Resonate: May 2023
Welcome to your May 2023 edition of Resonate!
It’s great to have our students back in the building following a well-deserved Easter break. They’re all hard at work preparing for upcoming assessments and end-of-year recitals taking place later this month and into June.
We’re all looking forward to the culmination of our 50th anniversary year with a jam-packed programme of special performances in June and July (see our website for full details), but there’s still plenty going on in the RNCM community this month – exciting events, new releases, free tickets for teenagers and more!
Treske Quartet: Through the Night
Thu 11 May // 8pm
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Join the Treske Quartet for an immersive musical journey into the blackness of night. Taking inspiration from Bartok’s night music, eerie dissonances provide a mystical backdrop to lonely melodies interwoven with sounds of nocturnal nature.
As this year’s RNCM String Quartet Studio residents, the Treske Quartet have strengthened their repertoire knowledge, artistic identity, ensemble skills and performance experience through a bespoke programme of study, culminating in this stunning final showcase.
RNCM Opera Scenes
Tue 16 May // 6pm – Book now
Fri 19 May // 6pm – Book now
Join our vocal and conducting students as they present some of opera’s greatest moments in this free series of staged scenes, with excerpts from works by Rossini, Britten, Previn, Massenet and Bizet.
RNCM Spotlights
Our students create, prepare, and perform innovative programmes together in our free Spotlight series (ticket required). This month we have a Spotlight following each RNCM Opera Scenes performance, as well as two Spotlight Double Bills.
RNCM Spotlight: Jazz Refresh
Tue 16 May // 8pm
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Students from the Classical and Pop courses join forces to perform a combination of jazz standards and new arrangements, sharing their love for this versatile genre.
RNCM Spotlight Double Bill: Brahms & Messiaen
Wed 17 May // 6.30pm
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6.30pm // Frei, aber einsam – An Evening of Music by Brahms
Enjoy the magnificent sounds of Brahms in an evening that showcases his chamber masterpieces from across the years.
7.15pm // Dreaming in Colour – Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time
Written under the most extreme conditions. Olivier Messian’s Quartet for the End of Time is filled with shimmering colours of sound, effervescent birdsong and apocalyptic visions.
RNCM Spotlight: Caroline Shaw – Music Through a Looking Glass
Fri 19 May // 8pm
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Join students from the School of Strings as they explore the captivating textures and patterns of American composer Caroline Shaw.
RNCM Spotlight Double Bill: Instrumental Duos
Tue 23 May // 6.30pm
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6.30pm // In Two – An introduction to the fascinating world of two-piano repertoire
Experience this vibrant programme of colossal soundscapes and classical delights, discovering the endless possibilities of the piano duo.
7.15pm // Interwoven Melodies – Ravel’s Duo for Violin and Cello
Come and enjoy French lyricism through Ravel’s melodious string duo, written in memory of Debussy.
For full details of our performance programme, visit our website.
Free Tickets for 14-18 Year Olds
RNCM Soundcheck
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We’re thrilled to launch RNCM SOUNDCHECK, our new membership scheme giving 14–18-year-olds free access to musical experiences at the RNCM.
Whether it’s exploring the sound world of a symphony or discovering the latest developments in technology and music, we’re offering the chance to attend select RNCM events for free.
It’s easy to sign up online to become an RNCM SOUNDCHECK member and access one free ticket per eligible event.
Check out our website for more info and T&Cs.
Aquarelle Guitar Quartet
RNCM Alumni at Manchester Guitar Festival
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We’re delighted that Aquarelle Guitar Quartet are rounding off this year’s Manchester Guitar Festival with a performance at The Stoller Hall on Sunday 21 May.
Recognised as one of the world’s leading guitar quartets, the group formed at the RNCM in 1999. They have since gone on to win multiple awards and have performed at major UK concert halls in the UK as well as internationally across Europe and Asia.
In a recent interview with I Love MCR, the quartet credited the RNCM with helping to shape their careers, citing the supportive atmosphere and high-calibre teaching as key factors in their success. Michael Baker of the quartet said: ‘We all had a fantastic time at the RNCM. The guitar department was always so supportive of each other, and the teaching was second-to-none! We were also fortunate enough to have visiting tutors give masterclasses while we were there [and] the whole college had a really great feel to it.’
Visit The Stoller Hall website for tickets.
Xia-Leon Sloane
Paraorchestra Musicians in Residence Announced
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We’re proud that alumnum Xia-Leon Sloane has been announced as one of Paraorchestra’s 2023-24 Musicians in Residence. Over the next twelve months, they will undertake a paid residency with Paraorchestra, and will be supported via resource, mentorship, and collaborations in this unique opportunity to explore and develop their creative practice.
Paraorchestra is an ensemble of disabled and non-disabled professional musicians who are reinventing the orchestra for the 21st Century by blending artforms, genres, and technology to create large-scale music projects that challenge ideas of what an orchestra can and should be.
Xia-Leon completed their Masters in Composition and Musicology at the RNCM in 2022, and they’re one of our RNCM50 Faces. Find out more about RNCM50 Faces and Xia-Leon on our website.
Emily Howard: Torus
New Album from RNCM Professor
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Professor Emily Howard’s new album Torus was released on NMC Recordings on 28 April, and features four distinctive works, each with an abstract mathematical shape as its imaginary cornerstone.
Emily is a Professor of Composition at the RNCM and Director of PRiSM, our Centre for Practice & Research in Science & Music. Following on from her critically acclaimed debut album Magnetite in 2016, Torus features recordings by the BBC Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Emily said: ‘This album is a really important milestone for me. It brings together mathematics and music in ways that I have been thinking about for over a decade of my life. It really is the product of thousands of hours of my time, and I’m excited to share it with the world.’
5 May 2023
