Jaime’s story

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Jaime, a pianist and singer, first applied to Young Sounds for support in 2020, when she was 13 years old. She’s always had a connection with the piano:

“Ever since I touched the keys at the age of five I became hooked. I feel that I’ve gone through every emotion with my piano, from playing the happiest music to the most depressing pieces. It’s the most beautiful way to express all feelings.”

Like many talented young musicians, she spent her Saturdays studying at a junior conservatoire – in her case the Junior Royal College of Music (JRCM), where she started in September 2019. She had already passed her piano Grade 8 exam with a Distinction before joining, and studying there was a necessary next step so she could realise her musical potential.

The days were long, consisting of a six hour round trip from her home in Lincolnshire to London. She was committed to the time it took, but the train fares proved to be costly – in 2020 a weekly journey would cost £1,800 a year.

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When Jaime received her Award that year, she knew that she wanted to spend it on train
fares. We supported Jaime for five years until she turned 18 and so were able to relieve some of the financial pressure she faced, so she could focus on her music without worrying about money.

“I lived over 100 miles away and travelled into London every Saturday by car, then train and then the tube. When there were train strikes, my mum had to drive us. But studying at the Junior Royal College of Music helped me become the musician that I am. Young Sounds boosted my confidence in what I love doing.”

As we strive to support more young musicians, our own costs to support them also increase. Not only do we need more funding to give more financial support to more talented young musicians, we also want to continue to provide musical opportunities, such as our Awards Days, workshops and masterclasses which were just as valuable to Jaime as the monetary funding.

“I tremendously enjoyed the musical opportunities offered by Young Sounds. I met more musician friends who are in the same position as me and we got to learn from each other and share our musical journeys.”

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Now 18, Jaime has achieved the dreams she had when she was 13. She wanted to be well known in Lincolnshire for music, and she certainly did this when she won the Lincolnshire Young Musician of the Year competition in 2022. She also wanted to gain a place to continue studying piano at a conservatoire – and last September she began her studies at Trinity Laban. Next, her dream is to become a concert pianist like her idols Bruce Liu, Yuja Wang, Lang Lang, and Tifanny Poon.

“My aspirations for the future are to make people happy with my music, do the very best I possibly can on my instrument, continue to study hard, take every opportunity that comes my way to perform and try to become a fine musician. I also hope to inspire future generations to music by being a good role model and pass on my musical knowledge.”