Friday 3 November 2017 A young composer from The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL) will be honing his talent for electronic music after impressing the selectors for a prestigious music industry partnership and mentoring programme. Year 12 student Robert Southby was nominated by music mentors from Music for Youth (MFY), a national youth arts charity, for their MFY Connects programme. MFY Connects matches talented young musicians with music industry partners who can support their musical education. Having entered one of his pieces for a young composers competition, Robert was invited to perform at MFY’s National Festival in Birmingham’s Symphony Hall in July. He and fellow students George Foster, Year 12, and Jack Price, Year 11, performed two of Robert’s original compositions, Bouncy and Jazz Thing. On the strength of this performance he was teamed up with his MFY Connects partner Sound and Music, a national charity which champions new music and composer and artist development. The Sound and Music team was impressed with Robert’s exploration of the world of live digital performance. Robert met them at a special MFY Connects presentation held at the Royal Albert Hall in October, and he is excited about working with them to develop his music from composition to performance. He said: “Sound and Music will be well-connected and can talk on my behalf to people who are knowledgeable and expert in electronic music, helping me shortcut any problems and access specific help with the technical aspects. “It’s encouraging that it’s not just me who values what I do, it’s great to have someone else say it’s worth their time to help.” Robert has been learning piano, clarinet and saxophone since his primary school days, and plays in jazz, swing and concert bands at school. However his interest in new music was sparked by watching online videos of electronic performances and he is now hoping to study the subject after school and make a career in music production. Robert is pictured performing his own composition at GSAL’s Oxjam gig. General Senior School Sixth Form News
