach, and later I introduced myself to Mozart, Beethoven, and other composers by working my way through my parents' and grandfather's CD collections. Music is always running in my head.
Throughout my school years, I have enjoyed musical performances, from school assemblies to symphony orchestra concerts. I've also enjoyed performing with others, especially in choirs.
But it wasn't until high school, and especially during my years in the School of Music at Hagley Community College, that I really discovered my musical strengths. In particular, composition and theory have been fun to do; the former gives you a great opportunity to experiment with emulating different styles and writing for different types of ensembles, while the latter always draws me in with a new, more sophisticated area to discover and learn about.
My biggest and most exciting discovery has been singing. Over the past couple of years, during my lessons with Annabel Harrold and Margot Button, I have been able to discover more of the potential greatness that is frequently seen in me. They have given me fascinating encouragement and esteem and have great ideas of their own of where I may end up in the future.
Since September 2017, I have also been taking piano and theory lessons with Alison Holden. We both got off to a productive start, as we were able to do an entire Grade 5 theory course in the space of a few weeks (it would normally take a year to do). Progress with her has been steady, and it has been quite the treat diving into various aspects of theory with her and improving my knowledge and understanding in any way.
The support and encouragement that my family, peers and tutors have always given me especially contributes to where I appear to be going. The tough struggles we have had to endure at times cannot be ignored, but one thing I can be grateful for is having you at my side all the way. For all that you have done, thank you.
Music has played a more prominent role during my high school years. Being a School of Music student springs out of having a few staff members notice considerable talent in me, and most of my family deeming music to be my strongest point. Through what I have managed to achieve, and in contrast to how I have done in the non-musical areas of the programme, Media Studies and English, their judgement has proved to be indisputably right. Great results have emerged from almost everything and there have been positive comments from every staff member. Ultimately, my time in the programme has proven to be one of the most successful and productive times of my life.
During those years, I have also had a number of musical lessons with singing, the violin and the piano. With singing, I have had lessons at school with Annabel Harrold and elsewhere with Margot Button. It has been a blast working with them – the esteem they have given me and their astounding ability to see great potential in me is elating to be on the receiving end of, and it will be interesting to see where their encouragement and praise eventually takes me. With the piano, I am currently taking lessons with Alison Holden. Things have been productive with her – during my first few weeks with her, we managed to do a theory course that would have taken a year to do, thanks to my knowledge and understanding, and, once again, the esteem that everyone including her gave me. The support and encouragement that my family, peers and tutors have always given me is the one thing I cannot thank enough for getting me to where I am now, and I am grateful to all of you for it.