Young Grittleton: Animata aged 12

I am writing to express my gratitude to Thomastik-Infeld Vienna and JDCMF for the generous bursary for me to attend the Young Grittleton Chamber Music Course. This is a wonderful opportunity for me that would not have been possible without this bursary.

I have not yet had the chance to play intensive chamber music in a residential setting, and this will give me the ability to really immerse myself in this and to develop my skills in ensemble playing. I am looking forward to meeting other young musicians, sharing ideas and learning from them.

I have played some chamber music at the Primary Royal Academy, in the limited time allotted at the Saturday school. I am passionate about this aspect of performance and I am very keen to have the chance to explore this further.

I am very grateful to Thomastik for providing this bursary for me, and for giving me this wonderful opportunity.

With Thanks,

Aminata (12)

And after:

In July this year, I was extremely fortunate to receive a Thomastik-Infeld sponsored bursary to attend the Young Grittleton Chamber Music Course. I had never before been able to be part of an intensive residential music course and I was thrilled to have the chance to go. I was nervous before I went. Would I make friends? Would I be a good enough violinist? We arrived on Sunday afternoon, and after unpacking, there was a welcome meeting, led by the tutors and pastoral staff.
It was very friendly and reassuring. Then followed the first orchestral rehearsal, which was great fun and not at all intimidating. I made friends immediately.

Highlights of the week were the food (delicious and abundant!), the chance to play music with new friends and experiment with different repertoire. Groups were allowed to lead their own rehearsals as well as enjoy tutoring and advice from the teachers. We developed ideas amongst ourselves and learned to share and discuss our musical approaches. We played a wide range of chamber music during the week, in different groups, including composers such as Brahms, Borodin, Mozart, Dvorak. This was very helpful to me because it developed my sight-reading skills and by the end of the week I felt that I was a far better sight- reader. I also enjoyed the chance to practise chamber music with the Grittleton Seniors. We played Mendelssohn and Haydn string quartets. This was a particular highlight for me as I felt challenged, encouraged and stretched.
The final concert was a great opportunity to perform with our own chamber groups and to listen to other groups. My group played a Mozart String quartet, which we practised in detail during the week. Also, the orchestral pieces (both new commissions) were fantastic to play.
Young Grittleton was a week I’ll always remember, especially Mozart string quartet music! Thank you Thomastik-Infeld and JDCMF.
Aminata (12)

Joan Dickson Chamber Music Fund