St Edward's Chronicle October 2016

12

ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

FOCUS ON MUSIC

Aaron Gruen What musical activities are you involved in atTeddies? I play the cello and am involved in the orchestra, several chamber music groups and a band. Where were you at school before and what made you choose St Edward’s? Previously I was at the international school in Munich, where I live. I chose to come to Teddies not only because of the excellent music programme, but also because Teddies enables me to balance music, sports and academics. Also, the first time I visited the School and saw the Quad and sport pitches, I knew that I was going to come to Teddies! What has been your favourite musical performance at St Edward’s? It would have to be when I performed the first movement of the Haydn Cello Concerto at St John’s Smith Square in London last year. It was amazing playing in such a great venue, and I really felt like all the hard work of practising paid off. What are you most looking forward to about the new Music School? I’m really looking forward to the large new recital hall and the spacious practice rooms because, as a musician, you need space to think, and spread out, and you need the sound you produce to resonate. Which teacher has had the most influence on your musical development? That’s a hard choice, and I would of course say that both my parents and my cello teachers - at Teddies (Mrs Amherst) and back in Munich - have helped me enormously. But I also have to give a lot of credit to Mr Damiani, who has given up so much of his time to rehearse with me and is always there to provide extra help. What music do you listen to in your spare time? It really depends on what I’m doing, but most of the time it is a mixture of classical music or modern pop. What do you want to do after school? I plan to take a gap year and hopefully study at a music conservatory, either in the UK or in Germany. Afterwards I plan to study Medicine in the United States.