Scholarships
The William Lauder Scholarship
This annual scholarship was set up in memory of founder member and former Honorary Treasurer of the Summer School, William Lauder. Open to young singers from Northern Ireland applying to join the Charles Wood Singers for the first time, it enables the holder to participate in the Charles Wood Summer School week free of charge, including an individual singing lesson with internationally renowned vocal coach, Paul Farrington.
The 2025 winner of the William Lauder Scholarship is Cara-Rose Toale
Cara-Rose Toale
Cara-Rose Toale is a classical-crossover soprano from County Armagh, currently entering her 3rd year studying her BMus Vocal Performance degree (classical) at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, under the tutelage of Jane Irwin and Jessica Leary. She has just returned from a 6-month semester abroad at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, Australia studying with Suzy Johnson. She has grown up taking part in choirs including National Youth Choir of Northern Ireland and is a member of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra chorus in Glasgow.
She has a strong passion for storytelling, being a member of musical societies both in Newry and Glasgow. She has achieved her Grade 8 Classical singing, ANEA (Acting) and ANEA (Public speaking) and has since opened her performing arts school both in-person and online named Hollywood Stars Speech and Drama. Cara-Rose has a strong interest in vocal pedagogy and performance, which she hopes to pursue after graduation. She also strongly enjoys researching music and its impact on dementia patients, where she completed research through the University of Melbourne this year. Cara-Rose has made her National Concert Hall Dublin debut in the inaugural cast of ‘Evita’ with Irish Youth Musical Theatre in June 2022. She has been awarded a county Medal within the Irish Arts competition ’Scór Na nÓg’ She is delighted to be awarded this year’s William Lauder Scholarship recipient for the 2025 Charles Wood Festival.
“The William Lauder Scholarship is exactly the sort of thing Northern Ireland needs: financial incentive for young people to engage in Church Music. The Scholarship allows anyone, regardless of background, to participate in what I believe to be NI’s greatest annual week of music-making, and I am so grateful to the board of the Charles Wood Festival for granting it to me in 2017.”
“I spent my first year in the Charles Wood Singers as the William Lauder Scholar. The opportunity provided me with access to music that I had never sung before. The choral tradition became an incredibly important part of my musical education, and I was heavily involved with cathedral music for the three years that followed. The Charles Wood Festival is a must for any young singer from our country.”
The Theo Saunders Scholarship
The Theo Saunders Scholarship enables a young organist to attend the Festival week free of charge, working alongside the Charles Wood Singers under the guidance of the Artistic Director.
The 2025 winner of the Theo Saunders Scholarship is Pascal Bachmann
Pascal Bachmann
Pascal Bachmann is an organist, composer and conductor. From 2020 to 2025 he held a music scholarship at Eton College, where he studied organ with James Orford, Richard Pinel and Christopher Allsop and where he regularly accompanied the College Chapel Choir. In 2025, Pascal attained Fellowship of the Royal College of Organists (FRCO), winning the Limpus Prize and the Coventry Cathedral Prize. Previously, in 2024, Pascal was part of the Young Talents Class at the Haarlem International Organ Festival, and in December 2024, he won 1st prize at the London Organ Competition. He has also been awarded an organ scholarship and a place to read music at St John’s College, Cambridge, starting in September 2025.
As a composer, Pascal was a winner of the BBC Young Composer Competition in 2023, subsequently having works performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He also received a commission from the Murten Classics Festival in the same year, with his work performed by the Hilaris Chamber Orchestra. Pascal studies conducting with Roland Melia and piano with Gareth Owen, having recently performed Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major with the Brandenburg Sinfonia, and having conducted works including Strauss’ Metamorphosen.
“I benefited hugely from the experience of being organ scholar for the Charles Wood Summer School in two consecutive years. It was inspirational to work with musicians of the calibre of David Hill and Philip Scriven, and I also made some lifelong friends.”