BBC Young Musician 2024 Live Auditions

We were thrilled to see Year 13 flautist Suanoi featured on the BBC Young Musician 2024 live auditions last Sunday (15th September). Suanoi, who studies at The Purcell School under Clare Jefferis and Mark Taylor, delivered stunning performances of Nocturne by Lili Boulanger and the fourth movement of Prokofiev’s Sonata for Flute and Piano for a distinguished panel of judges: trumpeter Alison Balsom, pianist and composer Alexis Ffrench and multi-instrumentalist and broadcaster Hannah Catherine Jones.

You can catch highlights from Suanoi’s audition on BBC iPlayer (48.22-54.00).

Suanoi is one of four students from The Purcell School participating in this year’s competition. The coverage will continue weekly on BBC FOUR at 7:30 pm (see schedule below). We encourage everyone to tune in and support our talented musicians as they represent The Purcell School!

Competition Broadcast Schedule:
Sunday 15th September: Highlights from the live auditions
Sunday 22nd September: Highlights from the live auditions
Sunday 29th September: Quarter-finals
Sunday 6th October: Quarter-finals
Sunday 13th October: Semi-final
Sunday 20th October: Grand Final

A special thanks to Debbie Shah, our dedicated accompanist, for her support during Suanoi’s audition.

Let’s continue to cheer on our young musicians!
 

Purcell Pianist Triumphs on the International Stage

Over the summer, Year 13 classical pianist Phoebe achieved remarkable success. She won 1st Prize in all International Piano Competitions she entered and gave prize winning performances in music festivals across Europe. Phoebe was awarded 1st Prize in The IMF International Piano Competition Paris, 1st Prize in The Mimas International Piano Competition Procida, 1st Prize in The IPPA Conero International Piano Competition, 1st Prize in The Pacific Stars International Piano Competition and she was the winner of the coveted ‘Pianale Publikumspreis’ in the Final of the 17th Pianale International Piano Competition, including an invitation to perform with the Beethoven Orchestra Hessen in Germany in November.

Phoebe also enjoyed invitations to perform in many music festivals this summer and travelled to Croatia to give a recital as part of the prestigious Piano Loop Festival, Italy to perform in the Mimas Festival, Florence to perform Rachmaninoff Paganini Variations Op. 43 with Orchestra Il Contrapunto in the Piano Concerto Festival and Paris to perform Chopin Concerto No. 1 Op.11 with Ensemble Les Virtuoses in the International Music Festival opening concert. She also enjoyed masterclasses with internationally renowned artists including Natalia Trull, Arie Vardi, Dina Yoffe and Akiko Ebi.

Phoebe has recently received news that she has been selected as the youngest participant to the exclusive Piano Academy Eppan which takes place this Autumn during half term in South Tyrol, Italy. This year the Academy had a record number of applications and chose only 24 of the world’s most exceptional young pianists aged 17 to 30.

On Saturday 14th September Phoebe performed a recital at the ‘Rising Stars Concert’ in Godalming together with Year 12 violinist Shlomi, Year 10 cellist Yoko and staff accompanist Debbie Shah. On 22nd September Phoebe will be performing Schoenberg Pierrot Lunaire Op. 21 as a member of the Purcell School Chamber Soloists in Wigmore Hall to mark Schoenberg’s 150th anniversary.

Tickets for Wigmore Hall are available through the link here.

Congratulations to Phoebe, who studies at Purcell under Cateria Grewe and William Fong, for these outstanding achievements. All at Purcell are incredibly proud of and for you.