What's On
RNCM x Manchester Collective Studio: Hidden Realms
Thursday 23 April 2026, 7.30pm
RNCM Concert Hall
Programme
Andrzej Panufnik Prestissimo possibile from Quartet no 3
Andrzej Panufnik Dance 1 and Interlude from Suite Polska
György Ligeti Excerpts from Quartet no 1
Kevin Volans First Expedition from Quartet no 2
John Playford arr Rakhi Singh Wollam Green from The English Dancing Master
Felix Mendelssohn String Quartet No 2 in A minor Op 13 (arr for string ensemble)
Performers
Rakhi Singh director
Guest Principals:
Donald Grant violin
Ruth Gibson viola
Peggy Nolan cello
About
What secrets lie in the forest? This programme, curated and performed by RNCM students with Manchester Collective’s Rakhi Singh, follows a breadcrumb trail into the woods.
Tread lightly! Something mysterious lurks in the shadows of Panufnik’s music, whilst danger is never too far away in Ligeti’s dynamic Métamorphoses Nocturnes. It’s not all gloom, though. Mischievous sprites come out to play in the free-spirited, folk-inflected Huntering, Gathering, and Wallom Green. And at the heart of our journey together is the fairy tale romance of Mendelsohn’s String Quartet No 2; full of passion and drama, it was penned by the composer as a lovestruck teen. There’s anxiety and tragedy, humour and reconciliation.
Hidden Realms is a showcase for the RNCM x Manchester Collective Studio in 2025/26. Led by co-artistic director and violinist Rakhi Singh, the Studio gives five outstanding postgraduate string players first-hand experience of radical music-making and provides real-world experience of the alternative pathways available to musicians outside of traditional orchestral roles.
Photo credit: Gaelle Beri
Tickets
Full Price £18
Students / Under 26s £12
Promoted by RNCM.
This event will end at approximately 8.45pm.


