Talented Brentwood School cellist takes centre stage

Musical maestro and Brentwood School Third Year Alex Lockyer will perform a cello concerto with the Brentwood Philharmonic Orchestra this Saturday - an amazing achievement for such a young musician.

Mr Florian Cooper, the School’s Director of Music, said: “Alex is a prestigious young musical talent and we are extremely excited about his performance of the Haydn C Major Cello Concerto.

“In my position as Director of Music at Brentwood School I have the enormous pleasure of seeing Alex develop as a young musician and am extremely excited about his future, which will undoubtedly be extremely bright. Already an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, arranger, composer and musical director, Alex is becoming the complete musician and his startling talent coupled with an impressive work ethic and determination are inspiring.

“Alex's performance of the Haydn demonstrates complete technical control and musical maturity which bely his young years."

Thirteen-year-old Alex is an Academic and Music Scholar at Brentwood where he participates in a number of the thriving Music Department’s co-curricular activities, most recently, last Saturday’s Battle of the Big Bands when the School’s young musicians went head-to-head with professionals The Seven Steps Big Band.

Alex has been learning the cello since the age of seven with Essex-based cellist Christopher Gascoine. He passed grade eight with distinction at the age of ten and has since been awarded the ARSM and LTCL diplomas. He has been a member of the National Children’s Orchestra since the age of eight as both a cellist and pianist and has regularly led their cello section. Alex has also spent time at the Purcell School Chamber Music Academy where he has taken part in masterclasses with a number of professional string quartets.

Alex is also a keen singer and pianist, learning with Cathy Edkins and BingBing Li respectively, and has passed grade 8 with distinctions in both. He also enjoys playing trumpet in the Brentwood School Big Band.

The Brentwood Philharmonic Orchestra is a leading Essex orchestra bringing together professional musicians and experienced amateurs from Brentwood and further afield to perform three main symphony concerts a year.

This Saturday’s concert will be held at St Thomas' Church, Brentwood, with cellist Alex as soloist in Haydn's effervescent concerto. The great cellist Steven Isserlis has written "I have probably played Haydn's C major concerto more than any other concerto; but each time I do I'm still so delighted by Haydn's joy, his freshness, his mastery and perfection. And the jokes still make me laugh."

The other main work is Rachmaninov's final orchestral work, his Symphonic Dances. A great orchestral showpiece it is packed with with Russian melodies and lush harmonies.