Lydia Ballam

I first became aware of the violin listening to Anne Sophie Mutter play the Beethoven Piano and Violin Sonatas. After seeing her in concert I started violin at the age two. My first school was Westwood with Iford Primary school. After three years, I got a place at Chetham’s School of Music at the age of 8, where I spent rest of my school life. During my time there I did many Lunchtime recitals, recently including movements of Bach’s Partita in D minor, Saint Saens’ Violin Concerto No. 3, Mozart Violin Concerto No. 1 and the newly composed “Un Quadro de Yucutan” by Joey Roukens. I was also fortunate to be able to participate in both performance classes and masterclasses within the school; in chamber groups (such as with Simone Fontanelli), as a soloist (e.g. with Henning Kraggerud), and as an audience member. I also played in string chamber groups, and with the Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra, including performances of Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 at Cadogan Hall, Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 at Milton Court, Barbican and Mahler Symphony No.3 at the Cheltenham Music Festival. Once a term we had an exciting opportunity to perform works in concert written by composers currently studying at the school. There were also many opportunities to sing in choirs, for example the annual Christmas Music Service, held in Manchester Cathedral. One of the excellent things about Chetham’s is that it has very high academic standards as well as musical. I managed to achieve high grades in both my GCSE’s and my A levels, studying a large range of subjects as shown by my A levels in Biology, Geography and Music. It was a valuable and enjoyable experience where I gained independence, organisation and friends for life. During holidays I took part in various competitions - for example the Chipping Norton Music Festival where I won the President’s Cup in both 2010 and 2011, and the Abingdon Music Festival Concerto Competition. I also did music courses such as the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain (2009) and MusicWorks 2012 where I studied and performed alongside James Boyd and Charles Seward. More recently I have enrolled in an Classical Violin BMus(Hons) degree at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Here, I have taken part in performance platforms, and orchestral projects such as Elgar’s The Music Makers performed in Barbican. I am looking forward to being a part of the orchestra in a musical which will be performed in July, also with Guildhall. I have recently started teaching one to one lessons at a beginner standard. One of the most formative experiences of my life so far has been going to New York by myself, aged 17, to audition for possible places at conservatories there. In March 2015 I was offered a place, with scholarship, to study Classical Violin at the Aaron Copland School of Music, New York. After much consideration I decided it would be better to take my first degree in the United Kingdom. I am now convinced it was absolutely the right choice.