Harry Atkinson awarded DAAD prize 2024

British double bassist Harry Atkinson is this year’s recipient of the DAAD prize for outstanding achievements by international students at German universities. The prize will be presented during the HMTM enrolment ceremony, which will take place on 14 October 2024 in the »Großer Konzertsaal« on Arcisstraße.

Harry Atkinson has been studying for a Master’s degree in double bass at our university since 2021 under Prof. Alexandra Scott. He previously completed his Bachelor’s degree at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

As a student at the academy, the DAAD prize winner performs regularly with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and has already collaborated with other renowned orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the Sinfonia of London and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Atkinson is also passionately dedicated to music education and aims to make music accessible to a wide audience. In June 2020, he founded a small band in his home town together with his family, which performed weekly in public and in care homes for the elderly to bring people together at a time when concert opportunities were limited, as was the case during the coronavirus pandemic. He also regularly takes part in family concerts, where children can discover and try out different instruments in a playful way.

For more than 10 years, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has been awarding the DAAD prize annually to international students in recognition of outstanding academic achievement and exceptional social commitment. The prize is valued at 1.000 euros, and each university selects its own winner.