Why musical Joseph was a summer hit

Year 10 pupil Joseph scored a notable musical success this summer when he participated in the biennial recorder competition organised by the Conservatorium van Amsterdam as part of their Open Recorder Days Festival.

The standard was incredibly high in the Netherlands, with the international field including contestants from as far away as Taiwan and Brazil; nevertheless, Joseph made it to the final in his age 12–16 category.

There, he managed to secure joint-second place after playing two pieces for the judges that he had already had the opportunity to perform at UCS: the Vivaldi recorder Concerto in C Minor and Csárdás by Vittorio Monti. He received a beautiful Ivorine treble recorder as his runner-up prize.

UCS Director of Music, Christopher Dawe, said: “A wonderful achievement by Joseph – second prize in a prestigious international festival, competing against considerably older pupils. Another enormously impressive feat!”

Joseph added: “I was very proud and delighted with the whole experience. The festival organisers sent me videos of my performances, and I think the Csárdás went better than the Vivaldi! However, it was a great competition to be involved in and another important learning curve.”

Joseph, who plays in the UCS Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, Concert Band and Sainsbury Piano Quintet, recently achieved a rare treble of Grade 8 exam distinctions when he added a distinction in Grade 8 oboe to his previous high water marks in recorder and piano.

Joseph is a Music Scholar at UCS and we are delighted to support and recognise his musical development in this way. UCS is holding a Music Scholarship Open Evening on Wednesday 13th September at 5pm. Please contact [email protected] for further details.