Katie Expands Her Horizons on the Bassoon

Mon 25th November 2019

10-year-old Katie from Yorkshire has dreamt of playing the bassoon ever since she began music lessons at the age of five, and with the help of The Realising Dreams Foundation she has now purchased an instrument of her very own.

From a young age Katie knew she was inspired to play the bassoon after seeing her teacher Barbara Lake perform, however due to the sheer size of the instrument she was unable to begin training until recently. Instead she initially began learning the piano and clarinet. Nevertheless, playing the bassoon has remained her ultimate goal. Since starting lessons nearly a year ago she has quickly progressed to advanced material.

Katie has been a member of the National Children’s Orchestras as a clarinet player for two years and has been training with the Yorkshire Young Musicians for three years. This past summer she performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and musicians from the BBC Concert Orchestra on stage at the Royal Albert Hall. Katie has been supported by Future Talent since the age of 7, and this year was awarded their prestigious Bramall Scholarship which will last until she is 18.

Katie had generous support from friends and family, as well as other charities including the Hesslewood Trust and the Hull Philharmonic Trust. However, even with these grants and her scholarship, the costs of such a unique instrument weren’t quite within reach. The Realising Dreams Foundation is happy to bridge the gap in order to help Katie move forward on her journey to a professional bassoon career.

In the future, Katie hopes to play for the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and share her love of music with the younger generation as a woodwind teacher.

Katie now has a bassoon of her very own to practice on.