Toby Burwell

Toby was the very first student through the Rugby Music Centre doors, joining Mel for the first theory class in September of 2021. He was always the first to get involved with anything musical, and over his time with RMC he also joined the choir and was an avid supporter of the other groups. We tragically lost Toby in early 2023, a loss which the whole Music Centre family still keenly feel. We are still closely in touch with Toby’s wonderful parents, who have generously chosen to sponsor a child at RMC each year in Toby’s memory. We could not be prouder to support this gesture and take this opportunity to remember and celebrate the life of a wonderful, tenacious and intensely kind young man.

Toby joined his second group, the choir, in October 2021 and he was unsure at first. Singing wasn’t his primary instrument (piano was) and he didn’t know anyone in the group. Well, within 5 minutes he had everyone laughing and it was an immediate connection; he was one of us! Singing didn’t come as naturally to Toby as piano did, but he was determined to improve. It was tough as he was our only lad, so the rest of the choir were at least an octave above him, but he didn’t ever shy away from making sure his voice was heard. He is the very essence of what a youth choir is all about: every voice matters.

As time went on and Toby’s skills developed, there were some really beautiful bass tones coming through the choir and we were all so thrilled to be able to split our choir into 3 part harmony, with Toby holding the bass on his own. I was so proud of him when we performed “Somewhere” from West Side Story, our very first 3 part harmony performance. I have no doubt that were Toby still with us today he would have loved being a part of our growing choir, developing more in depth harmony singing, learning new repertoire and of course lavishing in making all of us laugh every single rehearsal!

Toby’s love of music and performing was evident when he would cycle across town to join us for a voluntary Christmas event in Clifton. He would always ask, “what can I do to help?” and I am sure many parents will have met Toby as he was often on the door handing out programmes and selling raffle tickets at our many concerts. He was likely the one in the Hawaiian shirt with the huge smile! He would always sneak to the back of the concert hall to cheer on the other groups as well, in between making mischief in the backstage rooms! Everyone knew him, everyone loved him.

You couldn’t help but feel close to Toby. His heart was absolutely huge and he had no fear in sharing his friendship with anyone. I feel truly honoured to have got to work with Toby, even if it was only for 2 short years, my life has been truly blessed. At RMC, we want to always remember Toby, his beautiful soul, his musical skill and his enormous heart.

If anyone would like to donate to the Music Centre in Toby’s honour, please contact RMC on singing@rugbymusiccentre.co.uk, as we are setting up a Toby Burwell subsidy fund, which could help support more young people in Rugby to reach the musical opportunities that Toby enjoyed.