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Tom Poster wins Scottish International Piano Competition 2007

17.09.07

Guildhall pianist wins top prize with performance of Rachmaninov Concerto No. 2

Tom Poster, a Fellow of the Guildhall School and Gold Medal finalist, has won the Scottish International Piano Competition 2007. He was awarded a prize of £10,000, the Frederic Lamond Gold Medal, the Sir Alexander Stone Memorial Trophy, and a Bluthner Grand Piano after his performance of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2 on Saturday 15 September in the City Halls, Glasgow.

Tom, a student of Joan Havill, studied at the Guildhall School for five years after graduating from King's College Cambridge with a Double First. He has performed concertos with the BBC Philharmonic, China National Symphony Orchestra, the Southbank Sinfonia and the European Union Chamber Orchestra; he has given solo recitals at the Barbican, St John's Smith Square and has performed chamber music at the Wigmore and Bridgewater Halls and the Louvre Auditorium, Paris. He previously won the keyboard section of the Royal Overseas League and BBC Young Musicians Competition. Future plans include performances at the Aldeburgh, Cheltenham and City of London Festivals, and a concerto performance at the St Petersburg Festival of British Music.

The Guildhall School was also represented in the semi-finals of the competition: Jennifer Lee, student of Martin Roscoe, won the J Wight Henderson Prize; James Willshire, student of Joan Havill, won the Allan M Wilson Prize; and Sasha Grynyuk, student of Ronan O'Hora, won the Bryden Thomson Prize.