I have been really fortunate to have gained an Award from AYM this year. This has made a huge difference to me and also to my family. The reasons that I applied for the award was solely that there’s nearly 10 years difference between myself and my brother and for such a long time my mum and dad supported my music studies and tried, successfully, to give me all the opportunities that there were for me as long as I worked hard.

However, sadly my sibling has a disability which requires continuous therapy and of course it’s continuous bills for my parents. After trying hard to maintain a balance between both of our needs they had to prioritise. However after having a discussion with a tutor at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) they were recommended to try AYM for support and although they’d never completed this kind of application process before it was extremely easy for them just to be truthful. I am very passionate about my harp and my music, and circumstances beyond my parents control could really, really have limited my progression.

Now, with AYM’s contribution, we’re all back on track. The AYM Award will be going towards my fees at RCS and this will be my ninth year there. I cannot put into words how wonderful my Saturdays are and how fortunate my life is just having my music and my ‘like minded’ friends and amazing tutors and staff within the RCS.

I’ve just turned 16 years old and completed my Grade 7 and I just can’t believe I’m playing Grade 8 pieces on Pedal Harp. I never thought when I was younger that I’d actually ever be advanced enough! In the last six months I’ve really enjoyed so much, with extra support I’ve felt – more relaxed. That definitely makes learning and taking part in orchestras and concerts so much more enjoyable. I would just like to add that this was the first and only award that my family applied for. It was a time when we were really in need of it.

In that sense it makes me so happy that this was available for me and especially my family, who strive to continue to help me with the ‘passionate’ strengths that I have in my life. For that I am extremely grateful. If I can afford to, one day, I’ll be helping/donating to AYM. Thank you! Aimee, 16, harp, Scotland

I received an AYM Award in 2009 to help pay for tuned percussion lessons.  I was at the time a student on the Feeder Scheme at South West Music School [SWMS] as a kit drummer, and it was felt that I would benefit from having tuned/orchestral percussion lessons. Because I was only on the Feeder Scheme at the time, SWMS were unable to fund these lessons, and my parents were not in a financial position to pay for them.  Consequently SWMS suggested I apply for some funding from AYM, and I was lucky enough to be given an award which paid for tuned/orchestral tuition for me for the remainder of that year.

Those lessons were incredibly inspiring for me, and opened my eyes to the wider possibilities of percussion performance.  Also, my tutor helped me prepare for my audition for a place as a core student with SWMS, and for my audition I played a piece on the drum kit and a Grade 6 piece on the marimba. This is something I never would have dreamed of doing a few months before, and I was lucky enough to be offered a place as a core student.  I know that being able to show my versatility as a percussionist helped towards me being offered this place.

Becoming a core student with SWMS has completely changed my life for the better.  I have had so many varied opportunities put before me, and have been able to grow and develop as a much more rounded musician as a result.  SWMS has provided me with a safe, relaxed and non-competitive and non-judgmental environment in which to experiment, explore and step way out of my musical comfort zone on many occasions.

I have now just turned 18, have recently graduated from SWMS and am now working as a professional musician.  Without my funding from AYM I am not sure I would ever have been offered a place at SWMS, and dread to think what I would be doing now.

AYM was definitely instrumental (excuse the pun!) in setting me on the right path to becoming the mature, professional and all-round musician I am today, and I would like to thank everyone involved in AYM for their support. Ben, 18, percussion, Devon

The more I’ve worked with people like Pamela Thorby (thanks to AYM) the more I can see how I can use the recorder in the sounds and compositions that I really want to make. I’m looking at university courses now that may incorporate music technology and possibly other media – I feel that every person I work with who understand me helps me feel more confident in the music I want to pursue.

Thank you AYM for continuing to help me grow as a musician. There are so many opportunities which I’d not be able to access if it wasn’t for your help. Jessica, 17, recorder, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

My AYM award meant I was able to learn the cello with Dr. Oliver Gledhill who is the world’s leading expert in the music of W H Squire. I played a little known piece by Squire called Gondoliera at the Ealing Music Festival and I won the Torridon trophy, for cello solo aged 10 and under.

Through AYM [and its partnership with the English Chamber Orchestra] I also got to play in two great concerts this year.  The first was in Cadogan Hall with the chamber group ‘With Strings Attached’ and we played Holst’s St Paul’s Suite. The second concert I played in as part of the same AYM project was in the Handel House Museum.  We played some pieces in what was his actual  living room, so we got to play to a small audience very close up. We learnt about the history of the house and the times that Handel lived in – like the fact that most people were bald and wore wigs! Thank you AYM! Molly, 10, cello, London