Date: 30 March 2011

A young musician from Northallerton is looking forward to a very busy Easter after scooping a top prize at a music festival earlier this month.

Teesside High School pupil Katherine Wren performed in the Tynedale Music Festival this month and won in her category of ‘Under 16s Wind Instrument’. Her musical talents were spotted by the school at an early age and Katherine was awarded a prestigious music scholarship which helps to fund additional tuition in flute, piano and singing.

Katherine said: “I’m so grateful to the school for supporting me in my music and ensuring that I’m able to take up all of the opportunities that I’m offered. Over the last two years I have been able to attend a specialist music school every weekend at The Sage, which has really improved my playing and abilities as a musician.

“I am also able to participate in an orchestra and a choir run at The Sage. They are ‘audition only’, so I was delighted to secure places in both, especially as the orchestra is for people aged from 13 to 21, with only two flute places. Although I’m only 14, I have already had some amazing experiences.”

Katherine has been playing the flute since she was six and the piano since she was nine. The talented 14-year-old will soon be performing at a school in Tynemouth and then singing on Good Friday and at the Royal Festival Hall in London on Easter Sunday. She will also be competing in the Saltburn Advanced Young Musician Class in the summer.

At The Sage, Katherine has a packed programme to follow each week including music theory and aural lessons for two hours, ensemble and senior choir practices, a one hour flute lesson and a one hour singing lesson.

Notes to Editor

· Since 1904, the Tynedale Music Festival has offered musicians of all ages from across the north east the opportunity to meet and compete in many different musical categories.
· Teesside High School in Eaglescliffe is an independent school from Nursery to Sixth Form, for boys and girls. The boys and girls are taught separately from ages 9 to 16 under the innovative ‘Diamond
Model’.
· The School offers music and sports scholarships to its most promising pupils
· The school currently has an average of one teacher for every eight pupils.
· More information about the school can be found at www.teessidehigh.co.uk

News release 2011/007 issued by:

Helen Mellor
Head of Marketing
Teesside High School
T: (01642) 782095
www.teessidehigh.co.uk