Resonate: March 2022
Welcome to your March edition of Resonate!
We’ve got a roundup of what’s on at the RNCM and beyond this month, as well as news of an exciting masterclass, brand new commission, a special BBC Radio 3 broadcast and much more.
A huge well done to all the finalists who took part in our recent Frederic Cox Award for Singing – and congratulations to Morgana Warren-Jones, who was named the award winner! Past winners include Simon Keenlyside, Amanda Roocroft, and Kathryn Rudge.
You might have spotted RNCM Head of Popular Music Andy Stott sit down on the BBC Breakfast sofa earlier this month alongside Ben Dunne to talk to about the River Reeves Foundation’s support of RNCM Young Artists, a new programme of training for pop musicians aged 11-18 from across the North West, launching in September 2022. Read more about RNCM Young Artists here.
This month, we’re proud to host the inaugural Williams-Howard Prize, a new annual competition at the RNCM to celebrate and encourage the study and performance of art songs of composers of African heritage. To find out more about the first prize of its type in Europe and how you can support its growth, click here.
March at the RNCM
On Tue 8 Mar the RNCM Songsters and Chamber Choir highlight the remarkable artistic achievements of female composers alongside readings to coincide with International Women’s Day.
Be the first to experience rising stars in performance with our International Artist Diploma Recital Series as bassoonist Nicolò Biemmi (Thu 10 Mar) and pianist Giulia Contaldo (Thu 24 Mar) each curate their own programme of music to showcase their talent and artistic identity.
Join finalists from our School of Keyboard Studies for our annual RNCM Chopin Prize on Tue 15 Mar. Later this month, our student pianists perform Simon Parkin’s jazz inspired arrangements of Bach’s famous Goldberg Variations (Tue 22 Mar).
Following a weeklong residency at the RNCM, we’re delighted to bring you musicians from the European Chamber Music Academy on Wed 16 Mar, before the ever-popular RNCM Symphony Orchestra return on Sat 19 Mar to present works from our composition tutors and leading contemporary composers.
We round off the month with our Spring opera, Le nozze di Figaro (Sun 27 Mar – Sat 2 Apr). Our 18th century production sees students from across the College team up with a renowned creative team to bring Mozart’s iconic comic opera to life.
As ever, we’ve got a fantastic selection of performances as part of our student-led Spotlight series as well as our ever-popular Monday Lunchtimes and Thursday Lunchtimes concerts.
Our full programme is available to view and book online here.
Bösendorfer & Forsyth
Manchester Salon Recital Series
Find out more
Our partnership with Bösendorfer and Forsyth’s continues this month with two more free recitals featuring RNCM students and staff, held in Forsyth’s Piano Showroom.
Fri 4 Mar / Piano Recital
with student pianist Iyad Sughayer
Fri 25 Mar / ‘Faure and Friends’ at Forsyths
with RNCM Fellow Kathryn Stott and her students
Details on how to book your free tickets can be found on Forsyth’s website, and you can watch previous recitals in the series over on their YouTube channel.
Read more about how alumnus Victor Lim helped raise funds for Olympias Music Foundation’s Learn to Play initiative with his recent recital in this series here.
Dominic Miller
Masterclass with our Popular Music Students
We were thrilled to welcome guitarist Dominic Miller last week to lead a masterclass and chat with students from our Popular Music course.
Dominic is one of our Visiting Tutors in Guitar and has an extensive solo portfolio, including playing on Phil Collins’ But Seriously album and working with Sting on each of his albums and tours since 1990.
Along with his family, Dominic recently established the Barney Miller International Travel Award which offers RNCM students the chance to experience the music and culture of Latin America. This year’s award recipient was undergraduate drummer Jacob Brown.
Linton Stephens
BBC Radio 3 Sunday Feature: Marian Anderson
Listen now
Bassoonist, broadcaster and alumnus Linton Stephens recently presented BBC Radio 3’s Sunday Feature, exploring the legacy of world-renowned contralto Marian Anderson.
In 1939, after being refused to let sing at Washington’s largest concert hall because of the colour of her skin, Anderson’s performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial was a watershed moment in the history of civil rights.
Linton, a member of Chineke! Orchestra, is guided by mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves – a recipient of the Marian Anderson Award – as he travels to Washington to visit the Lincoln Memorial. In Philadelphia, Linton meets with CEO of the Marian Anderson Museum, Jillian Patricia Pirtle, to discover more about Marian Anderson’s life and reflects on her role as a symbol of the civil rights movement.
You can listen to the full episode over on BBC Sounds.
Grace-Evangeline Mason
New Choral Work Commission
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Congratulations to composer and RNCM Associate Member Grace-Evangeline Mason who has been commissioned by The Royal Philharmonic Society to write a new choral work inspired by the music, ideas and life of Ralph Vaughan Williams.
The commission, generously supporter by the Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust as part of the composer’s 150th birthday celebrations, will be a 12-to-15-minute work for a large choir of mixed voices, up to 150 singers.
The work will be premiered in March 2023 at Bristol Cathedral by Bristol Choral Society, the 2021 RPS Inspiration Award winners, and their Music Director Hilary Campbell.
You can find out more about Grace-Evangeline and listen to previous works over on her website.
Porij
RNCM Alumni Perform Festivals Across the UK
Manchester-based band Porij formed during their time studying on the RNCM’s Popular Music course and were dubbed ‘one to watch’ by the Guardian.
The band, regularly featured on BBC Radio 6 Music, are making wave across the UK festival circuit this summer, as well as supporting Metronomy on tour in Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff.
You can catch Porij at BBC Radio 6 Music Festival in Cardiff next month, as well as at Spring Classic Festival, Deer Shed Festival, Green Man Festival and Dot to Dot Festival later this year.
The band’s latest single, Figure Skating, has been featured on playlists by Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon Music. Listen now over on their YouTube channel.
Beatrice Hubble
Accessibility and Inclusion in Music
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Credit Tom Gradwell
Oboist, music leader and alumna Beatrice Hubble recently spoke to Music Teacher Magazine about her new role as Head of Education at Sound and Music, the UK’s national organisation for new music about accessibility and inclusion in music.
Whilst at the RNCM, Beatrice was the recipient of a Fewkes Scholarship, won the June Emerson Chamber Music prize with oboe trio Les Trois Canards, and was selected to perform as a soloist with several ensembles. She graduated in 2011 and now freelances with professional organisations including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Skipton Camerata.
Read the full interview on the Music Teacher Magazine website.
4 March 2022
