Conductor Alpesh Chauhan becomes a patron of Awards for Young Musicians

Alpesh Chauhan (Credit Patrick Allen)

The young British conductor Alpesh Chauhan has become a patron of Awards for Young Musicians (AYM), which supports talented young people from low-income families, helping them to overcome financial and social barriers in their musical journeys. Birmingham-born Chauhan, who was Assistant Conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 2014 to 2016 is currently the principal conductor of the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini in Parma. His own musical journey started at the age of eight when, despite coming from a non-musical family, he came home with a cello [see the article in Birmingham Living magazine].

Chauhan joins the ranks of a number of distinguished patrons whom the charity has attracted, including Sir Simon Rattle, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Julian Lloyd Webber, Jess Gillam, Miloš Karadaglić, Thomas Gould, Tasmin Little, Zeb Soanes, Paul Lewis, Duncan Ward, Shabaka Hutchings and Professor Derek Aviss.

AYM helps young people who need financial and other forms of support to progress their musical talent, working across the UK and across genres. AYM offers young people holistic, tailor-made support to further their music education, whether that means funding instruments, lessons, transport, expanding young people’s musical networks and giving them opportunities to perform. Beyond this, AYM’s varied programmes include supporting the wider sector e.g. through training teachers in identifying and nurturing talent wherever they find it.

AYM currently has a campaign Presto! where the Garfield Weston Foundation will provide matching funding for monthly donations from AYM Champions, thus doubling the money! Further information from the AYM website.

Update: it has just been announced that Alpesh Chauhan has stepped in at short notice to replace Thomas Dausgaard (who is ill) as conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in its forthcoming concerts in Glasgow (26/9/2019), Aberdeen (27/9/2019) and Edinburgh (29/9/2019) with programmes including the UK premiere of Chaya Czernowin's Once I blinked nothing was the same and music by Bruch, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninov, and Mahler, with violinist Henning Kraggerud. Further details from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra website.