Yehudi Menuhin School Signs With Artist Management Firm

The specialist music school in Surrey, England, has partnered with international classical music agency Cambridge Creative Management (CCM)

Sarah Trelawny Ford at Cambridge Creative Management (CCM) will represent the academy in searching for professional performance opportunities for promising students and ensembles throughout UK, Europe, and around the globe.

Building on the performance initiatives already offered to the pupils at Menuhin Hall, CCM will endeavour to develop new partnerships and external engagements for the 80 pupils, aged from 11 to 19.

Initial projects will include developing the school’s orchestral touring program with its biannual visit to the Gstaad Festival. Additionally, the agency will focus on increasing the visibility of the annual Leavers’ Concert, collaborating with YMS Qingdao, and exploring further ways to celebrate the school’s 60th anniversary in 2023.

The school also has a record contract with the boutique label, Orchid Classics. Due for release in 2022, their album will feature a selection of talents from the school’s international cohort. 

The decision made by the school is one example of a larger industry trend amongst elite learning academies. The Colburn School in Los Angeles, California has had an agent for several years, and the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania now also has a management arm. Additionally, in October 2020, the San Francisco Conservatory announced that it had bought Opus 3 Management.

“I am delighted that CCM will be working with YMS to develop further concert opportunities for our wonderfully talented pupils," said Ashley Wass, Director of Music at The Yehudi Menuhin School. "It goes without saying that performance is a key part of any young musician’s education, and this has been brought into sharp focus during the pandemic, when playing before the public has become such a rarity. YMS is undergoing a period of exciting change as we set about diversifying our pupils’ education such that every child who studies here leaves fully prepared for life as a 21st Century musician, and we see it as vitally important that the work we do is accessible to all."

“CCM was born out of a loyalty and dedication to artists and classical music during an exceptionally difficult year for many in the industry,” said Director of Cambridge Creative Management, Sarah Trelawny Ford. “It’s an absolute honour to be asked to work with some of the world’s finest young musicians, securing a future for this incredibly important performance medium, and I am personally so excited to be working with those at the beginning of their careers. It feels a real privilege to be a part of the start of the creative process.”

Previously with Hazard Chase Management, Ford’s other clients include the Brodsky Quartet plus pianists Martin Roscoe and Nicolas Hodges, among others.