WREXHAM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Rebekah Matthews - Bassoon
In July Rebekah
completes a four-year course at the Royal Northern College of Music for a Bachelor of Music degree. She has been
fortunate enough to study with Alan Pendlebury (principal bassoon with the
RLPO), Ed Warren (former principal bassoon with the RLPO but now better known
as a conductor) and Graham Salvage (principal bassoon of the Halle).
Rebekah had her first
experience of bassoon playing during her secondary school education, but it was
not until gaining a place at the Chethams School of Music for her sixth form
education that she began to consider playing the bassoon as a career. She has
played regularly in the orchestras and ensembles of the Royal Northern College
of Music as principal, second and contrabassoon. In 1999 she was awarded the
RNCM bassoon prize for her playing.
Having
a keen interest in chamber music, Rebekah has been a member of the Lafar wind
quintet for four years. The Quintet has performed at concerts throughout the country and one of its particular
strengths is in musical workshops for primary school children.
The excellent training
provided by the RNCM has enabled Rebekah to study the baroque bassoon; she has
also spent a year studying the classical instrument. This introduction to the
specialised area of period instrument playing has made her keen to give further
performances in the future using period instruments.
During her time at the
RNCM Rebekah has been given the opportunity to play with professional orchestras
such as the RLPO, the Halle orchestra and the Manchester Camerata. Whilst
living in Manchester Rebekah has also enjoyed playing with some of the superb
amateur orchestras that populate the nourishing music scene in the North West
region.
Rebekah has played her
bassoon in concerts in many parts of Britain as well as the Channel Islands,
Germany and the South of France and hopes to return to Germany for postgraduate
study after her graduation from College this summer.
July 2000