Violinist Nicola Benedetti has given a music masterclass to children in Perth.
The Benedetti Session, where the 28-year-old worked with the young musicians on Vaughan Williams’ Lark Ascending, culminated in a performance and came at the end of a weekend residency Nicola Benedetti and Friends.
Benedetti was joined by three other world-class musicians for a weekend of concerts presenting some of the finest chamber music ever created from composers including Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms and Rachmaninov.
Working with young musicians is a cause close to Benedetti’s heart as she is a passionate advocate of the far-reaching benefits that music in education can bring.
She said: “Music adds a dimension to education that helps people deal with challenges they experience in their lives rather than just preparing them for a job.
“I have heard hundreds of stories from parents, teachers and children about the positive impact music learning has had on their lives.
“At some point somebody should realise that this is an opportunity that every child should be given, for their wellbeing, for their future.”
Benedetti herself had an early introduction to music, taking up the violin at the age of four.
By the age of eight she was leader of the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain and just a year later she had passed all eight levels of musical examinations.
By the time she was a teenager, Benedetti had performed with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Scottish Opera.
At 16 she won the BBC Young Musician of the Year performing Karol Szymanowski’s First Violin Concerto in the final at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh, with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
The same year, she signed a £1 million six-album recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Music Group Classics and Jazz.