A gifted music student at the University of Aberdeen has been awarded a prestigious scholarship to continue her studies into Kodály - a unique style of teaching school children how to sing.
Second year student Jane Duffield, from Banff, is a mature student on the full-time BMus Ed (Batchelor of Music with Education) course who has been awarded the Alfie Tough Music Scholarship 2006.
The scholarship was created in 2003 to commemorate a remarkable and much loved man, Alfie Tough MA (1919-2003), who was an inseparable part of Old Aberdeen for almost 60 years.
The scholarship, awarded annually to a musically or vocally gifted student at the University, will cover the cost of a Singers Course at the British Kodály Academy (BKA) Summer School at Leicester University. The course will give Jane an hour’s worth of daily personal vocal tuition, in conjunction with the core Summer School classes.
Jane, who has spent the past two years attending similar BKA courses, said she was looking forward to developing her knowledge and experience of Kodály teaching. She said: “I found the BKA courses to be inspirational and extremely valuable both by developing my personal musicianship skills through concentrated study and by giving me the chance to interact with other musicians and teachers from varied backgrounds.
“The intensive courses give me the privilege of being taught by internationally renowned tutors and I am delighted that the Alfie Tough Music Scholarship will help me to continue my learning in the specialised field of Kodály music teaching.”
Kodály training is based on teaching, learning and understanding music through the experience of singing. Ideally the approach begins with young children learning, unconsciously at first, the musical elements, which all musicians need, through playing and singing of musical games and songs of their mother tongue.
Dr Paul Mealor, Lecturer in Music, at the University of Aberdeen, said Jane was a deserving recipient of the scholarship. He said: “Jane is a gifted vocalist who is dedicated and committed to her studies and to her ambition to become a music teacher.
“The scholarship will allow her to continue her studies of the Kodály teaching method which she intends to bring back to Aberdeen to ensure future generations of schoolchildren in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire can enjoy singing as a key part of their education.
“Alfie Tough would have been delighted that the scholarship has been awarded to such a talented and enthusiastic individual.”
Known to hundreds of people through his long involvement in music and education, after retirement Alfie embarked on a new path and registered for a degree at Aberdeen, graduating MA with honours in 1999 at the age of 80! He quickly became a familiar figure throughout the University, a good friend to hundreds of students, and important contributor to its musical life. He could frequently be found playing the King's College Chapel organ in the early morning, and having used his fine tenor voice for the benefit of several major choirs, was a regular and valued member of the Chapel Choir and the University Choral Society. He sang in both until just a few months before his death. He died in January 2003, at the age of 83.
* The BKA is a registered charity dedicated to working for the improvement of British music education through courses, workshops and demonstrations relating the philosophy and practice of the Hungarian composer and educator Zoltán Kodály to British musical heritage.