Isata, who attended Junior Academy (JA) and completed her undergraduate and master's degrees here, returned to share her knowledge and expertise with current students as part of the JA schedule on Saturday 7 June. She led a masterclass in the Duke's Hall for our piano students, focussing on Debussy's Études, to help them prepare for their upcoming performances in the Summer Piano Festival at the Academy.
'I'd like to thank Isata for showing me how to embody and express musicality to extremes, and to put technical boldness into practice.'
Annabel, current JA piano student
Since graduating from the Academy in 2020, Isata has made her debut at the BBC Proms in 2023, performing Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No 3 with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, appeared as a soloist with the European Union Youth Orchestra, the Ulster Orchestra and the Chineke! Orchestra, and has also recorded four solo albums with Decca Classics.
Today, JA pianists celebrate the department's 110th anniversary with a concert as part of the annual Summer Piano Festival. The programme includes Debussy’s Études – written the year Junior Academy was founded – as well as works by Bartók, Medtner and York Bowen.