Why the Academy
The Academy has its origin in an ongoing discussion I had with Patrick Hemmerlé over the 2018-2019 year. Our family had moved to Cambridge from Vancouver, Canada, in 2016 with our son Joss, an able 14 year old pianist and cellist. In Vancouver he had benefited from a wonderful chamber music programme run by the former 1st violinist of the Orford and Tokyo string quartets, but there just wasn't anything approaching the same level in Cambridge. Moreover, after a year or so with Patrick he was pianistically ready to give a public solo recital but when we began searching for a venue for this it was clear that this was not a normal part of the Cambridge landscape. When I suggested to Patrick that there had to be other local young musicians in the same situation and that we create our own community his reaction was, “We must do this.”
That's how it all began. We approached Graham Walker, Barbara Dziewięcka-Data and Marie-Noëlle Kendall and they were immediately enthusiastic. Toward the end of the summer of 2019 we found ourselves outside Patrick's house working out a format. By the fall of 2020, despite Covid, we were up an running with 8 students and 3 ensembles.
A parent's vision
From the beginning, I saw myself as representing a community of parents who like me only wanted the best for their children. The truth is young people are capable of the most amazing developmental leaps with the right setting. I knew I had the musicians, I now just had to create the setting. To me this meant doing away with a focus on standards and instead creating a nurturing environment where musical exploration can take place without fear of failure or limits - just like children do through play. The role of the tutors in all this was to mentor and encourage students to reach out as far as they can, often playing side-by-side with them as equals. In short, I wanted the Academy to be a community of musicians united by a love of music regardless of level.
Andrew Sion
Founder and Director