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Lucy Pankhurst’s award-winning composition In Pitch Black will be performed as part of the New Music North West festival in March.

Since Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Vass graduated from the RNCM last July his career has certainly taken off.The 22-year-old pianist, who was born in the Philippines and grew up in East Yorkshire, performed to an impressive guest list, which included His Serene Highness Prince Albert and Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco, at the golden jubilee of the Variety Club in September. The high-profile charity event, held at Leeds’ Harewood House, also included an all-star line-up with Lulu, The Manfreds and Blake all taking to the stage.‘It was a great way to start my career after graduating,’ said Manny, who was a 2007/08 Leverhulme Undergraduate Scholar. ‘I felt like I was thrown straight in at the deep end but it was a lot of fun and gave me a tantalising taste of what might lie ahead!’Following this, Manny performed for the French ambassador at the Lowry Theatre, Salford Quays, and gave his first BBC radio broadcast on BBC 6music as part of an RNCM ensemble put together to perform a piece by Jimi Goodwin, bassist with the Doves. The work was Jimi’s contribution to the art exhibition Ghosts of Gone Birds, which is currently showing in London.‘That was also a lot of fun. It was nice to work as part of an RNCM ensemble and to meet Jimi Goodwin, as I've been a fan of the Doves for many years. The French ambassador and his wife were both absolutely lovely; I hope to return to The Lowry at some stage in the future.’ However, Manny’s success didn’t stop there. After a gruelling audition process, globally-renowned entertainment company Disney offered him a contract to perform as a solo pianist across America, and throughout January and February this year Yamaha has named him its Unsigned Artist of the Month.He said: ‘The Disney audition was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. They had me doing all sorts - playing with my eyes closed, transposing and playing pieces in different keys without having any time to think about it. I'm thrilled that I have the option of going to America later this year, I'm sure it would be a fantastic experience to perform with one of the biggest and most established entertainment companies in the world. The fact that I also have Yamaha behind me is a really positive sign, and I'm looking forward to the continued relationship my status as Unsigned Artist of the Month will bring.’To learn more about Manny visit http://www.emmanuelvass.co.uk

The RNCM and Opera North, England’s national opera company based in Leeds, are delighted to announce a new partnership aimed at nurturing and inspiring young musical talent in the North.The partnership, which officially launches on Wednesday 29 February, will provide exciting professional development opportunities for RNCM student singers, composers and instrumentalists at Opera North as they prepare for their future. In addition to raising awareness of the many career paths available to students, the partnership will offer hands-on experience of auditions and mentoring from singers working at Opera North. Students will also benefit from opportunities to engage with the breadth of Opera North’s programming; from mainstage operas to  more eclectic and contemporary work presented in the Howard Assembly Room.  In turn, Opera North will have a base in Manchester from which to explore and develop its artistic programming and outreach work, giving both partners the opportunity to work together artistically outside their own boundaries.Opera North has been working on an informal basis with the RNCM over the last three decades, regularly hearing students recommended by vocal department, but the formal partnership will now allow for tailored and more structured programmes to be created for individual students.

The international educational charity ARK has appointed Margaret O’Shea (flute, 2011) as its new National Lead-Teacher for Primary Music and Vocal Work following a gruelling interview and selection process. As a pilot scheme, Margaret (who performs with Trio Vista, an ensemble comprising fellow 2011 graduates oboist Beatrice Hubble and clarinettist Caroline Waddington) will now work with 12 schools across the UK, leading the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the primary music programme and implementing a nation-wide vocal enrichment strategy. She will also be leading professional development programmes for primary school music co-ordinators and non-specialist teachers.

A new exhibition is now on display at the RNCM as part of Archives Awareness Campaign 2011. 'Manchester: musical metropolis' celebrates the rich musical heritage of Manchester and the contribution made to the city’s culture and community by musicians who emigrated here from continental Europe in the mid to late 1800s. In particular there was a strong German community in the city whose cultural influence was felt in orchestras and ensembles, musical clubs and societies.  This distinctive musical life is revealed through photographs, programmes, letters and musical scores spanning the 1840s to the 1930s, chosen from the papers of Sir Charles Hallé, Carl Fuchs, Adolph Brodsky, Hans Richter and Simon Speelman. The exhibition is a collaboration between the RNCM Archives, the Hallé Concerts Society Archives and the Henry Watson Music Library.  It can be found on the lower concourse at the RNCM, outside the concert hall. Catalogues for all of these archives are available to search online. For Brodsky and Fuchs, visit www.archives.rncm.ac.uk For Hallé, Richter and Speelman, visit www.halle.co.uk/archives.aspx If you would like to use these archives, please contact either the RNCM College Archivist and Records Manager, E archives@rncm.ac.uk or the Hallé's Archivist, E archive@halle.co.uk

Japanese violinist Ami Oike is the winner of the 2011 RNCM Manchester International Violin Competition.

Alumnus Steven Jackson has been chosen as one of eight winners in the 2011 Abbey Road Studio Anthem Competition for his composition So Alive, So Clear. 

Thirty young violinists from all over the world took to the stage of the RNCM at the weekend for Round 1 of the second RNCM Manchester International Violin Competition. Hoping to win £12,000 and the chance to perform a concerto with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the musicians, aged between 20 and 30 and divided into two groups, each performed a Ysaÿe sonata in front of a jury of internationally renowned violinists. Twelve were eliminated, with the remaining 18 making it safely through to Round 2 where they will each perform three contrasting pieces. In addition to the prize money and RLPO performance, this year’s winner will also receive a gold-mounted bow by bowmaker Noel Burke and the chance to give a recital at the Chester Summer Music Festival. There will also be a second prize of £6,000, third prize of £3,000 and additional prizes for the best performances of specific repertoire. During the competition the RNCM will also host an impressive Violin Making Marathon where four violin makers (William Castle, Helen Michetschlager, Kai-Thomas Roth and Marc Soubeyran) will make a copy of the RNCM’s Brodsky Guadagnini violin. The violin will be set up in full playing condition, but will be varnished subsequently. After varnishing, the violin will become part of the RNCM collection for loan of RNCM students. The Competition final will take place at the RNCM Concert Hall on Saturday 3 December at 7.30pm.

To mark the second RNCM Manchester International Violin Competition later this month, an exhibition based on the papers of Adolph Brodsky, the Russian violinist and Principal of the Royal Manchester College of Music, is now on display at the RNCM until 5 December.Brodsky’s musical career as a performer and teacher is revealed through letters, photographs, programmes and other treasures from the archives, spanning the 1860s to the 1920s.The exhibition can be found on the lower concourse at the RNCM, outside the Concert Hall. The catalogue for the Adolph Brodsky papers is available to search online at www.archives.rncm.ac.ukIf you would like to use the archive, please contact the College Archivist and Records Manager, E archives@rncm.ac.uk

RNCM alumnus and Tutor in Composition Larry Goves is one of eight artists and composers to receive the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award. He will receive funding of £45,000 over three years to enable him to develop his practice.

Their friendship dates back to their Cambridge student days, but it wasn’t until 2004 that writer Garth Bardsley and composer Ben Parry decided to collaborate. Now, almost eight years later, they are published by Peters Edition, and Garth, an RNCM Tutor in Stagecraft and Diction, couldn’t be happier.

The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) and One Education Music (OEM) are delighted to announce a new partnership aimed at enhancing the quality of music-making in Manchester.

Earlier this month the Heath Quartet was awarded a Bank of Scotland Herald Angel for its performance of the complete Beethoven String Quartet Cycle at Greyfriars Kirk during this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Comprising RNCM alumni Oliver Heath (violin), Cerys Jones (violin), Gary Pomeroy (viola) and Christopher Murray (cello), the Quartet formed at the College in 2002 under the tutelage of the late Dr Christopher Rowland and Alistair Tate.  Its members are currently senior Chamber Music Fellows at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

It was a visit to Japan that inspired Stuart Kinsey to sponsor a student at the RNCM. Here, he shares the story of how an afternoon in a remote town led to an inspiring relationship with an aspiring pianist.

We are pleased to announce that the deadline for the second RNCM Manchester International Violin Competition (MIVC) has been extended to Friday 30 September due to increased demand.