Otto wins The Purcell School Scholarship

5 Dec

2023 has been an all-round fantastic year for the studio but the highlight of the year for me was the news that Otto won a scholarship to the prestigious Purcell School, a boarding school for gifted young musicians.

I have known Otto for a number of years as he is the grandson of my lovely long-time student Mary. I was always very impressed with his musical ability based upon his clarinet and saxophone playing and his highly mature knowledge of jazz. Initially I taught him a couple of singing lessons but I then suggested he try the piano informally, for fun more than anything. Otto picked up ‘Seven Nation Army’ by the White Stripes hands together in about 20 minutes having never played piano properly before, and was able to sing and play it at the same time. I asked his parents and grandmother to get him a piano immediately, which thankfully they did.

For just over a year I taught Otto for a weekly one hour online piano lesson. His quick progress has astounded me, after one year he was playing to Grade 8 standard, a feat that usually takes good musicians 5 to 10 years. He is the most promising young musician that I have ever taught, and piano is ‘only his third instrument’! He is incredibly dexterous and can play at tempos that I have not seen in such a young and relatively inexperienced pianist.

It has been my absolute privilege to teach Otto, it has brought me a lot of happiness to see how well he can play. I miss our weekly lessons and I always look forward to our catch ups in the school holidays. I see a bright future for him ahead, training with some of the best musicians in the UK, with his fabulous supportive family behind him as well.

Well done Otto!