In 2021 the Trust received a generous bequest from the estate of the late Jean Middlemiss (1925 – 2020). Jean was a London-based musician and teacher, renowned for her use of the ‘Suzuki method’ which she studied with the founder in Japan and introduced into her teaching in this country, as part of her campaign to make music central to the development of the individual.

Robert Anderson and Jean Middlemiss.

A viola player, trained at the Royal Academy of Music, Jean was a lifelong friend of Robert Anderson and his brother John, both skilled amateur musicians, and together with their fellow musician Lenore Reynell, later Head of Music at the Purcell School, they played together regularly on an informal basis as the ‘Enigmoid’ String Quartet. She also performed with the Chelsea Opera Group under Colin Davis and in many of the concerts given by Robert as conductor of Barts Choir. Jean’s recollections of her friendship with Robert appears in the volume of tributes produced on his death in 2015 which can be read here.

The string quartet (L-R): Lenore Reynell, John Anderson, Jean Middlemiss, Robert Anderson.

Jean Middlemiss died in February 2020. Obituaries appeared in The Times (here, paywall) and The Guardian (here).

In recognition of the bequest and the friendship between Dr Anderson and Miss Middlemiss the Trustees have agreed to inaugurate a ‘Jean Middlemiss Award’ to support the studies of a violist at the Royal College of Music (RCM).

The current holder of the award, for the 2025-6 academic year, is Jamie Howe who is in the second year of his Master’s degree.

Jamie is studying under the tutelage of Simon Roland-Jones and Andriy Viytovych. He is a former Principal Viola of both the Ulster Youth Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and has had the pleasure of performing in the Konzerthaus in Berlin and the Carnegie Hall as a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra. Jamie has enjoyed masterclasses with Timothy Ridout, Lawrence Power, and Garth Knox. He has worked under several leading conductors, including Sir Mark Elder, John Wilson, Semyon Bychkov, and, most recently, Sir Simon Rattle and Sir Antonio Pappano as part of the String Experience Scheme with the London Symphony Orchestra. With the Camerata Ireland orchestra, under the direction of pianist Barry Douglas, Jamie enjoyed an extensive concert tour of China.

Previous Award Holders

The holder of the Middlemiss Award for the 2023-4 and 2024-5 academic years was Florence Cope. Florence began her studies at the Guildhall String Training Programme with Mona Kodama and then Vanessa David. In 2016 she then began studying at the Junior department of Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Ivo Stankov.

Florence has performed as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician around the UK. She was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and has played in the BBC Proms twice and performed live on BBC Radio 3. She was recently awarded Essex Music Scholar of the Year and the Ongar Round Table Prize at the 2023 Essex Young Musician of the Year competition.

The first recipient of the award, in the 2021-2 and 2022-3 academic years, was Elena Accogli.

Italian violist Elena Accogli began her studies at the Conservatorio G.B. Martini in Bologna with Antonello Farulli before moving to London to study at the Junior Royal Academy of Music with Jonathan Barritt and Jacqueline Woods. She now studies with Nathan Braude at the Royal College of Music as the Jean Middlemiss Award Holder. She has performed as a soloist, in chamber groups and orchestras, both nationally and internationally, as well as in masterclasses with musicians such as Mate Szucks, Maxim Rysanov and Ettore Causa.

Elena was principal viola of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and has performed several times at the BBC Proms and at International Music Festivals such as the Berlioz Festival and the Young Euro Classics. She has taken part in side-by-side orchestral projects with the Concertgebouw Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. Elena is a member of the LGT Young Soloists and is the recipient of the Musician’s Company Bulgin Medal 2019.