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Fiona Kennedy is a patron of NESMS.
Much loved Scottish entertainer Fiona Kennedy and influential actor and director John Bett, a founding member of the 7:84 theatre company, will lead the 40th birthday celebrations of the North East of Scotland Music School (NESMS) in November.
NESMS is the longest running independent music school in the area and has been the spring board for internationally renowned musicians such as Lisa Milne who has had lead roles in productions by both Scottish Opera and English National Opera and David Ferguson, the only Scot chosen by Gareth Malone for his Voices Choir.
The school’s major celebration will take place at its annual Keynotes Lunch which will be held at Norwood Hall in Aberdeen on Sunday 15th November.
Fiona Kennedy, long term patron of NESMS and John Bett are creating a musical tableau which will reflect NESMS’ history and contribution to cultural life in the north east since its inception. Current pupils of the school will perform in the tableau.
NESMS was founded in 1975 by the late Dorothy Hately who was awarded an MBE for services to music in 1987. Ms Hately, along with Lady Aberdeen, wanted to give young people who had musical promise the opportunity to have tuition which was not available to them through other pathways.
Dorothy encouraged the then director of education in Aberdeen to allow NESMS to begin classes in a part of the old Aberdeen Academy (now the Academy Shopping Centre) in Belmont Street.
NESMS opened offering teaching in four disciplines to just forty students. When work began on the transformation of the building into a retail centre, NESMS found a temporary home in the Methodist Church in the city’s Crown Terrace. Dorothy Hately’s tireless work on behalf of NESMS led to the awarding of a grant from the Scottish Arts Council Lottery Fund and from the Foundation for Sports and the Arts, to enable NESMS to purchase a permanent home.
In 1998, the school officially opened the door to its new premises and the Huntly Street centre was named the Dorothy Hately Music Centre in memory of its leading light who sadly died in 1996, never seeing the centre which she had worked so hard to achieve on behalf of the area’s musically talented youngsters.
From its early beginnings of four disciplines and 40 students, today NESMS offers 15 disciplines, taught by 20 tutors, to more than 250 students at its Huntly Street base with four teaching studios, a library and a lounge. And it’s not just students from the Granite City alone – talented musicians from the whole of the north of Scotland including the Highlands and Islands are pupils at the school … and they are not just youngsters!
The school welcomes enquiries from anyone who has reached a suitable level of attainment whatever their circumstances, age or musical background.
Potential students audition for entry to NESMS. Instrumentalists generally speaking should have attained Grade 5. Criteria for vocalists relate to voice maturity or experience of singing solo or in groups.
The range of instrumental tuition on offer is wide and includes brass (horn, trumpet), strings (violin, viola, cello, double bass) and woodwind (flute, recorder, clarinet, oboe, bassoon) and of course piano, with tuition in jazz as well as classical styles available. Students who wish to develop their ability to deal confidently with an audience are offered opportunities for both solo and ensemble public performances.
Students pay fees which are kept to a minimum through an active volunteer fundraising programme and the generosity of trusts, foundations, companies such as Aberdeen Asset Management and Mattioli Woods Plc as well as private individuals. There are scholarships which can be applied for annually. These are awarded on merit. Through assistance provided by the John Gordon Foundation and Aberdeen City Council a fund is available to pay lesson fees for students in financial hardship.
Barbara McFarlane, Chairman of NESMS, says that it is remarkable what the school has accomplished over the past 40 years.
Barbara says,
“Since Dorothy Hately founded the school in 1975 we have more than trebled the number of music disciplines that we offer. The number of students we teach has also increased by over six times since the school started.
“We are immensely proud to have reached this 40 year milestone and it’s a time to celebrate the fact that many of our students have gone on to become extremely successful musical composers, teachers and musicians.
“NESMS is also extremely fortunate to have such exceptional ties with the most distinguished music tutors in their field, many of whom are former NESMS students themselves, and also with our patrons who are all extremely passionate about dedicating their knowledge and expertise to the musical development of our students.
“Fiona Kennedy is a faithful NESMS patron and we are honoured that she and John Bett have both devoted their time to creating a musical portrayal of NESMS and all the effort it has contributed to Scottish music over the years.”
To book tickets for the NESMS Keynotes Auction Lunch, or for more information on how to enrol for lessons, phone North East of Scotland Music School on 01224 649685 or email nesms@dsl.pipex.com
Past and Present Notable NESMS Students:
The past 40 years have seen an abundance of notable and influential Scottish musicians begin their musical careers at NESMS.
Lisa Milne
Renowned Scottish Soprano Lisa Milne is one of the best known of NESMS’s alumni after a successful and extensive career in opera and classical music. Lisa was only 14 when she first started singing lessons at NESMS. After securing leading roles for world-famous operas such as The English National Opera, Metropolitan, New York and Scottish Opera, Lisa was awarded an MBE from the Queen in 2005 for her services to opera and music. She is now a vocal coach at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Ian Wilson
Ian Wilson began his exceptional career in music as a woodwind student at NESMS. Ian now shares his expertise with his very own NESMS protégés’ as he is a visiting recorder specialist at his former music school. After winning multiple music prizes during his time studying at Guildhall School of Music and Drama he is now the Principle Recorder Professor at Guildhall and Head of Woodwind at Eton College.
Ian has also spent time performing as a soloist with a variety of Europe’s period instrument orchestras and as a chamber musician in many European festivals.
Oliver Searle
Former NESMS piano student Oliver Searle was tutored at the school whilst studying for a degree in Music Education at Aberdeen University, he then went on to gain a distinction in his Masters degree from The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
Oliver frequently collaborates with music charities, most recently with Drake Music Scotland for the London cultural Olympiad, he also regularly produces music for theatre and has been involved in a number of music projects for people with cochlear implants. He is currently Creative & Contextual Studies and Composition Lecturer at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow.
Joseph Long
Accomplished composer and concert pianist Joseph Long studied piano at NESMS. He has vast concert experience in a number of world famous venues including The Grand Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory, The Calcutta School of Music and The University of Almeria in Spain. After leaving Aberdeen to study at Cambridge he is now back in his native city and teaches advanced piano at NESMS and Aberdeen University.
Donald Gillan
Aberdeen-born Donald Gillan was a cello student at NESMS, he later won scholarships to the Royal College of Music and the Royal Northern College. He has since toured with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra performing in countries including Japan, Spain and Germany. Donald also freelances for the BBC Scottish Sympathy Orchestra, Scottish Opera Orchestra, plays in duos and quartets and performed at three prom concerts at the Royal Albert Hall.
Sally Garden
Sally Garden is a musicologist, mezzo-soprano, and a former NESMS vocal student who has trained with distinguished Italian soprano Laura Sarti. She was also a finalist in the Mary Garden International prize and was later appointed Historical Musician in Residence at the Wighton Heritage Centre, Dundee. During her time there she was responsible for directing a three year programme of music events to unfold one of Scotland’s finest music archives.
She is now an Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre for Scandinavian Studies at the University of Aberdeen and has been able to dedicate her time towards recital work.
David Ferguson
Current NESMS student David Ferguson has been tipped for musical success after being handpicked by celebrity choirmaster Gareth Malone OBE after a nationwide search for a 17 strong choir. Before joining Gareth Malone’s Voices in 2013, David had been singing as a choirboy since the age of eight and had performed with a variety of different choirs throughout the UK.
After a CD release and a UK tour David joined up with four members of Gareth Malone’s Voices to form their own band, which they named The Harbour. David travels frequently to London to attend recording sessions and performances, as well as receiving voice tuition at NESMS.
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