A YOUNG Bere Alston musician could be on her first steps on the road to stardom as she takes up a coveted place at one of the country?s top music schools. Anne Jones, who is eleven, is due to start at Chetham?s School of Music in Manchester in September ? and hopes to become a professional musician after she finishes her education. Ann took up playing the clarinet at Bere Alston Primary School less than three years ago ? and has not looked back since. She plays with local band Blowzone and has already achieved grade 8 standard, practising up to two hours a day on her clarinet and treble recorder, on which she has just passed her grade 4 exams with distinction. Her mother, Jane Jones, said Ann was ?very excited? about her new life in Manchester. ?It?s what she really wants to do. She?ll get to study music with loads of other people who are all interested in classicial music,? said Jane. ?She wants to be a professional musician. Her role model is Emma Johnson and she?s aiming to win Young Musician of the Year before she?s 15!? Jane said Anne had done ?incredibly well?, not only to have achieved a place at Chetham?s, but to have passed auditions for the National Children?s Orchestra for the under-11 age group. ?It?s a full symphony orchestra ? she was one of four clarinetists to get a place last November,? said Jane. Jane and husband Mark also have a cause for celebration ? Anne has scooped a £250 grant from the Foundation for Sports and the Arts, as a contribution towards a residential course being run by the National Children?s Orchestra in Pontefract between July 29 and August 5.
