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...

June Emerson Wind Music - Launchpad Prize 2015

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 Winners!

Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama

Seren Winds

Trinity College of Music

The Risatina Quintet

Royal College of Music

Hestia Saxophone Quartet

Guildhall School of Music & Drama

Elysium Brass

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

Helmsley Arts Centre Performance: Bells Up! from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

 

The award-winning Bells Up! were the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland 2011 recipients of the June Emerson Wind Music Launchpad Prize for outstanding wind/brass ensembles. The group was formed two years ago by senior students studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. This afternoon they will play a wide variety of music, and pride themselves in being a platform through which young Scottish arrangers and composers can be heard.

This is the first performance in our new North Star Series, which aims to support young musicians whose opportunities for professional performance are limited by their own lack of financial and marketing resources.

Bells Up! Andrew McLean (horn), Cillian Ó Ceallacháin (trombone), Eoin Tonner (trumpet),
Rachel Brown (tuba), Holly Boddice (trumpet)

Tickets: £8 including Tea

Visit helmsleyarts.co.uk for tickets and info

The Hafren Wind Quintet - Launchpad Winners 2011

The Hafren Wind Quintet

The Hafren Wind Quintet was formed by a group of friends who began studying as BMus (hons) students at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in September 2007. They came together through a mutual love of ensemble playing and their motivation, drive and determination together with their sense of fun, passion and ambition has proved a winning formula. Following the success of their first recital just a few months after their formation, the Quintet have performed at music societies and in concert series across Wales and England, gaining a reputation for exciting and musical playing. Keen to make the best use possible of their creative music making, the quintet have raised money for many good causes and taken part in outreach projects for the Touch Trust and school children both locally and further afield. Lovers of new music, the quintet have performed premieres of many works, not only for wind quintet, but also in collaborations with string quartets, singers, and other performers.

The Hafren Wind Quintet have played in masterclasses with many renowned artists and coaches, their main coaches being Meyrick Alexander (former Principal Bassoon, Philharmonia Orchestra) and Christopher Vale (Sub-Principal Bassoon, Orchestra of Welsh National Opera). They took part in the Welsh National Opera Elgar Project in 2007 and as a result, were asked to coach ensembles at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Junior Department. Many members of the Quintet have since been invited to perform as members of the Welsh National Opera Elgar Quintet. In just their second year at the College, the Quintet won second place in the RWCMD Woodwind Chamber Prize. In 2009 they were invited to be the Welsh National Opera Young Players of the Year, culminating in a performance with the National Dance Company of Wales.

The future looks bright for the talented Quintet. They are grateful and privileged to have won the June Emerson Prize, providing them with support at the crucial time when many members graduate from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. With many recitals and outreach projects to come, the Quintet are looking forward to a great deal more years of very enjoyable music making.

Bells Up! - Launchpad Winners 2011

Bells Up! Andrew McLean (horn), Cillian Ó Ceallacháin (trombone), Eoin Tonner (trumpet),
Rachel Brown (tuba), Holly Boddice (trumpet)

“Bells Up!” Brass Quintet was formed in 2009 by a mixture of first and second year students studying on the undergraduate BMus course at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. The brass quintet is young and fresh and there is a surplus of ambition and enthusiasm within the ranks. The members all hail from different corners of Scotland and Ireland which include Dunoon, Carnoustie, Glasgow, Mid-Lothian and Cork. Individually, each member of the quintet is a highly experienced ensemble player. They have experience in orchestral, wind band, jazz band, wind ensemble, brass band and symphonic brass playing, to name but a few.

The group's learning environment offers the expertise of the best professional players and teachers throughout Scotland of which Tony Swainson (former Principal Tuba BBCSSO), Nigel Boddice (former Principal Trumpet BBCSSO), Bryan Allen (former Trumpet Fine Arts Brass) and John Wallace (Principal RSAMD) have offered their advice. Bells Up! Brass Quintet have been fortunate to play in many beautiful places in Scotland including Dunkeld Cathedral and "A House For An Art Lover" in Glasgow. As well as this, the group have performed with numerous Choirs and Choral Societies including Les Sirenes and The Bridge of Weir Choral Society.

Bells Up! performing

This brass quintet are also keen enthusiasts of music education in Scotland and have recently started working with primary schools helping to promote instrumental tuition. Bells Up! are the recent recipients of the Mary D Adams prize for Chamber Music from the RSAMD and were finalists in the Academy’s Governor’s Recital Prize for Chamber Music.

The highlight of the quintet's career so far has been appearing on the Christmas Eve television broadcast for the BBC in 2010 where they were chosen to play as representatives of the RSAMD's Brass department. This can be viewed on the Bells Up! Facebook page.

Les Trois Canards - Launchpad Winners 2011

Les Trois Canards is made up of three postgraduate oboe students from the Royal Northern College of Music. The trio was formed in September 2009 and has already achieved success, having made it to the final of the Woodwind Chamber Music Prize in both 2010 and 2011.

The trio has also taken part in master classes in both Manchester and London. In March it had the opportunity to provide a whole recital programme as part of the Monday Lunchtime concert series at the RNCM.

Les Trois Canards enjoys playing a wide range of music from Baroque to contemporary, as well as discovering some of the lesser known works written for oboe trio. In 2011 they will be recording ‘Intercession’ by James Macmillan to be part of a new CD of woodwind works performed by students at the RNCM.

Vesuvio Wind Quintet - Launchpad Winners 2011

The Vesuvio Wind Quintet was founded in 2006 when its members were all students at Trinity College of Music (now Trinity Laban). Past highlights include competing in the 6th Henri Tomasi International Woodwind Quintet Competition in Marseilles, performing in the 2009 Chiddingly Festival and a recital at the Old Royal Naval College Chapel, Greenwich. In April 2011 the quintet travelled to Saudi Arabia to perform for the International Concert Committee and British International School in Al-Khobar, and at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Thuwal.

The Vesuvio Wind Quintet is focused on performing contemporary quintet repertoire by living British and Irish composers, recently commissioning a new work from Irish composer Cormac McCarthy. They like to combine these works with standard repertoire of both European and British works from early 19th century onwards, alongside solo, duo, trios and quartet works in order to add more colour and interest to their programme.

The quintet is also committed to music education and has enjoyed performing many school and family concerts.

The Vesuvio Wind Quintet is grateful for support from the Fidelio Charitable Trust.

For details on future performances visit www.vesuviowindquintet.com

Launchpad Winners Gelachter Wind Trio visit June Emerson Wind Music

Last Monday we had a visit from the Gelachter Trio, one of our Launchpad winners. They had traveled up from London, spent a few hours here and then went back down again, all in the same day. They were such a lovely group and it was great to listen to them playing their repertoire – obviously all very talented musicians.

Gelachter Wind Trio with Rachel

Here's an excerpt on the day from the Gelachter Wind Trio website:

On Monday 18th April Gelachter Trio had an amazingly fun road trip up to York to visit the lovely Rachel Emerson who has so kindly been supporting us since last year after our success in the Royal College of Music Chamber Competition.

It was such a useful experience to be able to choose whatever music we liked from the shop and have a play through as sometimes you really can never judge a piece by its cover! We discovered a whole new repertoire that day with some beautiful arrangements of Shostakovich, Bozza and Rameau that we are very keen to programme into our up and coming recitals! We came away hours later weighed down with new music and heading back for London very sleepy but very excited for our next rehearsal.

Thank you again Rachel for a memorable day :)

If you wish to purchase music we highly recommend their store so please visit them at http://www.juneemerson.co.uk/

Read the whole story on their website: http://www.gelachtertrio.com/news.html

Visit to June Emerson Wind Music for Meridian Brass

Last month we had a visit from Meridian Brass. They’d set off at about 6am from London and drove back down again that evening, having spent a good part of the day browsing through new repertoire and enjoying the surroundings.

Three members of Meridian Brass with Rachel Emerson

Meridian Brass are an exciting and diverse brass quartet and one of our Launchpad Prize winners for 2010. With an emphasis on performing their own arrangements, they enjoy repertoire from classical and popular genres.

They entertained shoppers at Canary Wharf yesterday. Join their Facebook group to keep up-to-date on upcoming events and performances. For information about the group be sure to check out their website too: www.meridianbrass.co.uk