For the final Then and Now for 2019, we thought we'd highlight Elinor Warwick, a student who has been with NECOM since Mini Minstrels and has now completed year 12.
How long have you been at NECOM and can you name the programs/ensembles/choirs you’ve been involved in?
I started at NECOM when I was 4 years old in 2006.
Mini Minstrels, Minisingers, Cantilena (and Chorale), NE Singers, Junior Orchestra Workshop, AYSO, AYO, Armidale Symphony Orchestra, Errol Russell Sinfonia of New England, New England Sings! 2014, 2016, 2018. Numerous masterclasses, workshop and NECOM scholarship holder.
What’s your favourite memory of your time at NECOM?
New England Sings! in 2016. I sang in the choir and played in the orchestra as well. And I sang a small solo in an ensemble for Christopher Gordon's Peace on Earth. I really liked the pieces we did
I also loved going to Sawtell for the annual music camp for the Armidale Youth Orchestra.
What would you like to do in the future?
I am going to study violin at the Elder Con in Adelaide and hope one day to play in a professional orchestra somewhere in the world.
Will you continue at NECOM for a while longer?
I'll be moving to Adelaide next year but before I go I will be playing in the Errol Russell Sinfonia concert in December. And if my visits coincide with NECOM events, I hope I might be able to help out with Junior Orchestra Workshops or play into ASO.
Anything else you might like to add?
NECOM has been a big part of my life in Armidale. I have been able to do so many things - choirs, chamber ensembles, orchestras. I have had lessons and masterclasses from key performers from around Australia - like Michelle Walsh, Liz Layton and Goetz Richter. I would like to thank my first violin teachers - Zana Clarke and Errol Russell. In recent years learning under Joanna Fairs-Wu has developed my playing and given me the confidence to pursue violin studies at university.
We wish Elinor all the best for the future and we hope that you will continue to come back and play with us whenever the opportunity arises.