As we enter a new academic year, The Purcell School is proud to celebrate the recent triumphs of students past and present at three prestigious international music competitions.

Pianist and alumnus Alim Beisembayev triumphed at the 20th edition of the Leeds International Piano Competition, which took place on 18th September 2021 in Leeds Town Hall. Alim won First Prize (The Waterman Gold Medal) in the Grand Final, an event which is widely regarded as among the most respected in the musical world, and was awarded a £25,000 cash prize. In addition, he will receive a career-changing prize package that includes worldwide management with Askonas Holt, a recording contract with Warner Classics and a European tour organised with partners Steinway & Sons. Furthermore, Alim also became the recipient of the medici.tv Audience Prize, voted for by the public, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society Prize for performance of a 20th/21st century work.

Alim Beisembayev studied at The Purcell School from 2010 with Tessa Nicholson, a relationship that continued when he progressed to the Royal Academy of Music. He is currently in the second year of his Master’s degree at the Royal College of Music where he studies with Professor Vanessa Latarche.

The Purcell School was also represented in the Grand Final by pianist and alumnus Thomas Kelly who was awarded Fifth Prize in the prestigious competition. Thomas joined The Purcell School in 2015 where he studied under Andrew Ball. He is presently in the first year of a Master’s degree at the RCM studying with Professor Dmitri Alexeev.