Trumpeter crowned with bursary prize at Music & Monarchy Concert

Gideon Brooks, a 22-year-old trumpeter from Bognor Regis, took home the music bursary at Coro Nuovo’s fifth annual summer concert on Sunday evening.

26 entrants had competed for the prize before judges selected just four young musicians from Sussex to compete at the choir’s ‘Music & Monarchy’ performance.  They were Gideon; Claire Ward, a 24-year-old soprano, from Crawley; Ayla Sahin, 18, from Brighton and 24-year-old soprano, Rebekah Smith from Hove.

Gideon and Rebekah were both finalists in the inaugural Young Musicians’ Bursary last year, when they were pipped to the post by saxophonist Hannah Corcoran.

The bursary competition is open to singers and instrumentalists aged between 18 and 25 and is designed to support their studies at one of the UK’s leading conservatoires.

Judges were David Angus, music director of Boston Lyric Opera and honorary conductor of the Symphony Orchestra; Mark Stone, a professional baritone who has performed at the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne and La Scala; and the choir’s founder, Catherine Kent. Coro Nuovo’s music director, international tenor Andrew Rees, conducted and compèred the evening.

David said: “All the finalists performed to an extremely high standard which made our decision very difficult. They will all clearly have remarkable careers in the music industry but we have chosen Gideon Brooks for his outstanding professionalism”.  David went on to pay tribute to Phillip Sear, who accompanied all the soloists.

On receiving his £1,000 bursary prize, Gideon said: “Thank you very much for having me back for a second time. It is such an honour to win.  I congratulate Andrew Rees, the superb conductor of the Coro Nuovo choir who always sing so brilliantly and energetically.”

The concert also commemorated the 65th Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s Accession. The programme included British and royalty-themed classics such as ‘Zadok the Priest’, Hubert Parry’s ‘I was Glad’, the ‘Triumphal Chorus’ from Aida, and the ever-popular Hallelujah chorus from Handel’s Messiah.

During the judges’ deliberation, Dame Vera Lynn’s centenary was celebrated with an acapella rendition of ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’, followed by audience participation for Yours and We’ll Meet Again.  The final item was the Britten setting of the National Anthem.

The Coro Nuovo Young Musicians’ Bursary will return again next year.

–end–

Note to editors:

Coro Nuovo is a choir consisting of more than 50 singers, started in 2012 by Catherine Kent and international tenor Andrew Rees.  The choir only meets occasionally, in preparation for four concerts each year.

The Young Musician of the Year competition began in 2016. The bursary is intended for a young musician aged 18 to 25 with a Sussex connection, to help fund their musical studies.  The bursary winner will also be invited to perform with Coro Nuovo at future concerts. Auditions were held on 4 June 2017 and the final was judged by David Angus, conductor of the Boston Lyric Opera, Mark Stone, international baritone and the choir’s founder, Catherine Kent.

Sponsor of Coro are: Traditional Oak & Timber Co, Hurstpierpoint College, My Sherpa, P & S Gallagher, Tisshaws Solicitors and The French Bedroom Company.

The winner of the 2017 Bursary is 22-year old Gideon Brooks from Bognor Regis. He is currently a postgraduate trumpet scholar at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, who recently enrolled on the ‘Masters in performance – Orchestral Artistry’ course.  Previously he was an undergraduate at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.  He has performed with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Welsh National Opera, English National Ballet and Sinfonia Cymru.

Coro Nuovo’s Music Director is international tenor Andrew Rees, who lives in Newick with his opera singer wife, Jo Appleby and two sons.  Andrew studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and later at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.  He works regularly at the Royal Opera House where roles have included Froh Das Rheingold, Eisslinger Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and he created the role of Doctor Yes in the world premiere of Anna Nicole which he repeated last autumn.  As well as being in demand as a highly regarded tenor, he is also a sought-after singing teacher and coach.

The 2018 programme for Coro Nuovo includes two performances of the Mozart Requiem in March and a summer concert with the bursary final at St Andrew’s Church, Burgess Hill on 14 July.