Wiltshire Rural Music is inviting applications from young musicians across the county to win this year’s prestigious Liz Lawrence Award. The award currently stands at £1,000 and is given, through a competitive process, to a promising student in order to assist in their studies in higher musical education.
Applicants need to be Wiltshire based-students who will be leaving school in 2023 to head to further education in Sept 2023. This means that they can be living in Bath but attending school in Wiltshire, or vice versa.
“In 2022, we awarded two prizes after a delay in auditions as a result of the pandemic,” said Daisy Chapman from Wiltshire Rural Music. “Warminster-based 19 year old Joely Hudson was our 2021 winner and spent her money on a new mouthpiece for her saxophone which she said transformed the way she now plays.
“As a winner you will also get to curate your own concert at a venue of your choice in Wiltshire. Joely was studying Musical Theatre in London but returned to her home of Warminster for her award winner’s concert in September and played nearly two hours of incredible live music alongside two of her musician friends. The evening was a huge success attended by the Mayor or Warminster, board members of Wiltshire Rural Music and Joely’s family and friends.” (Joely is pictured above)
The 2022 winner is Gabriel Longbotham from Devizes, an exceptionally accomplished organist and he showcased his talent across a number of classical styles in his audition. He is currently studying Popular Music at Royal Northern College of Music and will return in July 2023 for his concert, where he will be playing across his musical disciplines of piano, guitar and voice. Gabriel explains, “I was thrilled when I found out I’d won, it’s nice to get that validation for all the hours I’ve put in.”
“Now it’s someone else’s turn to shine and we would love to receive applications from all genres of musical performers, whether it’s singer/songwriter, classical or musical theatre,” said Kirsten Mulcahy, Creative Director at Wiltshire Rural Music. “Previous winners have gone on to pursue careers in music, performing across Wiltshire, the UK and around the world. This is a wonderful opportunity to help a young person realise their dream and take the next step on their musical journey.”
Entries for this year’s Liz Lawrence Award close on 1 May 2023, with auditions to be held in Trowbridge in June. More details on how to apply can be found on the ‘Bursaries’ page of the charity’s website wiltshireruralmusic.co.uk