Resonate: February 2024
Welcome to your February 2024 edition of Resonate.
We are delighted to see so many of our wonderful alumni shortlisted for this year’s Royal Philharmonic Society Awards, which take place at the RNCM next month. We are also excited to see alumni alt-pop band Porij releasing new music and touring across the UK and USA.
Meanwhile, the RNCM has become the first UK conservatoire to appoint a dedicated baritone horn tutor.
Find out more on all these stories, plus what’s on this month below.
Welcome to the Cabaret!
with the RNCM Songsters
Fri 9 Feb
Book now
Be transported back to the days of Le Chat Noir and the Kit-Kat Club through tales of allure, passion, and humour, featuring music by cabaret composers including Kurt Weill, Ivor Novello, and Florence Price.
RNCM Session Orchestra
Sat 24 Feb // 7.30pm
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Led by guest conductor Robert Ames, the RNCM Session Orchestra present fresh arrangements of tracks by Sigur Rós, Celeste, The National, Radiohead, Kelly Lee Owens, and more.
Archiving and Ethics
Mon 26 Feb // 10.30am
Book your free place
Meet our very own Archive and Museum Manager, Heather, in this free online event. Using real examples, you will explore questions such as: What role does fiction play in creating history? Does the past stay put? Why do we have only part of the story?
This series of events is made possible with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, as part of the RNCM’s Throwing Open the Concert Doors project.
Julia Perry In Focus
Mon 26 Feb – Fri 1 Mar
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Celebrating the work of American composer Julia Perry, we’ll be delving into her remarkable life and catalogue of music across a week of performances and talks.
Professor in Singing Michael Harper will be leading the way, sharing his research and insight, as our students and alumni bring Julia’s works to life.
The week culminates with a performance by the RNCM Symphony Orchestra featuring Julia’s work alongside music by Benjamin Britten, Keiko Abe, and William Walton. See the full schedule here.
Our annual Children’s Opera (8 Feb) will see hundreds of children from local primary schools performing alongside RNCM students in a fully staged new production.
The magic of Disney comes to our Young Explorers series (11 Feb), featuring music from The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Jungle Book, Frozen, and more – the perfect way to introduce children to live orchestral music.
Enjoy live screenings of early cinema’s most enduring nature films as our students compose and perform brand new works to accompany them at Nature on Film (21 Feb).
Why not enjoy a midday musical interlude at one of our ever-popular Monday Lunchtimes and Thursday Lunchtimes.
There’s plenty more going on at the RNCM this month and beyond. Visit our What’s On page for full listings.
RPS Awards
Alumni Shortlisted for Prestigious Awards
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The Royal Philharmonic Society has shortlisted several RNCM alumni for prestigious prizes at its annual awards, including renowned conductor Alpesh Chauhan OBE, vocalist/violinist Alice Zawadzki, and Jo Yee Cheung’s Manchester-based charity Olympias Music Foundation.
LGBTQ+ choir The Sunday Boys, founded by composition graduate Michael Betteridge, is up for the Inspiration award, and RNCM graduates also feature in every Ensemble shortlisted, including Riot Ensemble whose founding Co-Artistic Director Adam Swayne is also Deputy Head of Keyboard Studies.
To read the full shortlist visit our website.
We’re delighted that this year’s RPS Awards will take place at the RNCM on 5 March – the very first time the awards will be presented outside of London. More info and tickets here.
Porij
Pop Alumni Head Stateside
Find out moreAlt-pop Manchester band Porij, featuring RNCM graduates Egg, James, Nathan and Jacob, have an incredible few months ahead of them.
The four-piece, who were recently made Associate Members of the RNCM, are performing at BBC 6 Music Festival in Manchester on 7 March before embarking on their American tour, including Brooklyn, SXSW, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The band return for their UK tour in April, including a performance in Manchester on 18 April.
Their current single My Only Love is out now, and their debut album Teething is set for release on 26 April.
Mike Cavanagh
RNCM Appoints First Professor of Baritone Horn
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The RNCM has become the first UK conservatoire to appoint a dedicated baritone horn professor.
Instruction in the instrument, which has traditionally been led by tutors of the euphonium, will be delivered by alumnus Mike Cavanagh – co-founder of the multi award-winning A4 Brass Quartet, Associate Members of the RNCM.
Mike says the appointment is a ‘huge step forwards’ that acknowledges the growing popularity of the instrument. He will take up the appointment from September 2024, adding to his current role as SWBP Professor in Chamber Music which he has held since 2021.
Find out more on our website.
Opera North: Little Listeners
Family Fun with RNCM Alumni
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Opera North’s Little Listeners: Cinderella is currently on tour across the North, featuring alumni Joanna Harries (mezzo-soprano), Amy Jolly (cello) and Peggy Nolan (cello) – coming to the Lowry on Sunday 25 February.
This family-friendly adventure, led by a cast of professional opera singers and musicians, presents an interactive and relaxed concert where singing and movement is encouraged. Experience the magic of opera, storytelling and music, whatever your age!
Find out more here.
3 February 2024
