May Scholar of the Month
9-year-old Leela from Bexley is one of our newest Scholars, and began her award in September 2021. She was nominated for the Scholarship after taking part in group trumpet lessons at primary school and showing huge potential and rapid progress. Now that Leela is able to have longer, individual lessons her progress has become even more impressive. She achieved a distinction for her Grade 1 Trumpet exam in the autumn, after just one term as a Scholar, and one term later achieved a distinction for Grade 2! This is an incredible achievement for such a young player who has been learning for such a short amount of time.
Leela playing at our Awards Day at the Royal College of Music
Leela displays good technical ability and is a creative musician who enjoys exploring new repertoire and experimenting with sounds. She is a confident sight-reader and is working hard on her music theory skills, focusing on different musical styles and sound production in the upper register. Her teacher told us that she has a positive and enthusiastic attitude to learning and that her continuing progress is thanks to her regular practice at home.
In addition to her trumpet lessons Leela attends Beginner Orchestra every week, and playing in this ensemble is supporting her developing musicianship skills. Leela took part in our Awards Day at the Royal College of Music in October, and in our 10th anniversary celebration concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in February, so she has already performed at two very prestigious venues!
Leela with LMF Ambassador Jess Gillam MBE
We asked Leela a few questions about her Scholarship so far…
How did you feel about becoming a London Music Fund Scholar in September?
I felt really nervous, actually, and I didn’t know what it would be like! But after I became a scholar, I made some new friends, and we had a great time at our awards ceremony, and now I feel proud and happy with how well I'm doing with playing my trumpet!
What’s your favourite thing about playing the trumpet?
Really, just having fun, and discovering new things the trumpet can do! I enjoy playing music with my friends and making cool music.
What is your proudest achievement since starting your Scholarship?
I've joined orchestras, played lots of new songs, and I've actually played in the Royal College of Music and Queen Elizabeth Hall!
Tell us about performing at the Royal College of Music and the Queen Elizabeth Hall – what were these experiences like for you?
Cool and amazing because I never thought I'd play in a big famous venue with lots of people watching in the audience! I was really nervous at our first performance at Royal College of Music because I was at the front of the stage, but I felt better because my new friends were there with me!
Now that you’ve done so well in your Grade 2, what are you looking forward to next?
I'm looking forward to playing more music in the orchestras and ensembles with my friends - I've been asked to advance to the intermediate orchestra so I'm nervous but excited about that!