On Sunday 30 November, Melissa Hawkings (U6) performed her winning piece for the British Horn Society Emerging Composer Prize. In front of an audience filled with professional horn players, she presented Anadolu'nun Nefesi (The Breath of Anatolia), captivating listeners with her expressive performance. Her solo horn composition makes use of a wide range of extended techniques to evoke the distinctive sounds of the Turkish call to prayer, creating a vivid and atmospheric musical landscape. Congratulations to Melissa on this outstanding achievement.

On Friday 14 November, oboists and bassoonists enjoyed a specialist reed-making workshop at Norwich School as part of the Making Musicians programme. We were thrilled to welcome Oliver Phillips , reed-making tutor at both the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music. We were also delighted to be joined by pupils from Norwich High School for Girls and Hethersett Academy. Lucy Platten (L5R) writes: How many reeds does an oboist get through in a year? The answer is: quite a lot! This means that oboists all over the world are constantly buying—or making—their own reeds. On Friday 14 November, a group of us who play double-reed instruments from Norwich High School for Girls, Hethersett Academy, and Norwich School had the opportunity to take part in a reed-making workshop. Oliver Phillips, who led the session, combines his work as an oboist at the Royal Opera House with professional reed-making. He guided us through the entire process, from cutting and preparing the cane to creating a finished, playable reed. As we took turns scraping and shaping, it was fascinating to hear about Olly’s journey as a musician. We also learnt how the specialist machinery works and how to operate the technical equipment involved in reed making. The workshop gave us a much deeper understanding of our instruments and how they function, and it greatly enriched our knowledge as young musicians.