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FAMOUS FORMER MEMBERS Kimberley Boyle was brought up in Perthshire, Scotland where she enjoyed music from an early age- learning recorder, guitar and singing. She took up the flute at the age of 11. In her final year at school she attended the RSAMD Junior Department in Glasgow on Saturdays and then in 2000, aged 17, Kimberley moved to London to take up a place at the Royal College of Music. She graduated in 2004 with a First Class Honours degree. Kimberley was then awarded bursaries from the Musicians Benevolent Fund, The Countess of Munster Musical Trust, Sir James Caird Travelling Scholarships Trust and The Cross Trust which enabled her to continue her studies at postgraduate level. In 2005, Kimberley won the RCM Senior Wind Prize and achieved a distinction in Orchestral Performance. Since graduating, Kimberley has been based in London as a freelance musician and flute teacher. Her performance work includes recital engagements with Duo Nouveau - her flute and piano duo, and orchestral playing. Most recently she has been on trial for the position of second flute with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and is also an extra player for several orchestras including the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Britten Pears Orchestra. Another former PYO player soloist, Heather Nicoll, is currently Acting Head of Woodwind at RSAMD. A member of Perth Youth Orchestra in its earliest days - playing French Horn - Donald now appears regularly with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Welsh National Opera and Opera North. He has also appeared at the Edinburgh, Wexford, Chester and Buxton festivals. Engagements abroad include Vancouver Opera, Buenos Aires, L'OpÈra National de Paris-Bastille, the Vienna Staatsoper, Stuttgart, Venice, Wiesbaden, Brussels, Nancy, Tokyo and the Athens and Macau festivals. Recent engagements have included Faninal for the Royal Opera, Don Alfonso for WNO, Balstrode (Peter Grimes) for La Scala, Geronio (Il turco in Italia) for ENO and Mountararat (Iolanthe) for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Subsequent engagements include Janacek for Scottish Opera and Belioz and Mozart for Welsh National Opera. Donald is still an active patron and herejoined Perth Youth Orchestra at a concert to mark its 35 anniversary - when he was soloist at the Gala Concert which marked the culmination of a weekend of reunions.  In January 2003, five present or former PYO members are in the woodwind section of National youth Orchestra of Scotland, currently giving performances in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Says Eileen Waterston, woodwind tutor, "I don't know if this is some kind of record, but it is certainly very impressive."
Kimberley Boyle (flute)  ALASDAIR BEATSON was educated at Perth Academy and was a principal violist of Perth Youth Orchestra. He is at present in the final year of his studies at the Royal College of Music where he has won many prizes including the Quilter prize, the Marmaduke Barton Prize and the Knights of the Round Table Award. As a soloist and member of chamber groups, Alasdair has performed in St Martin-in-the-Fields, Kensington Palace, the National Portrait Gallery and many other venues at home and abroad. He has appeared twice in the Park Lane Group's Young Artists New Year Series, taken part in performances of Stravinsky's Les Noces at the RCM and Bath Festival, given two performances of Bartok's Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion and, with cellist, Lowri Blake, has made several live broadcasts for BBC radio.  DOUGLAS WATERSTON - a former pupil of Crieff High School, Douglas is now in Hong Kong in his 4th season with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. We welcome Douglas and the rest of the HKPO to the UK in January 2003, part of their European Tour.  HEATHER NICOLL - has been Head of Woodwind at RSAMD since 2002 and is a former member of and soloist with Perth Youth Orchestra. She took part in Perthshire Musical (Competition) Festival and is a previous winner of the Premier Trophy in addition to being awarded the Louis J. Barnett Memorial Trophy for Woodwind for four consecutive years. Heather enjoys a diverse performing career as a clarinettist and has played with all the leading Scottish orchestras, including featuring as soloist with RSNO. She has also worked with contemporary music ensembles including Paragon, Chamber Group of Scotland and the London-based Sinfonia 21 in addition to doing a large quantity of recording work.  Pamela Thorby - over the last few years Pamela Thorby has quietly established herself as one of the world's leading recorder players. Her stylish virtuosity can be heard on numerous recordings of music ranging from the medieval period to the present day. Pamela records as a solo artist for LINN Records. Her Baroque Recorder Concertos disc (CKD21 received outstanding reviews ("a world-class performer" Gramophone) and was a Gramophone Critic's Choice. Handel Recorder Sonatas ("set to become a benchmark" The Independent) with Richard Egarr was 'BBC Music Magazine Chamber Music Disc of the Month' and a Gramophone Critic's Choice. A disc of 17th century repertoire entitled Garden of Delights with harpist Andrew Lawrence-King has just been released on LINN to outstanding reviews. Pamela was the driving force behind the acclaimed Palladian Ensemble from 1991 to 2007. The group achieved international success with over 1000 performances around the world and 10 albums for LINN Records. Pamela's ability to assimilate many styles of music and her skills as an improviser have led to her work with groups such as the modern jazz quartet Perfect Houseplants. She has appeared with them many times as a guest and features on their album New Folk Songs. Pamela is a featured soloist on all of Karl Jenkins' crossover Adiemus albums. Her appearances on these million-selling albums make her arguably the most listened to recorder player in the world. Pamela is the recorder soloist for Kiri te Kanawa's Kiri sings Karl released on EMI. She returned to teach recorder as a principal instrument at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama within a few years of graduating; she is now a GSMD Visiting Professor, teaches York University recorder students and private students at home in York. |
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DONALD MAXWELL was born in Perth, Scotland. He graduated in Geography from Edinburgh University and became Principal Teacher of Geography at Perth Academy.