Cherubim Awards 2010

Charlotte Silver – ‘Gosling’ horn
Charlotte has been playing french horn since the age of 9. She has performed with Bromley Youth Music Trust and London Schools SO, London Youth Wind Band, LSO On Track Youth Orchestra and the National Children’s Orchestra. Currently principal horn of the Purcell School SO, Charlotte has just gained a place in the National Youth Orchestra. In December she made her professional debut playing for the Jubilate Choir and Orchestra.
Charlotte McMurray
Currently in her final year at Chetham’s where she is Head Girl, Charlotte is currently evaluating whether university or music college will best serve her goal of becoming a professional oboist covering both solo and chamber repertoire. Mesmerised by the sound of the oboe from her first encounter at the age of 8, she played in school and county orchestras in Northumberland, before becoming a member of the Sage Weekend Music School in Gateshead. In 2007 she won the Avison Ensemble’s Young Musician competition, and the following was accepted for Chetham’s VIth form.
Gillian Bradtke
Born Germany, Gillian began violin at the age of eight, first in Hamburg, later in Durban. Now a second year BMus student at Trinity College of Music, London, she has won various prizes, including the South African Society of Music Teachers Achievement Award, and was concertmaster of the KwaZulu-Natal Youth Orchestra and Durban Girls’ College Orchestra. As well as attending many festivals and masterclasses internationally, Gillian’s activities include the Bradtke Piano Trio and leading the 2nd violins in the TCM Sinfonia and Chamber Orchestra.

Cherubim Awards 2009

Rebekah Reid
A violinist from 3, Rebekah joined the Croydon Youth Orchestra at 12, and begun studies at the Junior Royal Academy at 14, playing in the first violins of the Junior SO. Now at the RNCM, where she has use of the Cherubim bow, Rebekah is studying with Jia Zhang, who was the first awardee of the bow during her own studies. Rebekah recently gave the premiere of a solo violin piece Havisham, by a composition student at the Royal Northern. She is now working towards the 2010 RNCM concerto auditions for the Prokofiev second Violin Concerto.
Cindy Cheung – 'Coper' guitar
Cindy is a student of Milica Ilic-Davies in London
Anna-Livia Walker
Engaged for several months last autumn in the orchestra of Lisbon’s Teatro Nacional de São Carlos performing Gotterdämmerung. More recently she performed as a prize-winning soloist in the Valentino Bucchi contemporary music festival and competition in Rome, which featured works by Bucchi, Matthias and Rota. In March Anna-Livia is touring Wales for Live-MusicNow, followed by a solo harp concert raising awareness and funds for cystic fibrosis, a cause to which she is committed and for which she will be producing a CD. Anna-Livia finds it partcularly rewarding to give harp workshops for children with special needs
Daniel Bovey
Currently at the Junior Guildhall, where he recently gave his diploma recital in the same week as auditions to the Guildhall School of Music, the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music. For these he has expanded his already extensive repertoire, leaving little time for school work! In the autumn he got throu to Round Two of the BBC Young Musician.

Cherubim Awards 2008

Eddy Hackett,
Currently a postgrad at Manhattan School of Music Eddy performed in a tribute concert for the legendary Puerto Rican percussionist Tito Puente at Borden Hall, New York – a week later giving a recital at Glasgow University. After New Year’s concerts with the National Orchestra of Lichtenstein, he takes part in a masterclass in Durban, South Africa. Eddy says: “To have a top quality instrument in the UK to practise and perform on is helping me get established at the start of my career, as I can be available for recitals at short notice.”

See photos of him at Nadder Music Café in Whitsun 2008.

Bing Bing Li
During summer 08 BingBing performed in the Santander music festival, Spain, both solo and in chamber groups. In the autumn she represented the Royal Academy of Music in a new generation showcase at King’s Place, and gave a debut recital in Jacqueline du Pre concert hall, Oxford, as well as performing in the RAM Messiaen festival concert, and the new Saatchi Gallery. Bing Bing says “The piano loan has given me the opportunity to practice when I am not around school - over the summer holiday and times when it’s closed.”

See Chris Stanbury's photos of her performing at Nadder Music Café in 2007 & 2008.

Cherubim Awards 2006

Vashti Hunter - 'Rothermere' cello
On her graduation from the Royal Academy of Music Vashti received the second highest mark in her year. Now studying with Leonid Gorokhov at the Guildhall, Vashti has solo performances in the new King’s Place concert hall and Barbican. She has played concertos with Southbank Sinfonia. As a member of the EU Youth Orchestra she toured Japan, S Korea and China last summer. Vashti has been accepted on the LSO scheme where she will play with the orchestra. She plays on the ‘Rothermere’ cello loaned by Cherubim Music Trust.

See her performance at Nadder Music Café in 2007 & Chris Stanbury's photos of NNC in 2008.

Detta Danford (left)
A graduate of Trinity College of Music, Detta is now a professional musician, and a member of London Flutes. An award from Cherubim, funded by the Rothermere Foundation, for an Altus Bass Flute now allows Detta and London Flutes to complete their instrumental line-up.

See their performance at Nadder Music Café in Spring 2007.
Dinara Birmuzeyva is a native of Kazakhstan who came to study with Wissam Boustany at Trinity College of Music. She entered Cherubim's portfolio of candidates and was soon awarded an Altus Flute thanks to a donation from John Manser, CBE DL.

See her performance at Nadder Music Café in Spring 2007.

Cherubim Awards 2005

Julia White now plays a lightweight Howarth XL oboe thanks to a generous contribution from the friends and family of the late Mrs Elizabeth Walters, arranged by Cherubim. A post-graduate student at Trinity College of Music, Julia was suffering from a health problem, which the lightweight instrument helped to correct. She is now a professional musician, living and working in London. Visit her website.

Picture shows Julia with TCM Chancellor Richard Stilgoe & Cherubim director Deirdre Clancy at her graduation.

Johnny & Finn Murphy are two extremely talented brothers of 14 & 9 whose progress was being hampered by lack of access to a good piano. With funding from the Rothermere Foundation, Cherubim was able to loan them a good Yamaha U model upright piano.

See Johnny's performance at Nadder Music Café (see 'part 3') in Spring 2007, introduced by Cherubim director Clancy Steer..

Cherubim Awards 2003

Jia Zhang arrived from Beijing to study at the RNCM with Wen Zhou Li, but without an adequate instrument. The college found her a good violin, but she lacked a suitable bow until Cherubim gave an award to the college for a new bow by the distinguished English maker, Robert Pearce. Jia used it during her studies and it was then passed on to another promising student.

Torville Jones was a piano student at the Centre for Young Musician in 2002, when received a scholarship to the RCM. His chief love was the grand romantic repertoire, particularly the works of Rachmaninov and Chopin, but his local council had threatened his parents with eviction if he continued to practice at home. The Cherubim award of a Yamaha Clavinova enabled Torville to pursue his studies in silence! He has since graduated from the RCM and is now a professional pianist.

Nathan Mathurin-Greene studied clarinet the Centre for Young Musicians for 4 years. After he was awarded a pair of Buffet E13 Clarinets he continued his music studies at Brighton University.
Jenny Picknett started playing cello from the age of 5 at her school in Salisbury, transferring to the recorder a few years later. She gained a place at the RAM Junior Academy and travelled every week to London to study until she went to the Guildhall (GSMD) to specialise in Early Music. Cherubim provided funds for a bass recorder. Jenny is now a professional musician and teacher in Norway.
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