Oboist Melanie Rothman was born in 1991 in Surrey. When changing schools at the age of 10, she took up the oboe with Hilary Dennis, who also encouraged her to start learning the piano. Melanie holds a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music where she studies with Melanie Ragge. She also learns Cor Anglais with Jill Crowther, harpsichord with Carole Cerasi and baroque and classical oboe with Katharina Spreckelsen.
She studied at the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music on Saturdays from 2003- 2008 and in addition to this has taken part in a number of residential courses. She joined the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain in 2007 as second oboe, and in 2008 and 2009 had the privilege of being its principal oboist, working with conductors such as Antonio Pappano, Vasily Petrenko and Semyon Bychkov.
In 2006, Melanie had her concerto debut, performing Hummel’s ‘Introduction, Theme and Variations’ for Oboe and Orchestra with the Purcell School’s Sinfonia Orchestra. At the Junior Academy, she won the Junior Woodwind and Brass Prize in 2005, and won the Advanced Woodwind Prize twice in 2006 and 2008 (highly commended in 2007).
Recently, she was a woodwind finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition 2008 which was televised on BBC4. In November 2008, she reached the final of the Sutton Music Festival 75th Anniversary Concerto Competition playing the Richard Strauss concerto.
She has also performed Poulenc’s Sextet with her chamber music group from the Junior Academy at St-Martin’s-in-the-Field’s, and Ravel's 'Tombeau de Couperin’ at the ‘Excellent’ Gala Concert celebrating the Music and Dance Scheme at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in July 2008.
In September 2008 she performed Britten’s ‘Temporal Variations’ for oboe and piano at the Wigmore Hall. She returned to the Wigmore Hall in March 2009 to perform Elliott Carter's Quartet for Flute, Oboe, 'Cello and harpsichord. In October 2008 she took part in a solo performance at St. John’s Smith Square, alongside finalists from the recent television program, ‘Classical Star’.
In March 2009, Melanie performed a solo recital as part of the Leeds International Concert Season at The Venue, Leeds. She has also performed a chamber music recital at the annual convention of the British Double Reed Society with Malcolm Messiter and Roger Birnstingl in May 2009.
She has taken part in a number of masterclasses. These have been with Nicholas Daniel, Melinda Maxwell, Richard Simpson, Alex Klein, Jonathan Kelly and Jacques Tys. She has also worked with a number of piano accompanists such as Debbie Shah, John Reid, and John Lenehan. Her current accompanist is Alison Procter.
Melanie takes a very active part in outreach activities in schools around the UK, most notably in July 2008 in Norfolk and October 2008 in Cornwall. She was awarded the John Will’s Shield for outstanding contribution to outreach work in 2007. In July 2009, she took part in a project with other members of the National Youth Orchestra at Treloars School.
Melanie is also an avid writer and has had a number of articles published in 'Double Reed News', the magazine of the British Double Reed Society.
Melanie plays on instruments made by Fossati, Paris. |
