RCS Leverhulme Conducting Fellow awarded second place at international contest
RCS Leverhulme Conducting Fellow awarded second place at international contest
Published: 18/09/2018
A Royal Conservatoire of Scotland conductor has secured a podium place in a prestigious international competition.
Leverhulme Conducting Fellow, Simon Proust, came second in the recent Princess Astrid International Music Competition held in Trondheim, Norway, amid a global field of competitors. The 28-year-old progressed through several rounds of competitions en route to the final, where he guided the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra through Beethoven’s Coriolan overture, op 62, Tjat by Vaage and the first movement of Brahms’ Symphony no 2 in D major.
The news comes months after conducting graduate, Ryan Bancroft, won the 2018 Malko Competition for Young Conductors. The 28-year-old received invitations to conduct 24 symphony orchestras from Canada, Europe and the Far East following his victory in Copenhagen.
Garry Walker, Artistic Director of Conducting at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, said: “Many congratulations to Simon on his second place in this internationally-respected conducting competition, deserved recognition for this outstanding musical talent.
“Simon’s success is the latest in a string of awards for conducting Fellows and alumni at the Royal Conservatoire, testament to the training, opportunities and professional links available to conductors at the institution in Glasgow.”
Simon recently completed a two-year Leverhulme Conducting Fellowship programme at Scotland’s national conservatoire, which is consistently ranked in the world’s top ten institutions for performing arts education. The programme is offered to outstanding young conductors on the verge of their professional career. It is fully funded by the Leverhulme Trust, administrated by the Royal Conservatoire in association with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the new music ensemble, Red Note, and includes a £15,000 a year bursary to the successful candidate.
Previous conducting Fellows who have made successful entries into the profession include Jessica Cottis, Fergus Macleod, Ciaran McAuley, Holly Mathieson (Assistant Conductor at RSNO 2016-2018) and Jiřà Rožeň (formerly of BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, now appearing with orchestras including Czech Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic and Czech Radio Symphony).
Visit the Conducting degree page for information on studying conducting at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
