Young Scottish opera singer to perform at GLC Schools Trust concert

Scottish opera soprano CharLi will perform at GLC's Schools Trust concert in Glasgow on Friday 30 July 2010 at 7.30pm, along with cellist Jacob Shaw, and violinist, Suyeon Kang.  Although only 15 years old, CharLi is already recognised as an exciting new talent in the world of opera. She first appeared with Scottish Opera in Humperdinck’s Hansel & Gretel at just nine years old and during the last five years, she has been totally consumed by opera which now affects every aspect of her life.

CharLi is a serious musician who left school at eleven years old after becoming the youngest person ever to pass a Scottish Higher Music Exam at Grade 'A', whilst still attending primary school. A bespoke education package was then designed with the help of GLC's Education Law Unit to provide CharLi with the opportunity to develop her passion for music and achieve her full potential. She is extremely proud of her Scottish roots and is a prominent vocal ambassador for Scotland and all things good.

Since commencing her studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music in 2008, CharLi has made remarkable progress, being able to further explore her musicality whilst developing good solid technique under the careful direction of the wonderful Mezzo Soprano, Kathleen McKellar-Ferguson. 

CharLi is much in demand and performs regularly throughout the UK and Europe. Since 2006 she has performed in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Inverness, York and several times in her second home Vienna. In 2010, she will perform in Warsaw, Vienna, Bulgaria, Singapore, Cairo and Alexandria Egypt. She also studies piano with Clare Sutherland at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and plays violin for the RSAMD orchestra.  In March 2010 CharLi won a prestigious Scottish prize, when she was awarded the "Glasgow Grand Opera Society Trophy" by Helen Lawson.

A draft programme for the concert is available here (opens as PDF). To buy or reserve tickets, or for further information, please contact GLC on 0141 440 2503 or e-mail m @govanlc.com; or fax us on 0141 445 3934. Please note that 100% of the ticket price will go to help school children in Glasgow Govan; everyone involved in this event is kindly donating their time without charge to support our trust fund.

World-class concert to kick-start the Govan Law Centre Schools Trust

GLC is launching a new trust to support local school children in Govan, and we hope to raise funds for this initiative through a classical concert with internationally acclaimed artists, to be held in Glasgow on the evening of Friday, 30 July 2010.  Through the kind generosity of clients of our national Education Law Unit, we are delighted to announce a performance which will include some of most gifted young classical musicians on the international stage:

Jacob Shaw, cellist
Jacob Shaw is rapidly establishing himself as one of the most promising cellists of his generation, appearing reguarly across Europe to critical acclaim. Jacob first studied at the prestigious Yehudi Menuhin School in London, before entering into the class of Geneviève Teulières-Sommer, and Devy Erlih at the École Normale de Musique de Paris supported by the Zaleski Fondation and the ASSOPHIE association.

He became the youngest ever cellist in the history of the school to graduate the Diplôme de Concertiste.  He has peformed across Europe and the USA, and has recorded his debut album, comprising of Sonatas and shorter works by Brahms, with the renowned Argentinean pianist José Gallardo, due for release this year. Future performances will bring him to Japan, Brazil, Korea and China.

A passionate chamber musician, Jacob is often asked to appear alongside renowned musicians, in recent years bringing him on stage with artists such as Daniel Blumenthal, Andrius Szabys, Pierre-Henri Xureb, Elisabeth Zeuthen-Schneider, Valeriy Sokolov, Mark Gothoni, Sofia Gubaidulina, Kyung-Sun Lee and José Gallardo.

Suyeon Kang, violinist
Born in South Korea, Suyeon Kang began the violin at the age of 6 in Canberra, with Josette Esquedin Morgan. During further studies in Sydney and Melbourne, she was named the Australian Young Performer of the Year 2005, which led to her concerto debut with the Sibelius Violin Concerto. In 2007 Kang moved to Germany to study with Professor Daniel Gaede (ex-concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic), and since 2009 has been working as his assistant.

Suyeon has appeared as soloist with the Norwegian Broadcasting Orchestra (KORK), Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchester, the Melbourne, Tasmanian, Queensland, and Canberra Symphony Orchestras, Orchestra Victoria etc. She has performed extensively in recitals in concert venues throughout Europe, Australia and Asia.

A passionate chamber musician, Suyeon has appeared with artists such as Siegfried Jeruselem, Julius Berger, Franz Halasz, and recently formed a duo with the cellist Jacob Shaw. Always keen to push the limit of the capabilities on the violin she has worked with musicians and composers of different musical horizons, ranging from classical to jazz/folk music.

The concert will be held in Adelaides Auditorium on the evening of Friday, 30 July 2010, 209 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4HZ.  The programme will be finalised shortly, and will include an outstanding young classical vocalist.  Ticket prices are £10 for adults and £5 for children; no concessions are available as this is a charitable fund raising event. 

To buy or reserve tickets, or for further information, please contact GLC on 0141 440 2503 or e-mail m @govanlc.com; or fax us on 0141 445 3934.  Please note that 100% of the ticket price will go to help school children in Glasgow Govan; everyone involved in this event is kindly donating their time without charge to support our trust fund.

GLC will be setting up a stand-alone charitable trust which will provide funds to help local school children in Glasgow Govan. The new trust will help pay for additional school materials, educational visits and school trips for kids who otherwise couldn't afford to enjoy such opportunities, as well as providing a number of specific educational bursaries to help local Govan kids progress with their studies.

Bank charges update: remit from small claims to the ordinary court

One of the current strategies of UK banks in Scotland is to ask the court to remit cases from the small claims procedure (where expenses are capped) to ordinary cause procedure (where expenses are potentially unlimited).  Remit between different court procedures, or to a senior court, can be granted where there are difficult questions of law, or exceptionally complicated factual issues. 

From the consumer's point of view having a claim removed from the small claims system means either instructing a solicitor in the hope of obtaining civil legal aid, or dropping the claim unless you were prepared to risk court expenses several times the value of your claim in the event of failure. Legal aid is not straight-forward either, one has to pass all of the qualifying hurdles, and for those on a modest to good income, you may have to pay a financial contribution to the legal aid board in excess of the value of your claim; and if you win, it is not necessarily straight-forward that you won't have 'contra' expenses, or be required to pay some of your award back to the legal aid board. Things can get complicated with expenses.

The practical result of remit will be that some consumers will drop their claims as it becomes uneconomical or financially imprudent to pursue a case.  If that happens, access to justice will have been thwarted.  This raises fundamental questions about the proportionality of our justice system in relation to expenses, and whether bank charge claimants of modest means have the right to a 'fair hearing' before our courts, as guaranteed by Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

In the case of Walls v. Santander UK plc, counsel for the defender sought remit from small claims to the ordinary cause. Govan Law Centre opposed this application on behalf of the pursuer.  After lengthy submissions, Sheriff Cubie at Glasgow Sheriff Court made 'avizandum' (which means he will reflect upon the issues and provide a written judgment). Sheriff Cubie's Opinion is expected later this month. GLC will provide a further update in due course.