A young cellist from the College has just heard that she's won a place in the National Youth Strings Academy. Fifteen-year old Lucy Baish received the news last week after auditioning for the highly sought-after orchestra at the beginning of January.

The National Youth Strings Academy is the string orchestra equivalent of the National Youth Orchestra, and offers the very highest standards of coaching for young people aged between 11 and 21 years. To audition, a string player must have a playing standard of Grade 7/8 or above and be considered to have the right balance of commitment and potential.

Lucy will attend a number of courses during the year, receiving training from a dedicated team of professional musicians with a lifetime's experience of chamber orchestra playing, three of whom are former principal players with the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields. The highlight for Lucy, though, will be celebrating her sixteenth birthday during a summer tour to San Francisco in August. She first played the cello at the age of 9 when she chose it as one of her instruments on the enlightened instrument trial programme run at the College Junior School. Every pupil in the equivalent of Year 5 is given the opportunity to try a number of instruments, playing each one for a two-week period.

“There are only seven or eight cellist places in the academy and most are already filled with existing players so I really didn’t expect to be accepted,” explained Lucy. “When I found out I had been chosen, I couldn’t believe it, I was so happy.”

Lucy is the most recent of a number of College pupils who have been successful in gaining places in National orchestras. Sixteen year old Emily Hatchett  joined the National Children’s Wind Orchestra when she was just 13, and nineteen year old, former pupil Charles Baker also gained a place in the National Youth Strings Academy at the age of 16.

Director of Music at the College, Andrew Bruce, said “We're all delighted for Lucy. She is a very able and dedicated musician and is such a wonderful supporter of our orchestras and choirs here. She really deserves this success. I am sure she will be a real asset to NYSA and will benefit enormously from the opportunities she will have with this highly respected orchestra.”