From time to time, when funds have been available, the Trust has provided small grants for specific projects undertaken, typically, by young musicians who have previously received support from the Trust. Information about these grants appears below.

In 2025 the Trust established the ‘Hawkins Special Fund’ to continue to support students, and early-career researchers and musicians through the provision of small grants, and in recognition of the generosity of Mrs Joan Hawkins, a friend of the Founder’s who left a substantial legacy to support its work and after whom the Trust’s ‘Joan Hawkins Resident Egyptology Scholarship‘ is named.

Individual awards will typically be in the region of £500 – £1,000 but requests for smaller or larger amounts will be considered.

Proposals can be made at any time. Candidates should, in the first instance, send a short note to introduce themselves and their work, and an outline of their proposal, to the Director, Dr Chris Naunton, via this page.

Although, prior to the establishment of the Hawkins Special Fund, most awards had been for musical projects, the Trust welcomes proposals from musicians or scholars in any subjects in which the Founder, Dr Robert Anderson, was actively involved, particularly musicology, but also archaeology, classical history and Egyptology and related subjects.

As the Trust’s focus is on providing support to young musicians and scholars our preference is to support those who are currently MA / PhD students or within five years of having been awarded their MA / PhD.

Grants awarded to date (most recent year first)

2025

To the Sackbut Collective, of which the Trust’s current Resident Music Scholar, Jose Teixeira, is a member, a grant of £1,500 towards the cost of recording their first album.

The Sackbut collective performing in the music room at Hornton Street in October 2025

To Alvin Arumugam a grant of £800 for travel and accommodation to allow him to take up a place in the Antal Dorati International Conducting Competition in Florence.

To the Carice Singers a grant of £1,000 to support the world premiere performance of ‘Theatre of Origins’ by Anibal Vidal (Trust Special Award 2021-22) at the Spitalfields Festival.

To Anton Zhybak (Resident Humanities Scholar 2023- ) a grant of £70 to cover the fee to attend, and present his research at, the annual war studies conference at King’s College London.

To Michal Oren (Resident Music Scholar 2022-25) a grant of £1,000 to allow her to attend the International Masterclass in Orchestral Conducting organised by the Mallorca Chamber Orchestra to which she was invited by the principal tutor Nicolás Pasquet.

To Anibal Vidal (Trust Special Award 2021-22), a grant of £500 to assist with the costs of travelling to Singapore for the premiere of his composition ‘Thus Dreamt the Anthems’ (further information here).

Anibal Vidal with conductor Alvin Arumugam at the Victoria Concert Hall, Singapore following the performance of ‘Thus Dreamt the Anthems’ in April 2025

To Amany Abd el-Hameed (Resident Egyptologist 2024) a grant of £350 to assist with living costs during a research visit to Philadelphia, U S A.

To the NUBTI Project of the Institut français d’archéologie orientale (IFAO), Cairo, provision of accommodation at the Trust’s Hornton street house for three team members during their visit to London in January 2025 and a grant of £1,500.

NUBTI Project members studying material at the Petrie Museum in January 2025.

2024

To the organisers of the Current Research in Egyptology conference held in Liverpool (2-6 September 2024), a grant to cover the cost of flights for three speakers from Egypt: Engy El-Kilany, Gehad Mohamed Ibrahim Bakr (pictured below with Trust Director Dr Chris Naunton) and Yaser Mahmoud Abouzid.

To conductors Michal Oren (Resident Music Scholar 2022-25) and Alvin Arumugam, a grant of £1,000 for a concert at St Peter’s Church Notting Hill organised by the Clio Project which they founded.

2023

To pianist Louis-Victor Bak (Eibenschütz Award 2023-25) a grant to assist with the costs of recording his debut album Debussy – chaminade.

To composer Anibal Vidal (Trust Special Award 2021-22) a grant to assist with the costs of recording his album Cuerdas y Rugidos.

2021

To conductor John-Paul Jennings (Trust Special Award 2020-21 and Resident Music Scholar 2021-22) a grant to assist with the costs of travel to competitions in Czechia and Bulgaria.

2020

To all scholars whose Trust research visits were necessarily postponed in 2020 (and again in 2021) due to the pandemic, books up to a cost of £100 purchased by the Trust and dispatched their home countries.

To oboist David Hedley (Resident Music Scholar 2019-21) a grant to offset losses from performances and other activities cancelled during the lockdown. As the annual summer concert was postponed in both the years during which David was our resident musician we were delighted that, with support from the Trust, he was able to organise and lead a virtual concert which you can watch below and here.