Violin Scholarships Available

St Catherine’s Music Department is pleased to offer two amazing scholarships for talented and committed violin players. Scholarship recipients will be honoured with the opportunity to play and learn with violins of outstanding quality from the beginning of the last Century.

The Shelmerdine Violin Scholarship

The Shelmerdine Violin Scholarship provides two magnificent Italian violins (a Praga and a Postiglione) to two St Catherine’s students for the duration of 12 months. Each year, the two Scholarship winners are encouraged to make full use of the instruments and perform in all relevant School ensembles and concerts, in both solo and ensemble items. As well, the recipients will perform in a concert highlighting their achievements through the year. Most recently this has been the Concerto Concert. This performance allows the School community to hear solo and chamber works utilising these instruments. The Shelmerdine Scholarship is a direct result of the very generous donation of Ms Lindy Shelmerdine (‘80) of two fine Italian violins to St Catherine’s School. The express purpose was to place beautiful instruments into the hands of our very top students who will be inspired during their  formative years through playing outstanding instruments.

Instrument Background

The two Italian instruments are fine examples of the Italian craft of violin making. The first instrument the Praga was made by Eugenio Praga, in Genoa in 1901. At the time he was the most highly renowned violin maker in Genoa. The renowned String magazine The Strad writes “Eugenio Praga left his mark on Genoese violin making…the quality is always remarkable.” The second instrument was produced by the School of Vincenzo Postiglione in 1870. Violins made by Postiglione are considered to be absolute treasures but they are hard to classify because only a true violin expert is able to certify that the violin is an original, as the maker sometimes took pre-made,
unfinished violins (‘in the white’) and completed them. This maker’s violins are considered to offer a wide spectrum of tonal qualities, great depth, strong projecting sound and evenness across all the registers.[1]

The Lloyd Violin Scholarship

The Lloyd Violin is of French origin and it bears the label of Ch. J. B Colin-Mezin dated 1902 in Paris. The instrument is described as having “two pieces of medium to broad, regular flamed maple with the figure descending from the centre joint; the sides and head are of similar wood; the top is of two pieces of straight grained spruce of medium to wide irregularly spaced reed lines; the varnish is of a gold brown laid over a golden ground. The length of the back is 358mm.” This Violin was donated to the School in 2014 by Sue Hayes, mother of the late Mrs Danielle Lloyd (‘83) who was a student at St Catherine’s School and later a much revered Violin teacher. Danielle was a
boarder at St Catherine’s School from 1980-83 and was Captain of Music in Year 12. Danielle was also the aunt of current Year 9 student Grace Lloyd.

Audition Process

The Shelmerdine and Lloyd Violin Scholarships will be awarded following an audition in Term 3 run by the Head of Music and the Head of Strings. The Scholarships run from the end of Term 3 for twelve months. Students may be recipients of these Scholarship for more than one year and may hold the Scholarship over consecutive years. The audition will include the performance of two contrasting pieces. Repertoire must be accompanied where required.

The following criteria will be used in assessing the applicants:

1. Quality of musicianship including range of expression, tone, dynamics and articulation
2. Level of technical ability
3. Past contribution and commitment to the School performance program including solo and
ensemble performances