Congratulations to the talented musician, Lower Sixth student Leo, who was this year selected to join the prestigious National Youth Orchestra, celebrated internationally as ‘the world’s greatest orchestra of teenagers’.
The opportunity is a year-long adventure, where Leo will join 159 other talented young musicians from across the UK to unite in a love of music, push their limits, discover new skills and play their part as change-makers for their generation.
Leo started playing the bassoon at the age of eight, but had been singing, drumming and playing the piano before that.
He says, “I started on a miniature version called the Teneroon, which is a lot smaller and doesn’t sound quite as nice. You wouldn’t expect a child of eight to see the unique instrument that is the bassoon, and take such an interest in it, but having seen my dad playing it in professional orchestras his whole life, I had really got accustomed to the sound and the instrument itself. I continue to learn with Jonathan Price, with whom I started, who has been brilliant for my development.
“From the moment I heard about NYO I knew it sounded like something I wanted to be a part of. Having grown up completely surrounded by music, it just seemed like the dream place to be. I’d heard from lots of musicians that joining NYO had completely changed their life, which actually made me quite sceptical of it! I didn’t see how something like that could have that much of an impact on someone… But in the summer holidays, I thought I’d give it a real go.
“The audition was made up of two rounds, an online submission of some pieces, and then an in-person day which I went up to Manchester for. I remember speaking to Anne-Mei (violinist) in the Upper Sixth about it last year, and she also said it completely changed her life and was a really inspiring experience.
“I’m really excited for the opportunity to perform in an orchestra at the BBC Proms in the summer, at the Royal Albert Hall. The standard and commitment of the players in the orchestra is what makes it stand out I think, and it was the thing that I was really shocked by.
“I’d be thrilled to have a career in music after Trinity, but I’m not sure whether in singing, jazz drum kit, or the bassoon. I’ve been doing music my whole life, and joining Trinity just made me want to do it even more. The immeasurable opportunities that the school has to offer musically are so special.
“I have a lot of thanks to give to Mrs Regan, the Director of Music, and David Swinson, the previous Director of Music, who really helped spark my passion for music and made me consider pursuing it professionally. I have travelled Europe on solo tours, sung in operas, recorded with Jacob Collier, and sung on some amazing film soundtracks by some of the best composers in the world, all thanks to Mr Swinson. He’s always encouraged me to pursue the thing I really wanted to do and has had a massive part to play in me becoming a member of this fabulous orchestra. If you’re thinking of pursuing music as a career, or even just have a great passion for music, I can’t recommend NYO highly enough. You won’t regret it!”
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