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Making Music, the UK’s largest membership organisation for leisure-time music groups, is delighted to announce the 2019 winners of the Philip & Dorothy Green Award for Young Concert Artists (PDGYA).
Following a preliminary selection round, 65 young musicians aged under 27 were auditioned by a distinguished panel of experienced musicians, chaired by Dr Christopher Fifield and including conductor and composer Peter Ash, pianist Daniel Tong and voice specialist Jane Irwin.
The 2019 Philip and Dorothy Green Young Artists (see notes for biographies) are:
- Charlotte Bowden soprano
- Manu Brazo saxophone
- Indira Grier cello
- Abel Puustinen violin
- Amy Roberts oboe
- Antonina Suhanova piano
Funded by the Philip & Dorothy Green Music Trust, a legacy of composer Philip Green which supports the development of young musicians and composers, the Young Artists will be available for bookings by Making Music member groups for the next two years.
The scheme allows young musicians at the start of their careers to build up valuable contacts and experience presenting concerts all over the UK, and enables Making Music members to engage the stars of tomorrow at an affordable rate.
Alumni of the PDGYA, which has been running since 1961, include Stephen Isserlis, Joo Yeon Sir, Mark Simpson, Ian Bostridge, and Roderick Williams.
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For more information contact natalie@makingmusic.org.uk
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Notes to editors
About Making Music
Since 1935, Making Music has championed leisure-time music groups across the UK with practical services, artistic development opportunities and by providing a collective voice for its members. We now represent over 3,500 groups of around 190,000 musicians of all types, genres and abilities. We help them run their group so they can get on with making music! www.makingmusic.org.uk
About the Philip and Dorothy Green Award for Young Concert Artists
The Philip and Dorothy Green Award for Young Concert Artists was created in 1961 and has helped to launch the careers of dozens of young musicians including Stephen Isserlis, Joo Yeon Sir, Mark Simpson, Ian Bostridge, and Roderick Williams. It is made possible by the generosity of the Philip and Dorothy Green Music Trust, which promotes young artists and composers. Visit www.makingmusic.org.uk/pdgya to find out more about the winners.
Winners' biographies
Charlotte Bowden soprano
Charlotte Bowden is currently working towards her Masters in Performance at the Royal College of Music. She is a Britten-Pears Young Artist and was recently awarded second prize and the audience prize at the Maureen Lehane Vocal Awards. Concert highlights include performing at Snape Maltings, the Oxford Lieder Festival with Sarah Walker and the London Handel Festival. Upcoming performances in 2019 include a recital at the Aldeburgh Festival and studying and performing at the Verbier Festival Atelier Lyrique. Charlotte is a Big Give Scholar supported by the Royal College of Music. She is also a Help Musicians UK Ian Fleming Award holder and is grateful for the support of the Josephine Baker Trust.
Manu Brazo saxophone
Award-winning Spanish saxophonist Manu Brazo made his concerto debut in the UK with Guildford Symphony Orchestra in 2016, and since then has performed with the London Sinfonietta, Orquesta Betica de Camara and London City Orchestra among others. Since 2017 Manu has won the Royal College of Music Saxophone Competition, the GSO Young Artist Competition and was selected for the London Sinfonietta Academy and the Britten-Pears YAP. He has performed in over 30 concerts in the UK, Norway, Greece and Spain as a soloist and with Vario Duo. In 2018 he performed at the Snape Proms conducted by Marin Alsop and was invited to perform on BBC Radio 3 as a BBC introducing artist.
Indira Grier cello
Already the recipient of several international prizes, Indira Grier is currently a Royal College of Music scholar studying with Alexander Chaushian. Previously she was taught by Melissa Phelps and then by Troels Svane at the Musikhochschule Luebeck. Indira won the 2018 Royal College of Music Concerto Competition and in 2019 she was awarded a Gold Medal in the Vienna International Music Competition. Other prizes in 2018/19 including awards from the Hattori Foundation and the Countess of Munster Trust. She has performed as a soloist and chamber musician across the UK and in Europe, and has participated in masterclasses with David Geringas, Frans Helmerson, Thomas Adès and Steven Isserlis.
Abel Puustinen violin
Finnish violinist Abel Puustinen made his debut with a symphony orchestra in 2014 performing Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto at the Helsinki Music Centre. He has since performed as a soloist with orchestras such as The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. His passion for chamber music has taken him all around Europe and to Asia. He is a Young Artist at the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival and has performed at the Wigmore Hall, Conway Hall, King’s Place, Helsinki Music Centre, The Temppeliaukio Church, Kallio Church, Victoria and Albert Museum and the Royal Albert Hall. He is a Royal College of Music Scholar and plays on a Giovanni Battista Guadagnini violin, generously loaned to him by the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
Amy Roberts oboe
British oboist Amy Roberts has recently performed as a soloist at Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall and live on Radio 3, enabling her to promote the oboe’s fantastic repertoire. While studying at the Royal Northern College of Music she won the Concerto Competition, and during her masters at the Royal Acacdemy of Music she won all three oboe and cor anglais prizes. 2018 saw her gain two awards at the International Barbirolli Oboe Competition and she commercially recorded Villa Lobos’ Concerto Grosso. She has recently featured as guest principal with London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC NOW and BBC Symphony Orchestra, and she enjoys leading participatory learning projects for young musicians.
Antonina Suhanova piano
Latvian pianist Antonina Suhanova has been performing internationally since 2000. She has appeared with orchestras across Europe and Russia, collaborating with Andris Nelsons and Vladimir Spivakov. Antonina has received awards from the Hattori Foundation, Help Musicians UK, and the Drake Calleja Trust, and has been awarded the Kenneth Loveland Gift and the William Brown Prize in the Scottish International Piano Competition. She debuted at the Barbican Hall in 2016 as a finalist of the Guildhall Gold Medal Prize, and her debut at the Wigmore Hall in 2018 was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. Antonina received her Master’s Degree with Distinction from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she studied with Ronan O'Hora.
