America beckons for first recipients of Dewar Arts Awards
25/02/2003
The Trustees of the Dewar Arts Awards are today (Thursday) delighted to announce the first two recipients of its awards to support exceptionally talented young Scots. Louise Stewart, aged 18, from Stepps near Glasgow, has already been described as ‘a hell of a voice’ by one of the UK’s leading casting directors. Louise has won a scholarship to the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York (best known as the school of ‘the Kids from Fame’ television series) and her award will support her attendance at an intensive two-year course there. She has already completed the music theatre course at the Knightswood Dance School in Glasgow.
Maeve Gilchrist, is an accomplished singer, clarsach player and teacher, who most recently performed with Europe’s leading harpists at Celtic Connections, her second appearance at the event. In addition to her Celtic Connections performances, Maeve also performed a specially-commissioned piece by Martyn Bennett at the opening of the Scottish Parliament. Maeve has been accepted to study jazz vocals at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.
The Dewar Arts Awards were established in memory of Scotland’s first First Minister, Donald Dewar, and are aimed at exceptionally talented young people without the financial means to develop their creative abilities to their full potential.
Ruth Wishart, Chair of the Dewar Arts Awards Trustees: "Both of the girls gave brilliant auditions to our professional assessors, and both have shown a huge amount of determination and commitment to win the places they have at prestigious institutions in New York and Boston. All of the Trustees are absolutely delighted that the first two awards should go to such highly talented young Scots, and hope that their success will continue to attract applications for the Dewar scheme.".’
Mike Watson MSP, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, also congratulated both girls:
"The Dewar Arts Awards foster key Executive policies to promote social justice, education and excellence in the arts - and are a most fitting tribute to Donald's memory.
"As a direct result of these substantial awards, two young women from Scotland will gain the exciting opportunity to develop their exceptional musical talents, studying at prestigious education centres. I congratulate Maeve and Louise and wish them all the best in their studies. We look forward to hearing more of their achievements."
The Dewar Arts Awards will be presented at the Centre for Contemporary Arts, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow at 12 noon, Thursday, 27 February 2003.
Notes to editors
- The Dewar Arts Awards received a generous endowment from the Scottish Executive.
- Louise Stewart has already left for New York to take up her place at AMDA. There are photographs of Louise available (taken the day before she left for the US) and both her parents and Graham Dickie, her Tutor from the Dance School will be attending the presentation. To follow is a short biography and some quotes from Louise:
She blames it all on Cats. Louise Stewart was just 6 when her parents took her and sister Rosemary to the Andrew Lloyd Webber blockbuster. She was hooked. And when the family acquired the original cast recording Louise would give impromptu family concerts, grabbing all the best roles, while Rosemary was relegated to the back row of the chorus. As she grew up she went to see every musical she could in and around her native Glasgow taking in everything from to Les Miserables.
But it wasn't until she was 14 and her music teacher at Chryston High suggested she might turn her obsession into a career that she really blossomed. She was accepted into the unique music theatre course at Knightswood Dance School - one of 14 entrants from 300 hopefuls. "I had a brilliant time there," she says now of her two years of studies. "It was hard work but great fun as well and our tutor Graham Dickie was brilliant with us." The course covered every aspect of the necessary stagecraft singing, acting and dancing and showed huge potential and commitment, says Mr Dickie , Knightswood's director of Musical Theatre. Phantom of the Opera director James Paterson came to work with students and says that "she stood ou t as having an unusually mature voice which led to her being cast in a principal role during her first year." The Dewar Trustees then sent a compilation video to the Cameron Mackintosh organisation - Sir Cameron is a Dewar Awards patron - and his casting director said she had "a hell of a voice." Subsequently she was seen by Donna Soto-Morettini at the RSAMD who endorsed the view that she was a young woman well worthy of investment by the trust.
Like most of her colleagues, Louise, now 18, then applied to London stage schools and was immediately offered a place by the Italia Conti Academy and Arts Educational Schools London. But by then the Broadway bug had bitten. She'd heard about a course at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York and sent away for details. The two year intensive programme attracts thousands of would be students, but Louise was accepted and began her course just two weeks ago. For a year she will concentrate on the development of technique and individual work, and the second year's focus is on how to use these skills to best advantage through the audition process. "Most of my friends went to London," says Louise. "But I just felt I had to aim as high as I could go and give it my very best shot. I'm absolutely thrilled to be studying in New York and having the Dewar award means so much to both me and my family." Louise's father is a manager in a bus dept, her mother a play specialist in a children's hospital and both hope to be able to attend today's award ceremony along with her Knightswood tutor, Graham Dickie.
- Maeve Gilchrist will, along with her mother, be available at the Awards presentation. Maeve has agreed to perform for the Trustees and attending media.
- The Trustees are grateful to the Scottish artist William Birnie RSW, RGI, PAI for allowing them to reproduce his portrait of Donald Dewar on all the Awards literature.
- For a full list of Trustees and Patrons, please contact: dewar@scottisharts.org.uk.
Contact email(s)
media.office@scottisharts.org.uk
Issued by: Scottish Arts Council
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