March Scholar of the Month

12-year-old Raymi from Islington is an extraordinarily talented young musician, flautist and pianist. When Raymi was awarded his Scholarship in September 2021 he was playing at Grade 4 level on the flute and had recently taken up the piano. Just a year and a half later, Raymi has achieved a distinction for his Grade 7 piano exam, and is preparing for his Grade 7 flute exam. This is a remarkable rate of progress and standard of playing for a student in year 8!

Raymi at our Summer Playing Day last year

As well as his instrumental lessons Raymi attends Music Education Islington and the Jazz Centre weekly, taking part in jazz improvisation classes. He also plays first flute in his flute quartet and is a member of Blue Wind Ensemble. Raymi has taken part in holiday courses too, furthering his general musicianship and theory skills.

In his recent mid-year report, Raymi’s flute teacher marked him ‘outstanding’ in every area of his playing, musicianship and general development. His Mentor and Jazz Tutor also gave glowing reports for Raymi, highlighting his extraordinary talent, impressive commitment and mature attitude to learning. All his tutors describe Raymi as a joy to teach. We are thrilled to be supporting Raymi and always love seeing him at our Scholars’ events and Playing Days.

“Raymi is an outstanding musician. He has made remarkable progress. His all-around musicianship is outstanding, and he can go as far as he would like in music. He is punctual and polite and always wants to stretch his understanding of music. He is a student of undoubted talent and potential and I think we are all excited to be part of his journey and see where it will take him.” – Raymi’s Mentor

On top of preparing for his Grade 7 Flute and working towards Grade 8 piano, Raymi will be auditioning for the Junior Department of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama next term. We wish him the very best of luck!

 “Despite being the strongest musician in the group. Raymi is level-headed, willing to share, a team player, supportive and kind. These qualities are very important going forward in the professional world, so he is well on his way to a positive future! Recently I encouraged Raymi to conduct the band. This was definitely out of his comfort zone and Raymi found this challenging but relished the challenge nonetheless. I feel honoured to be part of Raymi’s journey and wait with enthusiasm to see how the future unfurls for him.” – Raymi’s Jazz Tutor

We asked Raymi a few questions about his Scholarship so far and his ambitions for the future:

Are you enjoying your Scholarship? Tell us a bit about your experience so far.

Yes, I am enjoying the Scholarship. It’s been a fun experience so far because I’ve met so many new people and teachers on the playing days. I like the music that we play and the fact that we play music all together. It’s definitely been helping with my music skills and supporting my musical growth.

What is your highlight or proudest musical moment of the last year?

One of my proudest moments last year was when I did my grade 7 piano because I thought “I’m not ready for this, I’m going to fail” but I knew that I should at least give it a good go and give it all I had, so that’s what I did. I felt relieved after finishing it but a bit nervous for the results. A couple of weeks later, my teacher sent my parents a photo of my result and it turned I had got a distinction. I was very surprised but very happy.

What are your ambitions for the future, or where do you hope your music will take you?

My ambitions are to hopefully reach grade 8 on piano and flute and to carry on getting better on my instruments. I’m not sure yet if I want to pursue music as a career, but it’s definitely a strong choice for what I want to study at university.

Do you have any advice for other young musicians who are hoping to get to Grade 7 on their instrument?

My advice for anyone who wants to get grade 7 on their instrument would be to work hard and daily practice, even if it is only for 10 minutes; every minute counts. Of course, you would have to be resilient and not give up just because it is difficult. If you apply this into practice, you will most likely achieve your dream.

Can you describe how music makes you feel in three words? 

If I were to describe how music makes me feel in 3 words, it would be: happy, relaxed, free.