Resonate: November 2022
Welcome to your November 2022 edition of Resonate.
It has been a busy few weeks for the RNCM community, including a whole host of debuts and premiers by our wonderful alumni.
You might have caught cellist, alumnus and RNCM Associate Artist Abel Selaocoe making his debut on Later… with Jools Holland recently. Don’t worry if you missed it, you can watch it now over on BBC iPlayer. We cannot wait to welcome Abel back to the College later this month – more info below.
Drought, a new one-act opera by PhD composer Anna Appleby received its world premiere by the BBC Philharmonic last week, under that baton of RNCM alumnus Jack Sheen, and featured alumnae Sally Pitts (soprano) and Lila Chrisp (mezzo-soprano).
Flautist and alumna Amy Yule, Principal Flute at the Hallé, made her concerto debut with the orchestra, performing Mozart’s elegant First Flute Concerto at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall. There’s one more chance to hear Amy in action this weekend (Sun 6 Nov) – visit the Hallé website for tickets.
As ever, there is plenty going on at the College and beyond this month. Read on for what our students, staff and alumni are up to throughout November.
RNCM Saxophone Day
Sun 6 Nov // from 10am
Find out more
The UK’s largest sax gathering is back this November, bigger and better than ever. Join us for a jam-packed schedule of participatory workshops and concerts as we throw open our doors to players of all ages and abilities for the annual RNCM Saxophone Day.
Guests include dynamic quartet Marici Saxes, award-winning saxophonist and RNCM alumna Gillian Blair, and French alto saxophonist Baptiste Herbin.
For full details, visit our website.
Abel Selaocoe & The Bantu Ensemble: Hae Ke Kae (Where is Home)
Fri 18 Nov // 8pm
Book now
South African cellist Abel Selaocoe is a rapidly rising star who is redefining the parameters of the cello. The RNCM alumnus and Honorary Associate Artist moves seamlessly across a plethora of genres and styles, combining virtuosic performance with improvisation, singing and body percussion.
We are delighted to welcome him back to the College as part of his debut album tour, Hae Ke Kae (Where is Home).
Spotlight: Meditations – Baroque chamber music for the soul
Elias String Quartet: Haydn, Beamish & Beethoven
Mon 21 Nov // 7.30pm
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Formed at the RNCM in 1998, the Elias String Quartet are one of the most intense and vibrant quartets of their generation. They have had a strong association with the College, and we are delighted to welcome them back as Artists-in-Residence this year.
In this concert, they perform works by Haydn and Beethoven, as well as Reed Stanzas by RNCM alumna Sally Beamish – a work premiered by the Elias at the 2011 BBC Proms.
Spotlight: Djanaba – A 10,000-Mile Journey
Sydney Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra with Amy Dickson (saxophone)
Wed 23 Nov // 6pm
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Join us as we welcome the Sydney Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra to the RNCM, with Australian-British saxophonist Amy Dickson. Amy is twice Grammy-nominated and was named by BBC Music Magazine as one of the world’s best classical saxophonists.
Having premiered and worked closely with Matthew Hindson on his Soprano Saxophone Concerto, we are delighted that Amy is bringing this innovative piece to Manchester in a programme that also features works by Kodály and Schumann.
Lunchtime Concerts
Our lunchtime concerts pause during our students’ Reading Week, returning from 14 November each Monday and Thursday. You can also watch our students performing in The John Barbirolli Memorial Prize for Cello (Tue 22 Nov).
Visit our What’s On page for our full programme.
RNCM Engage Appeal
Help Change Young Lives Through Music
Find out more
As part of our commitment to supporting the future of music, we have launched the RNCM Engage Appeal. This year’s appeal will support music education from the earliest years and secure the future for many talented young people who, without support, will walk away from a life in music.
Music education is too often underfunded, marginalised and forgotten, but we know how much it matters. Through the RNCM Engage programme, we harness the positive impact music can have on mental health, education, personal confidence, growth and aspiration.
It takes skill, passion, support and training to make a musician, and your support will raise up the next generation of performers, composers and artists.
To celebrate our 50th anniversary, RNCM Chair, Ravi Gupta, is kindly matching the first £25,000 of donations.
To change young lives through music, please donate today.
To find out more information about the transformative projects your donation will support click here.
New Works by RNCM Alumni
Apollo Saxophone Quartet
Book now
Tomorrow evening (Sat 5 Nov), Apollo Saxophone Quartet perform at Manchester’s International Anthony Burgess Foundation, with two performances (5.30pm & 8pm), featuring works by some of today’s most exciting and innovative composers including RNCM alumni Grace Evangeline-Mason (RNCM Associate Member), Jenni Watson, Claire Cope and Adam Caird.
Established at the RNCM in 1985, the ensemble has made the largest single contribution to the saxophone quartet repertoire in the UK, commissioning and premiering over 100 works.
For more info and to book, visit the International Anthony Burgess Foundation website.
Andrew Gourlay
New Album: Parsifal Suite
Find out more
Parsifal Suite is released on Orchid Classics today (Fri 4 Nov). In this world-premiere recording, RNCM alumnus Andrew Gourlay conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra in his new work, published by Schott Music.
Andrew encapsulates the main orchestral elements of Parsifal into a seamless suite, resulting in a sumptuous 45-minute work that allows Wagner’s exquisite music to be enjoyed in a new way.
You can watch Andrew talking about the project over on YouTube, read more on Andrew’s website, and stream the full album on Spotify now.
Science and Industry Museum: Turn It Up
RNCM Staff and Students Contribute to New Exhibition
Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum recently opened their new major exhibition Turn It Up: The Power of Music, exploring the science of music and how it drives us to drives us to create, perform, feel and share.
Dr Michelle Phillips, Senior Lecturer in Music Psychology and Head of Enterprise (Academic) at the RNCM, helped design the exhibition and appears as a ‘talking head’ discussing music psychology, music and emotion, and her own research.
The exhibition also features several RNCM students, with videos of postgraduate soprano Lucy Farrimond singing, and students Melvin Tay and Emma Chan performing one of Michelle’s experiments. In addition, RNCM student brass quartet Rosamund Brass took part in a special recording with BBC Radio 4 at the unveiling of the exhibition.
For more information on the exhibition, visit the Science and Industry Museum website.
RNCM50 Alumni Open House
Celebrating 50 Years of the RNCM
We are hosting a special Alumni Open House celebration on Sunday 4 December 2022. If you’re one of our alumni, check your inboxes for your invitation!
If you have not received an invitation yet, contact us at [email protected] and we’ll send you the details.
4 November 2022
