News
Yamaha announces jazz scholarship winners
Rob Hughes Jul 13 2009, 6:59pm
Six musicians each win £1,000 and the chance to feature on Yamaha New Jazz Sessions 2009 CD
The partnership between Yamaha and Classic FM celebrated the third year of its Jazz Scholarship programme at the All-Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group's Summer Jazz event at the House of Commons earlier this month.
In association with Jazzwise and PPL, six winners representing the cream of young British jazz talent put in an exceptional performance, after being nominated for special consideration by the heads of jazz at six of the UK’s leading conservatoires.
Award winning Jazz FM presenter Helen Mayhew, Yamaha education liaison manager Bill Martin and Yamaha senior director Mike Ketley presented scholarships to Alex Munk, a guitarist studying at Leeds College of Music; drummer Daoud Merchant, a student at Guildhall School of Music & Drama; drummer Gethin Jones from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama; pianist Kit Downes, a scholar at the Royal Academy of Music; Mark Perry, who studies trumpet at Trinity College of Music and Sam Wooster who studies trumpet at Birmingham Conservatoire.
All six scholarship winners, who are about to leave college, each received £1,000 to help set themselves up as they embark on their new musical careers. More importantly, the unique platform of a performance at the Palace of Westminster provided the opportunity to showcase their talent not only to members of parliament from both houses who are interested in jazz, but also prominent invitees from the jazz community, including press, venue operators and record company executives.
In addition to the £1,000 scholarship, all six winners will also have the opportunity to record a track to feature alongside some of Yamaha’s most highly respected and established jazz artists on the Yamaha New Jazz Sessions 2009 promotional CD, sponsored by Yamaha Music UK. This will be cover-mounted on Jazzwise magazine’s Christmas and New Year double issue and the artist will get the chance to perform live at the CD launch at London’s internationally renowned 606 Jazz Club in November.
Last year’s highly acclaimed Yamaha New Jazz Sessions CD, produced by Andy Ross at Astar, Studios included tracks by Julian Joseph, Gwilym Simcock and Jason Rebello and, with 15000 copies circulated, amounted to one of the most significant jazz albums of the year.
The annual scheme, jointly sponsored by Yamaha Music UK and Classic FM, in association with Jazzwise, is designed to support young emerging jazz musicians by providing valuable funding and important marketing support through performance and recording opportunities.
Yamaha’s Senior Director Mike Ketley commented: “We are committed to thepromotion of jazz performance and these scholarships complement our many other music education and student support initiatives. These innovative scholarships have further extended our relationship with Classic FM, Jazzwise and the all-party parliamentary group and what better way to support the studies and showcase the talent of the UK’s finest upcoming young jazz musicians than through financial assistance, live performance and recording opportunities?”
PPL chairman and CEO Fran Nevrkla stated: “Once again we are thrilled with the resounding success of another enjoyable jazz evening held at Portcullis House. The wealth of enthusiasm and skill on display from the young musicians exemplifies the truly great and exciting talent emerging from the UK jazz scene – something that should continue to be nurtured and supported. PPL is proud to continue as the main sponsor of the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group and we are pleased to work with Yamaha in the encouragement of these young, talented artists and we hope to see much more of them in future."
