
Noah, Year 12, details his musical journey so far, with highlights including winning Young Musician of the Year 2024 and an upcoming feature at Cadogan Hall.
Noah, Year 12, details his musical journey so far, with highlights including winning Young Musician of the Year 2024 and an upcoming feature at Cadogan Hall.
I started playing the piano when I was 4 years old, taking much inspiration from my older brother and sister. The teacher was at our house and I asked my mum when I could start having lessons. She asked the teacher, and I was expecting him to say 'Well, you're a bit young, maybe in a few months we can start you off.' His actual response was: 'Are you free next week?'. From then, I worked through the initial piano books and made my way onto the grades. I was always inspired by the music which I could find, and, with the encouragement of my teacher, I was able to learn the music which I loved the most, without being limited to the confines of my grade.
When I was 7, I was inspired to start learning the saxophone by watching the saxophone ensemble play at my primary school. My music teacher immediately put me in contact with Ms Mittell, who has been teaching me ever since my adult teeth came through. I'm now part of the Wind Band and Big Band at school, fulfilling various roles within them as I have progressed.
I knew that music was something that I wanted to pursue when I first met Mr Tomalin, my current piano teacher. He is a big inspiration of mine, as he has introduced me to the art of jazz piano, which is unlike any music I had ever played. Since I was 14, he has helped me to create my own arrangements of renowned jazz standards, guiding me through complex ways of harmonising simple melodies whilst being constantly able to conjure up very specific examples of the sound which I am trying to achieve. He's taught me how to improvise over the strangest of chord changes and even how to play in various styles, ranging from stride, to swing to bebop. Every lesson, I learn something new, and the fact that I'm still learning after 2 and a half years of close study shows that I have only scratched the very surface of this musical style.
My favourite part of performing is the feeling which takes over when I'm playing. It's the point in the performance where I have passed the initial stage fright, and am fully 'in the zone'. I really enjoy playing as part of ensembles, particularly on the saxophone, because everybody has worked incredibly hard, and it's finally the moment where we can share the fruits of our labour with everyone else. When I prepare for big events, like Cadogan Hall or the recent Jazz Night, I make sure that I practice often. I always have an image in my head of how I would like a performance to sound, so it's important to me that the real thing is as close to that as possible.
My biggest musical influences have been my teachers, who have guided me through this art since day 1. Mr Ebden and Mr Bluff have made me strive to perform as best as I possibly can, both on stage and in the classroom. Ms Mittell has always given me the best advice to mature my sound on the saxophone and develop as both a solo and ensemble player, whilst simultaneously being a constant inspiration of mine since I was 7 years old. I also look to the music hall of fame, to masterminds such as Oscar Peterson, Charlie Parker and Emmet Cohen. These are all people who literally take 'creativity' to the limit and have provided me with music which I can listen to in order to lighten up otherwise mundane tasks, or on a more technical level where I can analyse what they do and incorporate their ideas into my own playing.
The most musically memorable moment for me so far was last year's Young Musician of the Year, a competition which was adjudicated by Iain Farrington. This was a performance where I was able to showcase my own arrangement of 'These Foolish Things Remind Me of You' for the very first time. It was a theoretical and technical challenge, where I played the standard, taking it through complex reharmonisation and a solo section in a stride/swing style. It was unlike anything I had done before, and it sticks out to me because of how well it was received by my peers. It helped me to realise that a small idea can be turned into an end product which can have a genuine impact on people, if you take inspiration from other people's styles and combine them together to create something new.
In the future, I'd love to keep arranging. Playing music with my own twist is not only a great passion of mine, but a pastime which forces me to think on my feet and constantly create, whilst admiring the unfathomable skill of the best musicians to walk the earth.
Our London Choral Concert on Monday 3rd February brings together over 300 performers including Year 5 and 6 choirs, Intermediate and Senior Orchestra, Wind and Big Band, Chapel Choir and more. To secure your seat, buy tickets at https://cadoganhall.com/whats-...