These are difficult days for student instrumentalists. It was tricky enough to make the leap from education to career even before a global pandemic brought the profession to its knees. It’s at times like these that our industry’s big hitters need to share the love.

Yamaha, the world’s biggest manufacturer of musical instruments, knows that. In fact the Yamaha Music Europe Foundation has been distributing scholarships to young instrumentalists since 1989.

In the last decade, the Foundation’s scholarship scheme has matured, embedding itself deeper into the consciousness of Europe’s higher education establishments in the process. To date it has distributed over 1000 grants throughout Europe approaching €1.5 million in value.

‘We don’t want the next Jacqueline du Pré to end up making lattes in Costa Coffee’

Anyone studying at a higher education establishment in one of 34 European countries including the UK can apply for a Yamaha Foundation scholarship, with the discipline rotating annually through percussion, brass, strings, woodwind and vocal studies. The award of between €1000-2000 can be used for any purpose that contributes to the advancement of a student’s studies.

‘Standards have become so high that we have recently changed the way we adjudicate the scheme,’ says James Sargeant, Yamaha’s Institutional Business Manager. In 2022, for the first time, the Foundation partnered with the Associated Board to broaden the reach of its preliminary round and ensure ease of access.

As the only full-line instrument manufacturer in the world – almost any orchestral instrument playable is made by Yamaha – the company feels its responsibilities widely. ‘I can’t think of another company that has such a commitment to supporting music education and in such a forward-looking way,’ says Sargeant.

He and his colleagues have looked on as previous Yamaha scholars have made their way in the world. David Childs (euphonim), Martin James Bartlett (piano), Amy Dickson (saxophone) and Le Yu (percussion) are among them. ‘You can see the clear progression there,’ says Sargeant, who relishes the fact that Le Yu – whose touring activities were once supported by Yamaha – is now Deputy Director of Percussion at the Royal Northern College of Music and an officially designated Yamaha Artist.

The scheme has always been about more than instrument sales and the prominence of the Yamaha brand, and the support it offers its scholars goes far beyond the financial. ‘We have initiated an entrepreneurship award at the RNCM and have mentored musicians to help them acquire the right business skills they need to succeed in the profession,’ says Sargeant. ‘We don’t want the next Jacqueline du Pré to end up making lattes in Costa Coffee.’

Ruihan Kee, a bassoonist originally from Singapore currently at the Royal Academy of Music in London following undergraduate studies at the Royal College, is among the woodwind recipients of the 2022 scholarship. The prize money has, she says, helped her achieve ‘a better command of my instrument’ and will help her realise her goals of playing in a leading orchestra and engaging more in community music work.

‘Playing the bassoon is expensive,’ says Kee, ‘as you have to spend money on reed-making materials and tools in order to have the flexibility to play in any setting. I will use the scholarship money to help wit this and my tuition costs.’

Regardless of her victory, Kee reports, the participating in the scholarships scheme provided her with invaluable experience. ‘I had decided to push myself, polish my repertoire and engage in as many competitions as possible,’ she says. ‘Even if I hadn’t won the scholarship, preparing the repertoire was useful, not to mention the confidence I gained which will be helpful in auditions for jobs in the future.’

2022’s other scholarship winners – in a year that attracted the highest number of applicants from the UK – were RAM flautist Sofia Matviienko and RCM oboist Bingliang Liu.

Yamaha is determined to stay in touch with its scholars after their victory. ‘We don’t just send them a cheque,’ says Sargeant. ‘We may ask them to trial prototype instruments or loan them an instrument. We certainly follow their careers and take an interest in what they’re doing.’

They may or may not end up as Yamaha Artists, whose current roster includes LSO Principal Percussion Neil Percy.

Not even those players, though, get their equipment for free. Just as Yamaha scholars are free to spend their grants on any instrument (if an instrument is required), Yamaha Artists buy their own. ‘We want our Yamaha Artists to endorse our products because they want to endorse them and would buy them anyway, not because they get them for free,’ says Sargeant.

Yamaha instruments, he says, remain synonymous with craftsmanship and quality. ‘A Yamaha, whether a student or professional level instrument, will always be built to a standard that will exceed a customer’s expectations at that price,’ says Sargeant. He should know. ‘We’re all musicians at Yamaha,’ he says, with pride in his voice. ‘Some of my colleagues are really high-class ones. We’re in this business because we love it.’

Find out more: Yamaha Foundation Scholarships