Talented Chamber Music Ensemble Wins Dorothy Parkinson Memorial Award
Brass ensemble Connaught Brass were presented with the prestigious Dorothy Parkinson Memorial Award for Young British Musicians following their captivating performance at St Wilfrid’s Church as part of this year’s HACS Harrogate Music Festival.
Emily Scrope (white top), Dorothy Parkinson's granddaughter, presents Connaught Brass with the Dorothy Parkinson Memorial Award for Young British Musicians. Also in the photo (far left) is Sharon Canavar, chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals.
The talented ensemble, who brought the brilliant ‘Gigs at Gaia’ to a close with a virtuoso musical display, were praised as deserving recipients of the annual award.
The quintet, who have a burgeoning reputation for their bold approach to brass chamber music, put on a suitably thrilling performance with a dynamic programme featuring works by such luminaries as Holst, Handel and Debussy.
The Dorothy Parkinson Memorial Award, set up in 1982, provides a platform to some of the country’s best up-and-coming classical musicians and the chance to perform in the HACS Harrogate Music Festival.
Previous winners of the award include Amiri Harewood, Evelyn Glennie, Ben Tarlton, Julian Bliss, Jamie Walton, Lucy Parham and Benjamin Grosvenor.
The award itself was inspired by the extraordinary life of Dorothy Parkinson, who had close ties with Harrogate International Festivals. Born in 1909, Dorothy was the third daughter of Lord and Lady Bingley and was brought up with her three sisters at Bramham Park near Wetherby. She went on to study music, which took her to Vienna where she studied with Arnold Rosé, the leader of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
After returning to North Yorkshire she became great friends with Dame Fanny Waterman, founder of the Leeds International Piano Competition, and the pair frequently performed recitals together. Harrogate International Festivals played a big part in Dorothy’s life – she was on its first board of governors following its inception in 1966 and was twice its president, in 1968 and 1978.
In 1981, the year after Dororthy’s death, her friend – the legendary mezzo-soprano Janet Baker – sang at Leeds Civic Hall in her memory, and the following year the Dorothy Parkinson Memorial Award became an integral part of the festival programme, with Dorothy’s daughter Jane Scrope a great advocate for the Award until her own death earlier this year.
Emily Scrope, Dorothy’s granddaughter, said: “This Award is a wonderful way to honour my grandmother’s legacy of supporting young musicians and I know she would have been thrilled to see Connaught Brass receive it. Their performance embodied the excellence, dedication and timelessness of classical music that she so passionately believed in.”
Sharon Canavar, Chief Executive of Harrogate International Festivals, said: “The Dorothy Parkinson Memorial Award has been presented to some of the best young musicians for more than 40 years and Connaught Brass deservedly join their ranks.
“Their performance at St Wilfrid’s Church, under the gaze of Luke Jerram’s incredible Gaia artwork, was astonishing. They are definitely ones to watch in the future!”
