Amber Trust beneficiaries Lilly Kurata, Ashleigh Turley and Ivan Rodriguez Deb stole the show as they brought the curtain down on the Music in Mind Symposium at King’s College School, Wimbledon, on Sunday.
The teenage trio, along with Amber patron Derek Paravicini, played starring roles on the piano, cello and violin, performing works from composers including Brahms, Chopin and Liszt.
Trust CEO Angela Voyajolu kicked off a seminar on music and blindness by delivering a presentation on the research that underpins Amber’s Little Amber service. Little Amber is specifically designed to engage blind or partially sighted children under five-years-old, with music.
The musicians then took centre stage with Ivan, 16, opening up with Bourrée 1 and 2 from Suite No. 3 in C Major by J.S. Bach followed by the first movement of Cello Sonata No. 1 in E Minor by J. Brahms.
Sixteen-year-old Lilly, pictured top, stunned the audience in playing Consolation No. 2 by Liszt and then Ballade No. 1 by Chopin. She then picked up the violin to perform Salut d’Amour by Elgar with Ashleigh, 18, accompanying her on piano. Ashleigh then rounded things off with a jazz medley before teaming up with Derek for an impromptu blues jam.
Amber Trust founder Adam Ockelford organised the all-day event exploring how deafness, autism and blindness impacts the musical mind.
The Music in Mind Symposium is a prelude to this year’s Wimbledon International Music Festival, which starts on November 13 and runs until November 28.
For information visit WIMF – Wimbledon International Music Festival 2021 (wimbledonmusicfestival.co.uk)
Details regarding the Amber Trust’s LittleAmber service are at Introducing Little Amber – Amber Trust.