Flax Trust present £2,000 in Bursaries to three young classical musicians at Queen’s University School of Arts, English and Languages on June 28th, 2017

Gerard Mullaly will be graduating from Queen’s University with a First Class Honours in Music. He took up the clarinet at the age of 8 and has progressed under the tutelage of Gillian McCutcheon and Paul Schumann of the Ulster Orchestra. Gerard completed his DipABRSM in clarinet performance in 2015 and is taking his LRSM performance diploma in the coming days. Gerard has had the opportunity to perform throughout Europe in masterclasses and concerts, most recently as recipient of the Hamilton Harty Scholarship, enabling him to study clarinet performance further afield in Geneva and Zurich in Summer of 2016. Gerard enjoys tutoring clarinet and piano in his spare time and upon graduating from Queen’s, he will continue his studies in the University of Cambridge in September.  The Flax Trust Bursary will assist with these studies.

Ciara Jackson read music at the Queen’s University, Belfast and will be graduating with a First Class Honours in the coming weeks. During her time at Queen’s, Ciara has enjoyed tutoring from the prestigious Jennifer Sturgeon and Libby Bennett of the Ulster Orchestra. Since picking up the flute at the early age of 7, Ciara has gained extensive performance experience in both a solo and ensemble context, with opportunities to perform all over Ireland and the UK.  Ciara is continuing her studies through a Masters in Performance at the University of York, which commences this September. Most recently, Ciara has be awarded a Hamilton Harty Scholarship which will allow her to travel to Europe in August and receive tuition from international flautists such as Philippa Davies. The Flax Trust Bursary will further support this tuition.

Poppy Wheeler has just completed her BMus degree at Queen’s University Belfast where she studied flute with Sarah Murphy. She has played in Derbyshire City and County Youth Orchestra as well as Nottingham Youth Orchestra on both Flute and Bassoon and has guested Leicester Symphonia and the Helix ensemble.  Performance is at the forefront of her musical interest and in September 2017 she will begin an MMus in Performance at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff the Flax Trust Bursary will enable her to further her musical education on both instruments.