Latest news with #SongtotheSeals
Daily Record
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Cathkin High pupil Rose hit the high notes as she won national competition
She won the Solo Performer of the Year category at the Scottish Young Musicians awards in Glasgow's Royal Conservatoire. A highly-gifted Cathkin High pupil certainly hit the high notes when she flew the flag for South Lanarkshire at a prestigious national event. Rose Murray was the finalist for the region in the Solo Performer of the Year category at the Scottish Young Musicians awards in Glasgow's Royal Conservatoire. This year there were 33 finalists, one representing every local authority in Scotland and one from the independent schools. And Rose won her award for performances of Song to the Seals by Granville Bantock and Taylor The Latte Boy by Zina Goldrich. As well as her award, to support her musical journey, Rose also gets to spend a day with Scottish Opera where she will meet with the production team and the cast of outstanding singers of their autumn production La Boheme. And she will also secure tickets to one of the performances. Scottish Young Musicians Solo Performer of the Year is Scotland's leading music festival for soloists and ensembles. Young musicians can compete to win big prizes, perform live on a national stage and push their skills like never before. Elaine Duffy, the council's instrumental music co-ordinator, said: 'We are delighted that Rose has been recognised at this most prestigious event. 'It is a real testament to her hard work and dedication over the years, supported by her singing teacher Sandra Hawkins.' Her performing career to date includes the council's annual Instrumental Music Service showcase in Hamilton Town House and soloist at the annual Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations. Rose has also performed with the South Lanarkshire Orchestral Society (SLOT) Senior Concert Band and has been invited to sing with Stewarton Winds Concert Band.
The Herald Scotland
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
How Scotland's top young musicians blew me away
A couple of decades ago, I used to visit to see my girlfriend (now wife) performing as part of her piano degree programme. At the time I was studying English and politics along the road at Strathclyde Uni, and walking into the RSAMD (as it was then known) always felt like entering an entirely different world - one where being absurdly exceptional was just the starting point. Twenty years on, that feeling is very much still there. In the canteen that doubles as a waiting area for families, friends and performers, I watched proud parents take photographs of teenagers in smart shirt-and-ties and formal dresses, their faces an endearing mixture of excitement, anxiety and, for those who had already performed, relief. As I sat in the auditorium waiting for the afternoon session to begin, I was reminded that being a great performer isn't just about musical ability or the hundreds and thousands of hours spent practising. I was only there to watch and make notes, and have spoken at all sorts of events to audiences large and small, but even to me the room felt intimidating, with a huge Steinway grand piano glowing under the purple intermission lights, and the sense of anticipation growing with every seat that was filled. The nerves in the room were unignorable, and I couldn't help but wonder how it felt to be backstage, or in a nearby practice room, knowing that your time is coming – that in a few minutes, you'd have to walk out on that stage, in front of all those people, and pull out what you hope is basically the performance of your life so far. The session began with a video from violinist Nicola Benedetti who told the young musicians to relax, to trust themselves, and to let their performance 'go where it wants.' And then it was time for the music to begin. READ MORE First out was a young man from Shetland with a white shirt, polished shoes, and an alto saxophone. I was writing notes as he brought it to his lips to get started, and as he finished his first piece – Samba Triste – I looked down and realised that my pen had remained suspended in place, just a few millimetres from the page, and I hadn't even noticed. Next up was a singer from South Lanarkshire who combined the scale and emotion of Song to the Seals with the genuinely funny – and still enormously technically impressive – Taylor, the Latte Boy. She was followed by a mesmerising clarsach player whose instrument was almost the same size as her, and whose confidence even allowed for a few glances to the audience as her fingers flicked and fluttered across the strings. A violinist played a piece he had first come across on social media. I was reminded just how bizarre-looking a bassoon is up close, and just how amazing it can be made to sound in the right hands. On and on it went, with stunning performance after stunning performance. And of course there was the odd error – a note missed by a fraction, a vanishingly slight loss of dynamic control, or a finger not quite keeping up with the fireworks going off in a musician's brain. But all they did was reinforce just how magical it feels to sit in the room like that one, in one of the world's leading performing arts centres, and watch a bunch of kids demonstrating just how brilliant they really are.
