Thursday, August 31, 2017

2017 Launchpad Prize Winners #3

Introducing...

Aesthesia Saxophone Quartet

(Royal College of Music)



The Players

Jonathan Vaux - soprano sax
Daniel Scott - alto sax
Stephanie Frankland - tenor sax
Ashley Brand - baritone sax

Biography

The London based Aesthesia Saxophone Quartet is an award-winning chamber ensemble from the Royal College of Music, studying under Kyle Horch. Despite having only recently formed in September 2016, the members (Jonathan Vaux, Daniel Scott, Stephanie Frankland and Ashley Brand) have developed a strong affinity with one another, and this is apparent through their communicative approach to performance.At the 2017 Nordic Saxophone Festival in Aarhus, Denmark, the Aesthesia Quartet performed in a masterclass with Evgeni Novikov, following which they were asked to also give an evening recital. Closer to home, they were given the opportunity to play in a masterclass led by Melanie Henry.Recently, the group were awarded the June Emerson Launchpad Prize in the Royal College of Music’s Woodwind Chamber Competition and are supported by Talent Unlimited.

June Emerson Wind Music would like to thank Alice Kelley for organising 
the awarding of the Launchpad Prize at the Royal College of Music.

Links

Aesthesia Saxophone Quartet

Royal College of Music

Thursday, August 24, 2017

2017 Launchpad Prize Winners #2

Introducing...

Chameleon Wind Quintet

(Royal Northern College of Music)



The Players

Anna Murphy - flute
George Strickland - oboe
Jessica Tomlinson - clarinet
Joshua Jones - saxophone
Eleanor Mills - bassoon

Biography

Formed in October 2016, Chameleon is a group of musicians who met at the RNCM in Manchester. United by their ability to double/triple, they formed a group where each member performs on multiple instruments, often within the same piece.
As there is no existing repertoire for Chameleon, we do our own arrangements (though we would love to collaborate with orchestrators/arrangers/composers for future projects!). This means we can push the boundaries of typical wind ensembles, and can experiment with new combinations of wind instruments.
We base our set-up on a traditional wind quintet, replacing French Horn with Saxophone, and each member is principally one of the other four instruments - Flute, Oboe, Clarinet and Bassoon. Our unique range of doubling instruments also means we can transform from a wind quintet to a sax group during a piece.
We have a keen interest in performance and outreach, bringing our music to other people in both the concert hall and in the community.


June Emerson Wind Music would like to thank Suzy Stonefield for organising 
the awarding of the Launchpad Prize at the Royal Northern College of Music.

Links

Chameleon Wind Quintet


Royal Northern College of Music

Thursday, August 17, 2017

2017 Launchpad Prize Winners #1

Introducing...

Coburn Saxophone Quartet

(Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama)



The Players

Sarah Knight - soprano sax
Sarah Smith - alto sax
Megan Davies - tenor sax
Amber Reeve - baritone sax

Biography

Formed in 2015 at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, the Coburn Quartet are an energetic and upcoming female saxophone ensemble based in Cardiff. We are a close group of friends and colleagues who enjoy rehearsing and performing together. Our experience includes events ranging from concert recitals to private engagements. With our extensive set list varying from jazz and pop to concert repertoire, we are available to hire for all events and functions throughout the UK. We are extremely thankful for the continued support and specialist coaching from many industry professionals.



June Emerson Wind Music would like to thank Kevin Price for organising 
the awarding of the Launchpad Prize at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.

Links

Conurn Saxophone Quartet

Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama

Friday, August 11, 2017

The June Emerson Wind Music Launchpad Prize 2017

About the Prize

The Launchpad Prize was an idea that began as a desire to help young musicians in some significant way. With our limited financial resources it was difficult to come up with something that would make enough of a difference to make it worthwhile. The idea of sponsoring a prize at one of the UK music colleges was something we just couldn’t afford, and we also felt that we’d like to be able to offer something to more than just one college and be a little more ‘hands on’. We eventually decided that we would assist one predominantly final year wind ensemble from each of the major UK music colleges to launch themselves onto the professional circuit.

First awarded in 2009, the Launchpad Prize consists of practical help, including:a substantial JEWM music voucher; dedicated space on the JEWM website; publicity at any time through our online media channels (JEWM blog, Twitter, Facebook etc); editorial coverage wherever possible; unlimited free advertising flyers in JEWM music orders in order to publicise themselves; exclusive access to the JEWM shop with use of all music and facilities; complimentary copies of any existing and future Emerson Edition publications which fit their instrumental line-up, and anything else we can think of.

The 2017 Winners!

Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
Coburn Saxophone Quartet

Royal Northern College of Music
Chameleon Wind Quintet

Royal College of Music
Aesthesia Saxophone Quartet

Profiles of each of this year's winners will appear on this blog over the coming weeks...