Darcey Wynter winner 2007 (piano)
Darcey won Arun Young Musician of the year in 2007 having picked up other individual class awards along the way. Since then she has gone on to study music at the University of Southampton and is now off to teach music at a specialist music school in Singapore.
Darcey writes “My involvement in the AYM competition began at the age of 6 in the beginners piano class, where I was one of the few selected to play at the end of year Gala concert. At 10 years old, in 2001, I was chosen as the Best Youngster, again on piano. The competition’s various instrumental classes allowed me to compete on violin, oboe and voice, as well as the piano, proving to be an excellent all around experience for any musician looking to have multiple disciplines.
At the age of 16, I won the open class playing Reflets dans l’eau, by Debussy. This piece allowed me to express the balance between my passion for piano as well my technical ability, and this was also the beginning of my love for French impressionist composers such as Debussy and Ravel.
Winning the competition was a springboard to succeeding in my BA hons degree in Music at the University of Southampton. After graduating in 2012, I knew my passion was to teach music to children, specialising in piano and voice. I have now managed to combine my love of music with travel, and have just spent a year teaching music to a family of four children in central Paris. This not only increased my skills as a teacher, but also gave me the ability to show the children what they themselves can achieve as growing musicians.
I am now off to teach music at a specialist music school in Singapore. I am so excited to progress even further as an accomplished musician and teacher, and it is the confidence I have gained as a participant of music competitions like the AYM for a decade that has guided me to where I am today.”