A good degree of success for Leeds College of Music!

Following a successful summer of recitals, performances and exams, Leeds College of Music students are preparing to graduate! With students achieving some of the best results to date, the College is taking to the Town Hall in Leeds on Thursday 5 November to celebrate their successes at the annual Graduation and Awards Ceremony. This year marks the College’s first independently run degree ceremony, held for the first time the Leeds Town Hall. The ceremony will see Open University BA and MA degrees in Jazz, Music, Popular Music and Music Production as well as foundation degrees in Music Production for Film and Television and Commercial Music Production and Recording awarded to 183 students. Alongside the degree ceremonies, two fellowships will be conferred and a range of musical performances will be given by the new graduates. The afternoon will commence with a pre-ceremony classical music performance from current BA Music students, the Appassionato String Quartet, which will be followed by a Fanfare from Leeds Town Hall’s resident organist, Dr. Simon Lindley. Following the conferment of the Jazz degrees, graduands and their guests will be treated to a performance by a quartet of graduating jazz students. The quartet features the award winning saxophonist Russell Henderson, keyboardist Peter Lee, bassist Sam Vicary and drummer Dan Hayman. Russell, Sam and Dan regularly play together as part of the jazz quartet, Tasq, which has been praised by leading professional jazz musician, Gilad Atzmon. Following conferment of the Popular Music degrees, the Meryl Jane band will take to the stage. Having completed her BA Popular Music degree, Meryl Davies is now focussing on her solo work, which she will be showcasing at the ceremony. Alongside her co-writer Patrick Amos and band members Alistair Thynne and Huw Foster, she will be showcasing her unique Latin and African inspired music at the ceremony. The last performance of the day will be from the upcoming singer/songwriter and Music Production graduate, Charlotte (Charlie) Bath. Charlie plays music inspired by the likes of Ryan Adams, Imogen Heap and James Taylor, creating an emotive mix of acoustic music that has been described as both “beautiful and romantic”. As well as musical performances, the day will see a Fellowship conferred on Penny Stirling and an Honorary Fellowship on Matthew Sims. Penny Stirling is being awarded her Fellowship by the College’s Principal, Philip Meaden, for her extensive work with Yorkshire Young Musicians. Penny Stirling is the Director of Yorkshire Young Musicians, a collaborative project set up by a partnership between Opera North, Leeds College of Music and the Federation of Music Services.  It offers students between the ages of 8 and 18 the chance to study with some of the best teachers in the country and to work and perform with like-minded young musicians. Matthew Sims is currently the Principal Music Officer for Leeds International Concert Season, the largest local authority music programme in the UK, programming over 200 concerts a year in the Leeds area. Matthew is also a long term friend and Governor of the College and will be receiving the Honorary Fellowship as a token of appreciation for his work over the years, from the College’s Director of Development, David Warren.