Robert Headley Memorial Fund
Letters from Bursary Award Holders
Letters from Bursary Award Holders
Melodie Hornett (2016)
I’m hoping that yourself and everyone at FMG are well. I wanted to write to you with an update of my progress since receiving the generous bursary last year from the group.
I have just completed my first semester at the London College of Music and it seems I made a good decision in choosing to study further there. Within LCM, I have been cast in Will Todd’s contemporary opera production of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, alternating roles as The Bottle (coloratura diva) and The Duchess (dramatic and eccentric soprano).
Outside of LCM, I have taken part in two auditions, the first for the BBC Symphony Chorus and the second for Opera Holland Park - both of these I was successful in so I am looking forward to starting rehearsals! OHP’s production of La Rondine will be my first professional opera engagement, taking place in June 2017. If any members of FMG are interested in attending, I will happily provide further details.
Another piece of news is that I have also been offered an internship, working at Codarts University of Performing Arts in Rotterdam as of September/October time. I shall be spending several months out there, gaining experience in their music department.
I am hoping to arrange an alumni concert with fellow students from Chichester, who are also now studying at LCM. Once details of this are confirmed, we would be very happy if members of FMG would join us for the performance.
Please do pass on my warmest regards to the group, and best wishes for 2017.
I’m hoping that yourself and everyone at FMG are well. I wanted to write to you with an update of my progress since receiving the generous bursary last year from the group.
I have just completed my first semester at the London College of Music and it seems I made a good decision in choosing to study further there. Within LCM, I have been cast in Will Todd’s contemporary opera production of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, alternating roles as The Bottle (coloratura diva) and The Duchess (dramatic and eccentric soprano).
Outside of LCM, I have taken part in two auditions, the first for the BBC Symphony Chorus and the second for Opera Holland Park - both of these I was successful in so I am looking forward to starting rehearsals! OHP’s production of La Rondine will be my first professional opera engagement, taking place in June 2017. If any members of FMG are interested in attending, I will happily provide further details.
Another piece of news is that I have also been offered an internship, working at Codarts University of Performing Arts in Rotterdam as of September/October time. I shall be spending several months out there, gaining experience in their music department.
I am hoping to arrange an alumni concert with fellow students from Chichester, who are also now studying at LCM. Once details of this are confirmed, we would be very happy if members of FMG would join us for the performance.
Please do pass on my warmest regards to the group, and best wishes for 2017.
Oxana Dodon (2012)
As a foreign musical student, the bursary kindly provided to me by the Funtington Music Group was of exceptional importance. It helped me achieve my dream of being able to study at postgraduate level and subsequently have the opportunity to perform recitals for large audiences, providing me with essential experience in my profession. The Funtington Music Group has always been very supportive and helpful by organising concert events for myself as well as the University of Chichester's Chamber Orchestra. The yearly competition organised by the Group encourages musical students to perform in front of many guests and compete for the top prize. This much needed support is not only hugely appreciated by fellow musicians and the university, but also incredibly important for the careers and professional development of many students.
As a foreign musical student, the bursary kindly provided to me by the Funtington Music Group was of exceptional importance. It helped me achieve my dream of being able to study at postgraduate level and subsequently have the opportunity to perform recitals for large audiences, providing me with essential experience in my profession. The Funtington Music Group has always been very supportive and helpful by organising concert events for myself as well as the University of Chichester's Chamber Orchestra. The yearly competition organised by the Group encourages musical students to perform in front of many guests and compete for the top prize. This much needed support is not only hugely appreciated by fellow musicians and the university, but also incredibly important for the careers and professional development of many students.
Jasmine Selby (2011)
In 2011 I began my Post-Graduate course in Performance Studies at Cardiff University. Whilst there I experienced a fantastic year of both instrumental and Academic tutoring, and had access to the Music Schools library of 19th Century instruments.
Whilst studying for my MA I gained mountains of performance experience and grew in confidence throughout the year. I am now principal flautist with the Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra, work as a freelance musician and aspire to be an individual needs assistant.
It was with help of a bursary from the Funtington Music Group that paid for a third of my tuition fees which made further education more accessible to me, for this I am very grateful.
In 2011 I began my Post-Graduate course in Performance Studies at Cardiff University. Whilst there I experienced a fantastic year of both instrumental and Academic tutoring, and had access to the Music Schools library of 19th Century instruments.
In 2011 I began my Post-Graduate course in Performance Studies at Cardiff University. Whilst there I experienced a fantastic year of both instrumental and Academic tutoring, and had access to the Music Schools library of 19th Century instruments.
Whilst studying for my MA I gained mountains of performance experience and grew in confidence throughout the year. I am now principal flautist with the Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra, work as a freelance musician and aspire to be an individual needs assistant.
It was with help of a bursary from the Funtington Music Group that paid for a third of my tuition fees which made further education more accessible to me, for this I am very grateful.
In 2011 I began my Post-Graduate course in Performance Studies at Cardiff University. Whilst there I experienced a fantastic year of both instrumental and Academic tutoring, and had access to the Music Schools library of 19th Century instruments.
Anna Thurland (2009): “Thanks to the support from the Funtington Music Group I have been able to accept a place at Birmingham Conservatoire specialising in performance. Whilst studying at the Conservatoire I have been able to work with professional singers and conductors such as Jane Robinson, Stephen Barlow, Rosalind Jones and Helen Yorke. This has given me confidence and developed my performance skills immensely. I am also performing in the choir at the Conservatoire which will be recording a CD in May. The opportunities I have been given within the Conservatoire would not have been possible if I had not had the support from the University of Chichester and the Funtington Music Group. After studying at the Conservatoire I will be working on composing and performing for a film soundtrack.”
Ben Lathbury(2009): “Having been an undergraduate student from 2006-2009, I fully appreciate the pros and cons of student life. One major pro is the reliant nature of the various Local Education Authorities who provide student loans to all students who care to apply for them. Not only does this allow students more flexibility in their day to day lives with regards to food, bills, rent and socialising, it also covers the tuition fees for the institution and offers a relatively simple payback scheme. When I began my Masters course in September 2009, I discovered that this benefit was no longer offered. Therefore, faced with the prospect of paying nearly £4000 in tuition fees as well as having to provide rent, bills and food every month, one would imagine many students will find themselves working so much that they neglect the course they are working so hard towards! This is a rather unfortunate irony and one I found myself faced with when I made the decision to undertake the course.
However, thanks to a generous donation of £1000 from the Robert Headley Fund of the Funtington Music Group, I find myself able to ease up on the hours I have to work. Even freeing up as little as 8-12 hours a week (the average extra hours I would have had to work at the minimum wage to make up the surplus costs) I am finding much more time to fit in the coursework, as well as the practice that I need to be doing, in order to achieve the best degree I possibly can. I am therefore exceptionally grateful to Funtington Music Group and sincerely hope that they will continue this generous service, so that other students will be given the opportunity to continue their education and achieve wonderful things in their respective careers”
Penny Appleyard (2008): “The grant I received from the Funtington Music Group has been invaluable and I feel very fortunate to have received it in order to help with my fees at the Birmingham Conservatoire. It was a weight off my shoulders to know I had some financial help, making it possible to make a swift transition from University to Music College. Being at the conservatoire has provided me with vital training and experience and I have grown as a performer during my time here. I am growing closer to achieving my ambitions, am performing increasingly as a soloist, and have been able to develop my specialism in singing early music. This is thanks, in part, to the initial security provided by the grant I received, allowing me to commence the course at the time I was ready to do so.”
Ben Lathbury(2009): “Having been an undergraduate student from 2006-2009, I fully appreciate the pros and cons of student life. One major pro is the reliant nature of the various Local Education Authorities who provide student loans to all students who care to apply for them. Not only does this allow students more flexibility in their day to day lives with regards to food, bills, rent and socialising, it also covers the tuition fees for the institution and offers a relatively simple payback scheme. When I began my Masters course in September 2009, I discovered that this benefit was no longer offered. Therefore, faced with the prospect of paying nearly £4000 in tuition fees as well as having to provide rent, bills and food every month, one would imagine many students will find themselves working so much that they neglect the course they are working so hard towards! This is a rather unfortunate irony and one I found myself faced with when I made the decision to undertake the course.
However, thanks to a generous donation of £1000 from the Robert Headley Fund of the Funtington Music Group, I find myself able to ease up on the hours I have to work. Even freeing up as little as 8-12 hours a week (the average extra hours I would have had to work at the minimum wage to make up the surplus costs) I am finding much more time to fit in the coursework, as well as the practice that I need to be doing, in order to achieve the best degree I possibly can. I am therefore exceptionally grateful to Funtington Music Group and sincerely hope that they will continue this generous service, so that other students will be given the opportunity to continue their education and achieve wonderful things in their respective careers”
Penny Appleyard (2008): “The grant I received from the Funtington Music Group has been invaluable and I feel very fortunate to have received it in order to help with my fees at the Birmingham Conservatoire. It was a weight off my shoulders to know I had some financial help, making it possible to make a swift transition from University to Music College. Being at the conservatoire has provided me with vital training and experience and I have grown as a performer during my time here. I am growing closer to achieving my ambitions, am performing increasingly as a soloist, and have been able to develop my specialism in singing early music. This is thanks, in part, to the initial security provided by the grant I received, allowing me to commence the course at the time I was ready to do so.”
