One hundred and fifty young musicians enjoyed the opportunity to attend a Masterclass given by the Fitzwilliam String Quartet.
The Masterclass took place at Stockbridge Parish Church in Edinburgh and is an annual event for the pupils of St Mary’s Music School due to a generous bequest from the late Nigel Murray, a former Director of Music at the school. The Nigel Murray Masterclass gives the opportunity for students to work with and witness leading musicians of international standing. The masterclasses are open to all interested students and their teachers from throughout Scotland. Young people from eleven schools were present.
Sixteen young musicians from four string quartets performed Shostakovich, Borodin, Dvorak and Haydn and received constructive criticism from the Fitzwilliam Quartet. Two string quartets were from St Mary’s Music School, one from City of Edinburgh Music School and one from The Music School at Douglas Academy, Milngavie. The morning concluded with a performance of Shostakovich from the Fitzwilliam Quartet, one of the longest established string quartets in the world.
Previous Nigel Murray Masterclasses have taken place with Nicola Benedetti MBE, violinist, Joanna MacGregor, pianist, Steven Osborne, pianist, Felix Andrievsky, Professor of Violin at the Royal College of Music and Steven Isserlis, cellist.
Dr Kenneth Taylor, Headteacher at St Mary’s Music School, said:
“Nigel Murray was Director of Music at St Mary’s Music School between 1980 and 1996. He was a distinguished violinist, one of the most talented and admired musicians in Scotland. On his death he left a substantial sum of money to St Mary’s Music School to be invested to fund a series of masterclasses for the benefit of the pupils. Each year the school extends this legacy to young instrumentalists from around Scotland and northern England.“
“We were delighted that the Fitzwilliam Quartet agreed to lead this year’s Nigel Murray Masterclass sharing their exceptional expertise and experience with our string pupils and those from other schools who attended.“
More information about Masterclasses at St Mary's Music School.