Today is the beginning of a landmark year ahead for the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) as it celebrates its 40th anniversary.
Founded in 1973 when the Northern School of Music and the Royal Manchester College of Music merged, the RNCM has, over the past four decades, nurtured over 5,500 students, many of whom are shaping the artistic world, both in the UK and internationally, as performers, composers, conductors, teachers, artistic administrators and much more besides.
Over a seventh month season of exciting events, the College will reflect on its history, and the students, staff and supporters who have made it what it is. It will also look to the future with innovative performances and special guests.
The season launches officially on 15 November 2012 when the RNCM Symphony Orchestra recreates the first concert ever performed by the RNCM Orchestra to celebrate the 100th birthday of Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw, the driving force behind the creation of the RNCM. The concert in her honour features Wagner’s Overture to Die Meistersinger, Arthur Bliss’ Music for Strings and Vaughan Williams’ London Symphony.
November also sees the first concert of Ludwig van, a six-month Beethoven festival exploring how his compositions transformed Western classical music forever. The festival features all nine Beethoven symphonies, plus weekends dedicated to his chamber, string and keyboard music, and a contemporary ‘festival-within-a-festival’ that re-invents his music for the 21st-century.
The celebrations continue when the College launches RNCM in the City, a series of 40 free public concerts in 40 venues throughout Manchester. The first concert will take place in the Town Hall on Thursday 29 November, and the full line-up will be announced soon. The year culminates with a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at The Bridgewater Hall on 28 June 2013, 40 years after The Duchess of Kent officially opened the RNCM.
