Information About Kevin - Clapham teacher -

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Personal Description:

A graduate of the RNCM, Kevin was awarded a full scholarship throughout the duration of his undergraduate and postgraduate studies. He earned the highest qualifications in both his degrees, a Distinction in a Master’s in Music Performance as well as a First Class with Honours as a Bachelor of Music. His studies were kindly supported by the Allan & Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust, Ann Gerrard Award, Donny Knowles Scholarship, Thomas Jellis Bequest Fund and the Emmanuel Bursary. He has been invited back with a full scholarship to pursue a Postgraduate Diploma in September 2022 as a violist, with professors Susie Meszaros and Martin Schaefer.

During his time at the RNCM, he studied with the International Chair of Violin, Prof. Yair Kless and also Leland Chen. Under their tutelage, he was offered to perform the Glazunov Violin Concerto with the Manchester Beethoven Orchestra as well as Bruch’s “Scottish Fantasy” with the Burnley Symphony Orchestra. Through the RNCM Strings Festival, he was invited to participate in masterclasses with esteemed violinists such as Ning Feng, Mauricio Fuks and Kristof Barati.

Kevin was very fortunate to have been awarded a Postgraduate Award by the HELP Musicians UK in 2019. He also secured the Leverhulme Mentorship Award at the RNCM, where he undertook a year long pedagogue placement with the RNCM Young Strings, and currently works as a Deputy Tutor.
In 2018, he joined the RNCM at the Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte in Montepulciano. His orchestral experience also extends to having performed alongside the Northern Ballet Orchestra and the Hallé Orchestra. After his graduation from the RNCM, he has since been called back to perform as Principal Violist in the opera productions of Ariadne auf Naxos and Menotti’s “The Medium”.

He has taken part in music festivals such as the International Mendelssohn Festival, studying with Prof. Sebastian Schmidt, the Virtuoso & Belconto Festival in Lucca, studying with Prof. Boris Brotsvyn and awarded a full scholarship at the Musikkurswochen in Arosa studying with Prof. Ingolf Turban. He has most recently been invited to take part in the Dartington Festival’s Summer School and Musikkurswochen in Arosa, where he will study as a violist with Max Baillie and Prof. Hariolf Schligtig, having been offered full scholarships at both festivals.

Before his time at the RNCM, Kevin was a scholar at the Wells Cathedral School, where he was he led the Symphony Orchestra and String Chamber Orchestra, studying with Catherine Lord.
He also toured with the Asian Youth Orchestra in 2012 and 2013, performing alongside soloist Steven Isserlis at venues such as the Esplanade Hall, the Tokyo Metropolitan Opera Hall and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
He currently concertises a beautiful violin by Niccolo Gagliano, and a bow by François Peccatte both on loan by the RNCM. His viola, by Federico Busan, is also loaned to him by the RNCM.

Tutoring Experience:

RNCM Young Strings (2018-2019)

Deputee Tutor with RNCM Young Strings (2020-current)

Violin Tutor at New Islington Free School (2019-20) and Stockport Grammar School (2021-22)

Tutoring Approach:

I believe that the arts mean something different to everyone. Whether a means of expression or an intellectual experience, it allows us to connect to other people through a medium that exists beyond words. Having been fortunate enough to pursue my passion as a vocation, I have discovered so much about myself as a person through the violin.

My hopes as a tutor is to inspire my students to find the same joys I did in music, with the violin as a medium that can help us explore and navigate our relationship with music. By discovering new repertoire, either through listening or learning, it would hopefully open new horizons for the student to build their own ideas of music.

I also believe in having a solid fundamental technique, as this would effectively serve as our tool of expression and allow us to play to express our musical ideas in an effortless way. Music and technique can never be separated, as one serves the other. By hopefully having the overarching goal of tone production whilst learning technique, it should hopefully help the both of us achieve ways of learning that are engaging and rewarding.