LOCAL musician Maya Richards (14), who plays the violin is one of 180 exceptional young instrumentalists to win a 2016 Award from the national charity Awards for Young Musicians (AYM).  

After careful deliberation AYM’s independent adjudication panel decided to award Maya a Robert Lewin Scholarship, named after the man upon whose legacy the charity was founded.  

Competition for the 2016 Awards was extremely high, with the charity receiving the highest number of eligible applications in its history.  

A Queen Elizabeth’s School pupil, Maya has always lived in Coleford, which happens to be home for a number of excellent musicians of all ages.

Her violin teacher is Helena Torpy from Bristol. Maya has played the violin since she was five years old, is a member of the Exeter Children’s Orchestra (currently on tour in Poland) and plays the clarinet in the QE jazz band. 

Award winners will receive vital financial help for their musical costs and will also benefit from individually tailored support, which may comprise mentoring, access to advanced skills workshops with professional musicians, master classes and opportunities to attend rehearsals with orchestras and other musical partners.

For example, all Award winners will have the opportunity to take part in an inspiring day of cross-genre music making with the world renowned BBC Symphony Orchestra at Maida Vale Studios in London.

Through its Awards programme, AYM offers help to young people of school age and wherever possible tries to provide continuity of support, should applicants clearly evidence the central criteria of need, potential and rapid progression. 

Across AYM’s annual Awards and other strategic programmes, the charity has an ambition to reach 1,000 young musicians every year. 

In order to achieve this ambitious target AYM is continuously fundraising with the support of a dedicated team of volunteers, individual donors and renowned patrons including: Paul Lewis, Julian Lloyd Webber, Milos Karadaglic, Shabaka Hutchings, Duncan Ward, Ksenija Sidorova and Zeb Soanes.

To support AYM’s “Ambition 1000” campaign by getting involved in fundraising or to find out about how to apply for a 2016 Award from AYM please visit their website: www.a-y-m.org.uk .