Alumnus supports charity’s Learn to Play initiative

Keyboard alumnus Victor Lim performed a charity event at Forsyth’s Music Shop on Friday 18 February, raising funds for the Olympias Music Foundation’s Learn to Play initiative.

Established by alumna Jo Yee Cheung in 2015, the OMF is an award-winning charity based in Manchester which champions diversity in music. Its Learn to Play programme provides weekly music lessons for 85 children on free school meals, income support and refugees and asylum seekers in the city.

Jo Yee said: ‘We are absolutely thrilled to be able to offer children in South Manchester the chance to work with our fantastic tutors and develop their musical potential. In doing so, we hope to create a diverse and inclusive culture of music-making, and level the playing field for young people who might otherwise struggle to access musical instruments and regular lessons.’

Victor, who graduated last year and was recently announced as a City Music Foundation artist, gave his first public appearance at the 2012 BBC Young Musicians of the Year competition. Since then, he’s performed internationally as a soloist and collaborative pianist in the UK, France, Germany, Austria, Norway, Denmark, Romania, China, Singapore and South Korea. Earlier this year he won the RNCM Gold Medal, the College’s most prestigious prize for performance.

He said: ‘I started playing the piano at the age of eight, so I appreciate the significant impact music has made on me.  I am a keen supporter of the work that the Olympias Music Foundation is doing to provide young children the opportunity to access instruments and lessons.’

If you were unable to make the concert but would still like to donate, please visit the OMF’s GoFundMe page.

Captions

Top picture: Victor with the OMF team and children: Director Jo Yee Cheung, Development Manager Charlie Widdicombe, Violin Tutor Alice Needham, and two young musicians.
Bottom picture: Victor with OMF musicians. One is the recipient of OMF’s Gasser-Ibrahim Piano Scholarship, and studies piano with alumna Greta Gasser with a digital piano funded by Stone Roses guitarist Aziz Ibrahim. The other is a first study violinist and takes piano lessons at the RNCM through OMF’s partnership with the School of Keyboard Studies Piano Pedagogy course led by Helen Krizos.

21 February 2022