KIMSON Chitolie, an outstanding young music student from Augier, has become the recipient of the Hilton Cliff Music Award for 2016.
Kimson was born on 29 December 2000, his mother is employed as the bursar at a secondary school, and his father is a police officer. He is an only child who enjoys origami, tennis, conducting science experiments and playing video games.
Kimson’s fascination for classical music and piano in particular, began at the age of three years after he attended a piano recital given by his cousin, Grantly Charles. At the age of eight, he began piano lessons with Grantly who, having studied for three years at the L’EcoleNormaleSupérieure de Musique in Paris, on a French Government Scholarship, had returned to St Lucia to take up the position of Head of Piano Studies at the St. Lucia School of Music. Kimson, highly self-motivated and fuelled with a passion for classical music, went on to pass the ABRSM Grade 1 Theory exam the following year.
At the age of just twelve, as a Form 1 student (seventh grade), he sat exams in Music at the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) level and received the Governor General’s Award of Excellence for scoring the highest marks on the island. By that time Kimson had already taken up violin and cello lessons and he now holds the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Grade 5 Distinction and Merit passes in each instrument respectively. This year he is working for ABRSM Grade 7 in piano, Grade 6 in both violin and cello, and Grade 6 in Theory.
As a student of the Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School, Kimson is presently preparing to write CSEC examinations in twelve subjects. He has always been an outstanding student and currently has an academic average of 82%.
Kimson has performed throughout St. Lucia at recitals, concerts, official events, and weddings. His musical goals include “playing the ‘Flight of the Bumble Bee’ on all instruments” and one day becoming an orchestral conductor.
The Hilton Cliff Award is granted annually by the MUSICMAN Learning Centre for young musicians who reveal outstanding musical potential.
The 2016 Award will be tenable at the Gospel Sounds Studio in Augier, the first time since the Award’s inception in 2011 that it Award goes to a student not taking classes at MUSICMAN, and as such shows MUSICMAN’s confidence in the high standard of musical education being provided by the teaching staff in Augier at the Gospel Sounds Studio.
Would anyone know how I may contact this young man KIMSON Chitolie? I am a classical singer who is looking for Classical Musicians in St. Lucia.