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Not that many teenagers play the organ, and even fewer play it to a professional level, but new Wellington pupil, Yejoon Park has just been awarded Associateship of the Royal College of Organists (ARCO).
Yejoon only began playing the organ in January 2019, but her accomplished musicianship has already seen her win prestigious competitions like the Sawyer, Durrant and Lord St Audries’ prizes, the latter awarded to the candidate with the highest marks in the practical exam She is a member of the Royal Academy of Music (Junior Department), and pays tribute to her teachers there, Anne Marsden Thomas and Frederick Stocken, who she says have been particularly influential in her burgeoning career.
Yejoon, who has joined Wellington in the Lower Sixth, will be studying for the IB diploma, majoring in Maths and the Sciences, but says that as well as having high academic ambitions, she hopes that in the future the organ will continue to play a central role in her life, and is already considering a professional career.
For now though she is looking forward to all the opportunities that Wellington College has to offer, and in particular the chance to play regularly in the school Chapel, accompany rehearsals, and gain mentorship from the three College Organists on the staff (all of whom are Fellows of the Royal College of Organists). We are all certainly looking forward to that and feel sure that she will make a magnificent contribution to the musical life of the school. As George de Voil (Assistant Director of Music, Chapel & Choral), commented:
We are just thrilled to have an organist of Yejoon’s calibre joining the excellent team of pupil organists at the college. She has a very bright future ahead!
