reunite at the RNCM
Today marks both the end of the academic year and the final day of reunite at the RNCM, our special two-week programme of events to bring our community of students and staff back together at the RNCM, and to celebrate the end of such a challenging year.
Although we are sadly unable to open fully to the public, this programme has enabled us to bring many of our staff and students back into the building, sharing extraordinary music making with each other as both performers and audience members, and experiencing the heart of what makes the RNCM such a special place, together.
The past two weeks have enabled our students to perform on our many stages in front of their peers and tutors, many for the very first time. From chamber orchestra concerts, acoustic sessions, Opera Scenes, and even a staff and students’ sports day, we’ve ensured that as many students as possible could be directly involved in the events.
It has been a joy to be able to develop such a vibrant and inclusive programme, created especially for this time. After the many hurdles we’ve all faced this year, it’s been so wonderful to bring our staff and students back together and we await with anticipation the opportunity to fully open our doors to everyone in our RNCM community and welcome you back very soon.
Richard Collins (Head of Programming) &
Cara Houghton (Student Union President)
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Launch Concert
Introducing the Meliora Collective
21 July, 7pm at Holy Innocents, Fallowfield, Manchester.
The Meliora Collective is a newly established flexible ensemble, featuring a host of RNCM alumni – Ruth Heney (violin), Kim Becker (viola), Gunda Baranauskaité (cello), Meera Maharaj (flute), Steph Yim (clarinet), Joel Roberts (horn) and Aaron Breeze (composer/arranger) – alongside graduates from the Royal Academy of Music and Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Born out of a love of chamber music, they are in the unique position of performing as a dectet of five wind players and five string players, while also presenting concerts with more intimate chamber groupings.
Featuring music by Dvořák, Piazzolla and Françaix, the Meliora Collective present their first ever concert at 7pm on 21 July at Holy Innocents Church, Fallowfield.
More information can be found on their Facebook page, and tickets can be purchased here. The concert will also be livestreamed on YouTube, here.
PRS Foundation: Power Up
Abel Selaocoe and Daniel Kidane
Congratulations to cellist Abel Selaocoe and composer Daniel Kidane, both RNCM alumni, who have been selected as two of 20 music creators to take part in the PRS Foundation’s Power Up Participation Programme.
Launched this year, the programme is designed to elevate exciting Black music creators and industry professionals at crucial stages in their careers and address anti-Black racism and racial disparities in the music sector.
Abel and Daniel will receive tailored support including a grant of up to £15,000 alongside masterclasses, mentoring, coaching, mental health and wellbeing support, and access to Power Up Partners and the peer network.
You can read more about Abel here, and Daniel here. There’s more news on Daniel in our RPS feature, below.
Here is Abel performing with The BBC Concert Orchestra and Chesaba as part of Abel Selaocoe’s Jazz Takeover at the EFG London Jazz Festival:
Winners Announced
Get Creative Fund Final 2021
The RNCM Get Creative Fund (formerly the RNCM Entrepreneurship Award) recognises students that excel in creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship and offers training, mentorship and financial awards of up to £2000 to help transform their creative projects and businesses to the next stage of development, and support the next generation of creative entrepreneurs.
Previous winners of this award include Sam Davies (Founder and Director of The Untold Orchestra), Ellie Slorach (Founder and Director of Kantos Chamber Choir), and Zara Wardrop (Founder of KickStart Opera).
Following pitches to a panel of industry innovators (Nisha Katona, Alice Zawadzki, Mark Furman and James Sargeant) last week, we’re thrilled to share the winners of each prize:
Sir John Manduell Prize: Camilla Seale (New Renaissance Collective)
Yamaha RNCM Entrepreneurship Award: Olivia Hamblyn (Musicians’ Minds Together)
RNCM Creative Innovator Award: Jose Del Avellanal Carreno (ECO.max)
RNCM Creative Innovator Award: Lili Holland-Fricke (Soundseeing)
Here is The Untold Orchestra’s recent performance of Four Women, a cross art-form collaborative piece with some of Manchester’s finest creatives:
Out Now
The Northern: Issue 5
Issue 5 of our Alumni magazine The Northern is jam-packed with RNCM news, interviews and features, including a very special timeline documenting our journey since we were forced to close our doors to the public in March 2020, and celebrating everything we’ve been able to do despite the most challenging of circumstances.
To read the latest copy of The Northern, click here.
The RPS Conversation
Especially for Classical Music Lovers
Our friends at The Royal Philharmonic Society are presenting a series of online conversations especially for music lovers, featuring some of the biggest names in classical music, including our very own RNCM alumni Elizabeth Llewellyn and Daniel Kidane.
All the conversations in the series are available for the public to enjoy for a limited time, however RPS Members can enjoy priority viewing and additional membership benefits for a small monthly fee, all of which will contribute to the RPS’s vital work supporting classical music and the role it can play in the nation’s recovery.
Watch The RPS Conversation Playlist:
To find out more about RPS membership, please click here.
Thank You for Helping to Keep the Music Playing
New Monthly Blog Coming Soon!…
It’s been a huge joy to be able to share the incredible projects and stories from our students, staff and alumni through our Keep Music Playing blog since we were sadly forced to close our doors to the public in March 2020. We’ve remained committed to keeping the music playing, and we are extremely grateful for all the generous support we’ve received from our friends and donors – we really could not have done this without you.
As the academic year draws to an end, our students will be taking a much-deserved break, and we know that as the world slowly reopens, many of our readers will find themselves busier again. We’ll continue to share news and stories from the RNCM community in a monthly blog, published on the first Friday of every month.
We’ll be back on Friday 6 July with more musical treats for the summer!
2 July 2021
