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Former music scholars

Laurence Panter (‘98) Peter Shatwell (‘05)

Leaving Henry's - and so I was a music scholar during
also the indispensable my time at Henry’s until I left
musical tutelage of Jan for university in 2012.
Butler and Niall Doherty - in
2005, I then spent three I am now finishing my
years as a choral scholar at second year studying
Gonville & Caius College, Physics at Imperial College,
Cambridge where I read London.
music and gained an
academic scholarship. London life is busy and
Physics is a pretty
Singing for three services a demanding subject, but I try
Laurence Panter as Mopsa week during term time and to keep up with some music
in Purcell’s Fairy Queen recording and touring during on top of my studies. Last
the holidays all gave me a year I was involved with
lasting love of liturgical choral music. However, I was Imperial’s String Ensemble
also dabbling in more operatic ventures, singing the and led the viola section. I also played in a
lead tenor for student productions such as Handel's string quartet and piano quintet.
'Acis & Galatea' and Bernstein's 'West Side Story'
during my final year. I am currently a music bursary holder (for which
I had to audition on the piano), which means I
Graduating in 2008 was a less smooth transition, and have a bit of money to use on piano lessons at
there were several years lost in desultory work as a the college.
private tutor in French and Spanish, as a waiter, as a
piano tutor, as a music animateur in a school and as My new piano teacher, Alvin Moisey, is great but
an occasional singer for various London churches. I have discovered that I was not playing the
Applications to conservatoires were not going well, piano too seriously while at school! I have learnt
and so in 2010 I upped sticks and lived in Beijing for that you need to know a piece as well as the
a year, working as a teaching assistant at the British composer did in order to perform it, as well as
School of Beijing. On my return in 2011, I started choose fingerings that actually follow the shape
working as a music administrator for a school in of the human hand.
South-East London and this led to starting a
Graduate Teacher Programme with the Institute of I am currently learning some Debussy preludes
Education the following year. It was also in 2012 that (I recommend “Ce qu’a vu le vent d’Ouest”,
I started getting involved with amateur operatic which is awesome!) as well as a Prokofiev
societies. sonata, some Messiaen and Scriabin.

I am now at last I guess my ultimate goal is to achieve LRSM
preparing to status, but I know it will take a few years!
start an MA in
Performance at I hope music at Henry’s is still going strong. I
Trinity Laban miss being involved in so many different
Conservatoire of societies at school; it’s too hard to do that now.
Music and
Dance in So to those of you still at school: join a musical
Laurence Panter as Monsieur Triquet London on a full society!
in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin scholarship.
The music department at Henry’s is brilliant and,
From now until then is a mixture of productions, like me, you will not have as many opportunities
though the fact that I am currently learning what will when you leave.
be my seventh Gilbert & Sullivan lead may be
something to do with the superb KHVIII production of Meanwhile, I will carry on trying to improve my
'The Mikado' way back in 2005! standard of music here in London.

Contact the School’s Alumni Officer, Amanda Garman, at alumni@khviii.net