Southport firm celebrates winning New Kitchen Retailer of the Year Award

BIRKDALE Kitchen Co. in Southport has added to its haul of awards after winning the title of the:- 'New Kitchen Retailer of the Year' at the prestigious national BKU Awards. The firm, which has a showroom on:- Weld Road, in the heart of Birkdale Village, has already won several major awards since being opened by Neil Gokcen and Stephen Dunne, on:- 12 April 2021.  It is now in the process of growing its offering to meet customer demands as orders grow.

Neil Gokcen said:- "We are thrilled to announce that we've been named the:- 'New Kitchen Retailer of the Year' at the BKU Awards! This is an amazing achievement for us and we're feeling incredibly honoured to receive this recognition. We would like to thank our customers and the wider community for your continued support. The awards are decided through voting by experts from within the industry. It's a very big accolade for us to win! There is a lot of competition to win this 1 from kitchen retailers from across the UK. For us to bring this award home to Southport is pretty special. We would like to thank everyone within our industry who has voted for us and for our customers who continue to support us in everything we do. It is a really big achievement. To have our peers voting us as the best is a nice feather in our cap. It was a real buzz to find out we had won. It's something we are really proud of."

Winning:- 'New Kitchen Retailer of the Year' is yet another accolade for Neil and Stephen to celebrate.  In 2022 Birkdale Kitchen Co. won:- 'UK Kitchen Showroom of the Year' at the 2022 kbbreview Retail and Design Awards 2022 in Birmingham.  In October 2022 they went global as they were short listed in the Global Kitchen Design Awards for Best Kitchen Design at an awards ceremony in Stuttgart in Germany. Coronation Street star Faye Brookes praised Birkdale Kitchen Co. after they worked with the actress to transform her home and create her:- "dream kitchen."

Neil said:- "We might have to build an extension to our trophy cabinet! We never rest on our laurels and are always looking to add to what we can offer our customers. We have changed 1 of our key suppliers, and will be making an announcement about that in the near future. We are looking to broaden our offering to provide home offices and bedroom furniture. There are other things that we are thinking about doing but these are the next things that we are going to market with."

Birkdale Kitchen Co. combines top quality kitchen design with the very latest technology to create award winning kitchens which have everything for modern living.
 

Liverpool Philharmonic Announces Emerging Musicians Fellowships 2023/24

LIVERPOOL Philharmonic is delighted to announce the appointment of 4 musicians selected for the 2nd Annual Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Emerging Musicians Fellowship.  The Emerging Musicians Fellowship offers early career musicians a paid, immersive professional orchestral experience, both on and off the stage over the course of a year. The Fellowship has no upper age limit and in 2023/24 over 270 musicians applied for the scheme.

The 4 musicians appointed as Fellowship Musicians for the 2023/24 season are:-

Danny Cleave (double bass) - Danny is a native of Devon who has just finished his Masters degree, at the Royal College of Music. He said:- "I'm so excited about my year in the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Fellowship, as it will be my 1st time fully immersed into the life of a professional orchestra. I'm looking forward to gaining this vital experience while being mentored and supported throughout, learning from some inspiring mentors in 1 of my favourite cities."

Meggie Murphy (trombone) - Meggie studied at the Royal College of Music and was in the National Youth Orchestra. She said:- "I am really excited to have gained a place on the programme and to receive world class mentorship, especially from this incredible brass section! The opportunity to work with this orchestra and receive invaluable insight into life as a professional musician will be an experience I will value throughout my career as a musician."

Ewan Millar (oboe) - Ewan is from Yorkshire, currently enrolled in a Masters degree at the Royal Academy of Music and who won the woodwind final of BBC Young Musician, said:- "I decided to apply with the hope of getting some proper professional orchestral experience - the scheme is so generous in time and opportunities that applying was a no-brainer. I have loved both the City and the orchestra for a long time, and I'm thrilled to have been accepted."

Méline Le Calvez (clarinet) - Méline was born in Burgundy, France, and she will finish her studies at the Royal Academy of Music this summer. She said:- "I'm really excited for the year ahead and am looking forward to learning from fantastic and inspiring musicians and to be close to professional orchestra life. It is so precious, in order to develop playing skills and knowledge of the orchestral repertoire for sure, but also to learn more about practical aspects of an orchestral musician's career or to get experience in sharing music, passion, and joy through diverse educational projects."

Sameeta Gahir, Principal Piccolo, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Lead Musician for the Emerging Musicians Fellowship, said:- "In light of the successful launch of the Emerging Musicians Fellowship last year, this year we were overwhelmed by the sheer number of exceptional applications we received from talented musicians nationwide. The level of skill and dedication displayed by all the applicants was truly remarkable, and we extend our heartfelt gratitude to each and every 1 of them for their commitment and effort in presenting themselves. It is with great excitement that we announce the newest Fellowship Musicians. Their exceptional musical abilities and unique talents have stood out among the many outstanding candidates, and we are delighted to have them on board for this upcoming season."