Meet the Gold Medal Competitors – Group 2

Welcome to our second 2014 RNCM Gold Medal Competition blog post, where we meet Meinir Wyn Roberts, Nelson Bohórquez and Jeremy So – the competitors in Group 2, who will be performing from 11.45am on the day of the competition.

The Gold Medal competition will see ten of our most outstanding performers compete for our most coveted annual award. While our Concert Hall is under construction, we’re taking the competition to the Martin Harris Centre, this Saturday 14th June, for an exciting day of five concerts with our finest performers.

In case you missed our Group 1 profile, you can read it here – and keep checking back all week to meet the rest of the competitors!

 

Name:Meinir Wyn Roberts
Age: 23
Nationality: Welsh
Study Option: Voice (soprano)
Year of Study and Tutor: First year postgraduate with Sandra Dugdale

meinir wyn

When did you start to sing? I grew up in Caernarfon, North Wales and when I was eight my piano teacher heard me sing for the first time. She told me to enter a competition at the National Eisteddfod and from then on my passion towards singing grew.

Where’s the most unusual/exciting place you’ve ever performed? I’ve been fortunate enough to have performed in exciting venues all over the world. One of the most thrilling was at the Choir Olympics in China. Our choir performed in a massive arena in front of thousands of different choirs from many countries and it was an overwhelming experience. As a soloist I recently performed at Wigmore Hall, which was incredible, and singing on the huge stage at the National Eisteddfod (in a big inflatable pink tent) was another fantastic experience.

Who in the music industry do you most admire? I admire many people, including Bryn Terfel. He came from a small village near to where I’m from and is now an international opera star. Every time I’ve met him he’s been so down to earth and that to me is how you succeed in this industry.

If you weren’t studying music what would you be doing? I would have been a doctor or a detective. I always enjoyed biology at school and medicine was a career path I did think of taking. I love crime and thrillers too, be it in a film/documentary or a book, and I’m a curious person so I think being a detective would suit me well!

How do you feel about being chosen to compete for the RNCM Gold Medal? It’s a true honour for me. I’ve been at the RNCM for five years and I remember in my first year looking at the Gold Medal competitors and being so inspired by them. It’s an overwhelming feeling to think that I’m now one of them. I’ve had so many incredible experiences at the RNCM but being a finalist in the Gold Medal is the icing on the cake!

 

Name: Nelson Bohórquez
Age: 29
Nationality: Colombian
Study Option: Composition
Year of Study and Tutor: Second year MMus with Adam Gorb and David Horne

nelson b 

When did you start to play percussion? Four years ago 

Where’s the most unusual/exciting place you’ve ever heard your music performed? Next to what’s thought to be the oldest work of art in an exhibition at the British Museum.

Who in the music industry do you most admire? I would love to hear Australian oboist Diana Doherty perform live one day as I’m a huge fan of her recordings. Also, Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth has been an inspiration for many years – I really admire her talent, confidence and work ethic.

If you weren’t studying music what would you be doing? I’d probably be a mechanical engineer; I love to find out how things work. 

How do you feel about being chosen to compete for the RNCM Gold Medal? I think it’s a fabulous opportunity to write for a fantastic sax quartet that will do its best to give a great performance of our works.

 

Name: Jeremy So
Age: 23
Nationality: Australian
Study Option: Piano

jeremy so

Year of Study and Tutor: First year postgraduate with Stephen Savage

When did you start to play the piano? I started piano lessons at the age of five, though my first musical experiences were with group keyboard classes and a small organ borrowed from a family member.

Where’s the most unusual/exciting place you’ve ever performed? The most exciting venue would be Sydney Opera House. I also performed there as a member of a primary school choir, which, at the time, was just as exciting as performing there as a soloist!

Who in the music industry do you most admire? I admire and respect instrumental and singing teachers, especially of students who are just starting, more than anyone else. Besides having the great responsibility of providing a solid foundation, I imagine it takes much more than just possessing musical knowledge to engage a young mind. It requires empathy and an ability to let go of so much that we take for granted after many years of training; ideally, it is someone who finds happiness in sharing their experience with others to help them to learn.

If you weren’t studying music what would you be doing During high school, I also enjoyed studying maths and language. Besides being offered a place at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, I was offered places for the Bachelor of Science (Advanced) and Bachelor of Liberal Studies courses at the University of Sydney. However, I’m not sure I would’ve succeeded in either of these fields on account of my unsteady work ethic.

How do you feel about being chosen to compete for the RNCM Gold Medal? I’m very happy to have been given this opportunity to perform in one of the College’s most exciting events. The sonatas in my program are both exhilarating and fascinating, and I hope that these qualities will be communicated to my audience.

 

10 June 2014