James Newby

It’s difficult to pin down one performance as my favourite performance at Trinity Laban. I feel like one of the greatest things about the institution is the amount of performance opportunities there are, there’s been so many! But if I had to pick just one I would probably say performing in the Schubert Festival last year with Eugene Asti as the mentor for that project. Eugene is an amazing coach, and works as an accompanist for some of the best singers in the world at the minute, such as Sarah Connolly; having his input and advice, and learning from him and then going on to perform was really one of the most valuable experiences I think I’ve had here. 

I think studying in London is probably one of the greatest advantages a young musician can have, in the sense that they can begin their career from the moment they start studying. I think I have been very grateful to have had that opportunity, and to have started, right from the beginning, getting out and doing work; making the most of all the different musical activities that are going on in London. It’s really the centre of music in the UK. I mean, there’s great music everywhere else of course, but London has just got a real core of professional engagements you can be involved in. 

These past four years at Trinity Laban have been an absolutely amazing experience for me. Firstly socially, I’ve made some of the best friends here I think I’ll ever make, be it staff or fellow peers; but also as a musician I feel completely unrecognisable from the musician that walked through the door four years ago, and I am just so grateful to everybody at Trinity Laban for everything they have done for me.