Sussex Young Musician of the Year reflects on her success

SussexWorld

Winning the Sussex Young Musician of the Year competition 2024 was a lovely chance to reflect on all that she owes to Sussex for 19-year-old Riya Hamie, a cellist from Brighton and a student at the Royal Academy of Music.

Transcript

00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. It's a real

00:06pleasure this afternoon to speak to the new Sussex Young Musician of the Year, Ria Hayme.

00:12You've just won the competition and, well, it's lovely in a way because this does bring you full

00:17circle. You were saying that your musical career, your musical interests are absolutely rooted in

00:24Sussex, aren't they? Yeah, absolutely. I feel very grateful to everyone within the Sussex

00:32community that has helped me get to this point and has still helped me get further. And it's

00:39always a pleasure to come back to the area and perform for an audience that I've slowly started

00:44to get to know much better over my life. Absolutely. And your instrument is, of course,

00:50the cello. Now, why? Why the cello? And what's the pleasure of the cello for you?

00:56Yeah, so we mentioned how it was kind of by chance that I started the cello. It was

01:03not an instrument that I picked up by myself, but I'm very glad it's worked out the way it did.

01:09I think the sound itself was so appealing. So many people say that it's the instrument that's

01:18closest to the human voice, and I'd be inclined to agree. And the whole physical nature of it as

01:24well, you're having the body actually vibrating against you and producing sound in a way that

01:31feels so close and intimate to it. It's another reason. Making it sound almost like an extension

01:38of you. You were saying it's the hugging of the instrument that counts, isn't it?

01:43Yeah, exactly. And you are just about to embark on your second year at the Royal Academy of Music.

01:50How's that degree going so far? How are you enjoying it?

01:54Yeah, it's been a really exciting time. In a sense, it's nice to stop the juggling, so to speak,

02:02between school and music and just be able to give it my all, my complete focus now,

02:10and be really fully immersed in it.

02:13And how will winning the Sussex Young Musician of the Year title help you, do you think?

02:20I think personally and mentally for me, it's just a great motivator to keep me going.

02:28And having had the progress that I've made recognised is really a lovely thing. And

02:37financially as well, it's just a great help in contributing towards possible courses and

02:44masterclasses I'd like to go on, and numerous travel costs when going to any concerts.

02:52And it's just been a really supportive experience all round.

02:55And you were saying rather lovely, the fact that it is the Sussex Young Musician,

03:00and that does bring you full circle.

03:03Yeah, exactly.

03:04Brilliant. Well, lovely to speak to you and congratulations on your triumph.

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