UPBEAT AUTUMN 2018 NEWS FROM INSIDE THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC
IN THIS ISSUE DAME SARAH CONNOLLY BATTLE SOUNDS: COMPOSERS ON THE FRONT LINE
You will only make an impression if your heart and soul are free to interpret the music you want to perform. Sarah Connolly
HIGHLIGHTS
IN THE LOCKED ROOM & THE LIGHTHOUSE
This summer acclaimed theatre director Stephen Unwin joined forces with Michael Rosewell to lead a talented RCM cast in two thrilling operas by Peter Maxwell Davies and Huw Watkins. Photos: Chris Chistodoulou Front cover: image courtesy of Christopher Pledger
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In this issue, we celebrate some of the talented vocal and operatic work that takes place at the Royal College of Music – both on and off the Britten Theatre stage. On page 12, hear from one of the most celebrated voices in classical music today: alumna Dame Sarah Connolly. The mezzo-soprano’s new release pays homage both to 120 years of both British song and her own RCM connection, with each of the 29 tracks written by a composer who either taught or studied at the College. Read about her incredible musical journey, from soaking up opera in the RCM Library, to singing Rule Britannia at the Last Night of the BBC Proms. Our opera theme continues with a backstage look at one of the most visually impressive aspects of any production: costume. On page 9, Costume Supervisor Jools Osborne reveals the intricate creative process behind every outfit. This November also marks the 100th anniversary of the Armistice, and in the RCM Library, the team have been busy digitising a fascinating series of letters held in the RCM collections. Together, they tell the remarkable wartime story of five RCM musicians: composers Herbert Howells, Ivor Gurney, Arthur Bliss and Arthur Benjamin, and musicologist Marion Scott. Find out more, and read excerpts from the historic letters, on page 10. You can tell us about your own recent projects and achievements by emailing news@rcm.ac.uk. The deadline for the spring issue of Upbeat is Monday 14 January 2019.
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NEWS
The latest news and activities from the Royal College of Music
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CONTENTS
WELCOME TO UPBEAT
IN THE spotlight
RCM Costume Supervisor Jools Osborne
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BATTLE SOUNDS
RCM composers on the front line
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DAME SARAH CONNOLLY On finding her voice and her new RCM-inspired release
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SUPPORT US
STUDENT UPDATES
STAFF UPDATES
ALUMNI UPDATES Professor Colin Lawson CBE FRCM, Director
IN MEMORY
UPBEAT ONLINE Upbeat is available to read online at www.rcm.ac.uk/upbeat. Please help us to reduce our carbon footprint and receive Upbeat by email. Director of Communications Talia Hull Editor Kathryn Lamont Designer May Yan Man Design www.splashofpaint.com Contact news@rcm.ac.uk
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NEWS
IN THE NEWS Opposite RCM Sparks participants took part in a number of BBC Proms workshops this summer
RCM COMES OUT TOP IN TWO HE SURVEYS
WORLD-RENOWNED MUSICIANS JOIN TEACHING STAFF
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he Royal College of Music has been ranked the top music conservatoire out of all Higher Education Institutions in the UK, according to the 2018 National Student Satisfaction Survey.
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Students praised the excellence of the College’s professors and teaching staff, with 96% reporting that staff made the subject interesting. Additionally, 99% of students responded positively to the first-rate facilities found in the RCM Library. Both results mark the highest percentages across all UK conservatoires.
Ole Kristian Dahl and Juliana Koch joined the Woodwind Faculty in September. One of the world’s most outstanding bassoon players and teachers, Ole joins the RCM as Visiting Professor of Bassoon. He is a professor at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Mannheim and principal bassoon with the Swedish National Symphony Orchestra.
The RCM has also been ranked the number one UK conservatoire for music in The Times and the Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019. The league table ranks UK Higher Education institutions by nine quality measures important to students, and the RCM proved particularly successful in the graduate prospects category, scoring 92.6%. Professor Colin Lawson, Director of the RCM, commented: ‘The RCM is committed to providing the best musical training for talented young musicians from across the globe. I am delighted that our world-renowned professors, industry-leading careers service and commitment to improving our facilities are reflected in these results.’
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he Woodwind Faculty and the Music Education Area team are delighted to welcome new teaching staff for the start of the academic year.
Juliana Koch joins as professor of oboe. Juliana is principal oboist of the London Symphony Orchestra and plays as a soloist and guest principal with many of Europe’s most prestigious orchestras. She has also played as principal oboe with the Royal Danish Orchestra and studied baroque oboe with Saskia Fikentscher in Munich. The RCM also welcomes two new members of the Music Education Area team. Dr Jessica Pitt and Dr Dave Camlin will work across the BMus and new MEd programmes. Dr Pitt joins the RCM from Birmingham City University, where she led the MA in Early Years Music. Dr Camlin is a singer, composer, educator and researcher. He was the founding Director of Cumbrian music organisation Soundwave and has been Head of Higher Education and Research at Sage Gateshead for eight years.
RCM JOINS LEADING RCM SPARKS GET DOCTORAL TRAINING CREATIVE FOR THE PARTNERSHIP PROMS
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he RCM is the sole London music conservatoire to be included in a new AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership as a member of London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP). Comprising seven of London’s top universities and six major non-HEI cultural organisations, the LAHP will offer up to 90 fully funded doctoral studentships annually across the humanities, awarded on a competitive basis to new doctoral students. The first funded students will begin their studies in September 2019 and the last will begin in September 2023. Training will be delivered by the RCM alongside the seven other LAHP HE institutions, including King’s College London, London School of Economics and Political Science and the Royal College of Art. As well as the opportunity to apply for the fully funded studentships, all of the RCM’s doctoral students will benefit from a range of new opportunities including training courses, interdisciplinary collaborations between students across institutions, study abroad grants and secondments with the LAHP’s non-HE industry sector partners, such as the V&A and Google.
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CM Sparks gave young people the opportunity to engage with the BBC Proms in a unique way this summer with courses tailored around the Ten Pieces Prom. Hosted by CBBC presenter Naomi Wilkinson, the Prom featured works by popular composers such as Copland, Tchaikovsky and Elgar. Young performers were joined by the Ten Pieces Children’s Choir and special guests to explore the characters and stories behind the works. Animateur Anna Jewitt and graduate composer Charlotte Harding led a series of RCM Sparks workshops for children aged 6–12 on the day of the Prom. Participants spent the morning exploring music from the matinee and working creatively with a team of RCM musicians. For 13–18 year olds, composer Fraser Trainer led the Springboard Composition Course, based around the music and composers featured in the Ten Pieces Prom. This five-day course allowed an eclectic mix of young musicians to collaborate with RCM musicians and write some exciting new music.
To find out more, please visit www.rcm.ac.uk/research/ahrcpartnership
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NEWS Right RCM alumnus Gerald Finley receives a CBE at the Queen’s Birthday Honours Opposite Pablo Barrios with RCM musicians at the Commonwealth Youth Challenge Reception
RCM BECOMES FIRST UK CONSERVATOIRE TO PARTNER WITH OPERAVISION
MUSICIANS CELEBRATED IN 2018 QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY HONOURS
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he Royal College of Music has become the first conservatoire to partner with international opera streaming platform OperaVision. The RCM’s dedicated section of the OperaVision website launched in September and features a performance of Britten’s Albert Herring, recorded in the Britten Theatre in 2015. The RCM’s Albert Herring is directed by Liam Steel and features graduate stars Nick Pritchard and Julien Van Mellaerts. Scottish soprano, RCM alumna and Chair of Vocal Performance, Professor Janis Kelly performs the role of Lady Billows. The opera, which is sung in English, tells the story of a shy greengrocer who breaks free from society’s expectations and learns to stand up for himself. OperaVision makes world-class opera performances available online for free. Launched in 2017, the website offers a richly diverse curated season of European opera in partnership with 29 opera houses from 19 countries. The platform has a specific emphasis on attracting young, emerging audiences, celebrating Europe’s cultural heritage and developing opera for the future. To watch Albert Herring and find out more, visit www.operavision.eu
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CM alumnus Gerald Finley, and visiting professors Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Debbie Wiseman, have been recognised for their achievements in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours. Gerald Finley received a CBE from HRH The Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace. The opera singer is a leading performer and dramatic interpreter of his generation, famous for his acclaimed performances and for his awardwinning recordings. Gerald is also passionately committed to music education and charity work. Visiting Professor of Opera Dame Kiri Te Kanawa was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH). The RCM alumna and world-famous soprano was awarded the honour in recognition of her services to opera. In 2004 she established the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation, which identifies young future singing talent through mentoring and teaching programmes. RCM visiting composer Debbie Wiseman was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to music. Over the last 20 years, Debbie has composed many iconic themes for film and television productions, including Wolf Hall, Land Girls and Warriors.
DIRECTOR COLIN LAWSON EDITS GROUND-BREAKING EARLY MUSIC BOOK
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rofessor Colin Lawson has co-edited a significant reference book for historical performance practice: The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Historical Performance in Music. Published by Cambridge University Press, the book includes contributions from many Royal College of Music staff members, including Director of Research, Professor Richard Wistreich, Chair of Historical Performance, Professor Ashley Solomon and RCM Museum Curator, Professor Gabriele Rossi Rognoni. The encyclopedia comprises 700 pages of illuminating entries in categories including techniques and practices; the history of musical instruments; and the work of performers, scholars and composers. Focusing on performance, it will assist readers in recreating how musical works may originally have sounded. Professor Lawson commented: ‘It was a pleasure to edit this book alongside my talented coeditor Professor Robin Stowell. We hope that it will prove to be a useful and effective starting point for those wishing to immerse themselves in the fascinating world of early music and performance.’
Pablo composes for a prince RCM composer Pablo Barrios has had a specially written piece, commissioned by The Commonwealth Resounds, performed at Marlborough House to celebrate Prince Harry’s new role as Commonwealth Youth Ambassador. The ‘Your Commonwealth’ Youth Challenge Reception took place in July at Marlborough House, home of the Commonwealth Foundation. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in attendance, as were hundreds of Commonwealth delegates and youth leaders. Pablo also presented members of the Royal Family with a beautifully bound score. RCM musicians Samuel Mallia (saxophone), Niki Moosavi (cello) and Gemma Riley (trombone) joined performers from The Commonwealth Resounds to perform the piece as Harry and Meghan arrived and departed. Pablo said: ‘It was a huge honour to have my work performed at the Commonwealth ceremony and to work with wonderful musicians from the RCM and Commonwealth Resounds. Being able to present my score personally to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is an experience I’ll never forget!’ Find out more at www.commonwealthresounds.com
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NEWS
Below Eleanor Mackie, the new RCM Students’ Union President
RCM PART OF NEW NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH NETWORK
RCM GRADUATES AMONG MOST EMPLOYABLE IN UK
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he Royal College of Music will be part of a new Mental Health Network led by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), focusing on loneliness and social isolation. The eight new Mental Health Networks were announced by UKRI and will bring together researchers from a wide range of disciplines, including health, medicine and environmental sciences. Many networks will also include insight from charity workers, health practitioners and people with lived experience of mental health issues. The loneliness and social isolation network is led by University College London in partnership with other high-profile institutions including, University of Birmingham, London School of Economics and Political Science and Public Health England. It will address the gap in understanding regarding how some people with mental health problems come to be lonely. The Networks are supported with £8 million of funding for three to four years. As well as investigating social isolation, they will progress mental health research into themes such as the profound health inequalities for people with severe mental ill health, youth and student mental health, domestic and sexual violence, and the value of community assets.
tudents from the Royal College of Music continue to be among the most employable in the UK according to data published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in July. Of the RCM alumni who graduated in 2016/17, 100% of those who responded to HESA’s Employment of Leavers survey reported that they had moved into employment or further study six months after graduating. This is the third time in the last four years that the RCM has scored 100%, having been the only institution to score so highly in both the 2015 and 2016 surveys. As one of only two institutions scoring 100% in this year’s survey, the RCM is proud to continue its legacy of providing the best opportunities for students. RCM Director Professor Colin Lawson commented: ‘The Royal College of Music is dedicated to preparing students for professional working life and this wonderful result confirms that we are doing our job successfully. The RCM Creative Careers Centre continues to offer a wide range of performance opportunities, paid work, professional networking and advice in many areas, allowing our talented students to launch careers within the music industry.’
NEW STUDENTS’ UNION TEAM Eleanor Mackie has been appointed the new Royal College of Music Students’ Union President. Taking over from outgoing president Nathan Cho, Eleanor and her team will represent and support the student body and provide a full programme of social events and activities throughout the year. Eleanor is supported by Vice President Elizaveta Saul, Postgraduate Officer Lauren Brown, International Officer Claire Edwards, Concerts Officer Nicolas Kent, Societies Officer Natasha Strange, Communications Officer Ashby Mayes and Events Officers Ruth Hallows and Geeta Gustava Nazareth. RCM students can get further information about the RCMSU and its activities online at www.rcmstudentsunion.com
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FEATURE
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: COSTUME SUPERVISOR JOOLS OSBORNE In the first of a new series exploring some of the most fascinating jobs around the College, Upbeat chats to Jools Osborne about how she brings costume designs to life on the Britten Theatre stage. In a series of repurposed practice rooms behind the Britten Theatre, rails of period costumes hang in neat rows, sectioned, labelled and ready for each RCM singer to step into. Dressmaker mannequins stand against walls papered with designs. This is where the most intricate, intimate and often visually impressive work of the opera takes place: costume creation. On this Friday in September, RCM Costume Supervisor Jools Osborne and her assistant, Laura Pearse, are already pulling costumes for November’s opera, The Marriage of Figaro. Fittings begin on Monday and, with another ten boxes of costumes arriving that afternoon, space and time are at a premium. In the storage area upstairs leftover costumes, shoes and accessories are meticulously organised into boxes and rails, and so it comes as no surprise when Jools explains that: ‘To be a costume supervisor you need good organisational skills first and foremost.’ Second? ‘You’ve got to be able to work on your feet.’ Jools completed an Art Foundation and a Costume Interpretation and Supervisor course at Wimbledon College of Art, then worked in film, TV and theatre before first coming to the RCM as a freelancer in 1990. Over the years she’s taken sabbaticals to work on several films – including Phantom of the Opera, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and The Duchess – but these days she’s happy dressing musicians. ‘What I love about the RCM is my relationship with the students,’ she says. ‘You don’t get the same contact on a film.’ Work on Figaro started back in May. The process begins with the costume designer who, having met with the director, creates the drawings that Jools and her team bring to life. ‘Our job is to give the designer options,’ she explains. But first, she must interpret the designs and find the fabrics. A lot of the textiles come from the Goldhawk Road, but Jools will occasionally venture into Soho or various costume houses. This week, her quest for the perfect Figaro fashion has seen her travel to the
Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, but she’ll often journey further afield to Bristol Costume Services or the Chichester Festival Theatre. Amongst her responsibilities, Jools runs the design budget. Her main expense isn’t luxurious fabric or high-end accessories, however, but people. ‘Our freelancers are very skilled professionals,’ she explains. Talented pattern cutters in particular are worth paying for, because theatrical costumes ‘have to be robust, like a suit of armour.’ As well as cutters, sewers and milliners, Jools may also employ breakdown artists. ‘They make a new costume look lived in,’ she explains. ‘You can have different levels of breaking down, from just a little bit of rubbing, to completely ripped and stained. It’s an art.’
Above Jools fitting RCM mezzo-soprano Emily Sierra
When the curtain goes up on opening night, the costume team are kept busy dressing and changing singers. Quick changes will have been rehearsed weeks before. (Jools’ quick change record was broken in just 30 seconds during Così fan tutte). Nevertheless, opening night is still the most rewarding time for Jools. ‘Knowing that I’m part of a bigger picture of incredibly talented people, I really love that,’ she says. ‘I always cry on the first night – because there’s a certain amount of intimacy in opera, we really are a family.’ UPBEAT AUTUMN 2018
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FEATURE
Battle sounds: RCM composers on the front line 100 years after the end of WW1, the RCM Library has begun to digitise a fascinating series of letters held in the RCM collections. Together, they tell the intriguing wartime story of RCM composers Herbert Howells, Ivor Gurney, Arthur Bliss and Arthur Benjamin, as well as their friend, musicologist Marion Scott.
Below Ivor Gurney Opposite (top) A letter from Marion Scott to Herbert Howells Opposite (bottom) Arthur Bliss in uniform
When Britain entered the war in August 1914, three of the composers at the Royal College of Music left their studies and enlisted immediately. Arthur Benjamin joined the Officer Training Corps, Arthur Bliss became an officer in the Royal Fusiliers and Ivor Gurney, initially rejected because of his eyesight, was later accepted into the Gloucestershire Regiment. That September, RCM Director Sir Hubert Parry stood in front of his students and gave voice to a persevering sense that, amongst the monstrous bloodshed to follow, the sacrifice of such talented individuals would be felt as a particular tragedy. ‘Our pupils are made of different stuff,’ he declared. ‘Some of them are so gifted that their loss could hardly be made good.’ Howells, in poor health, did not enlist. Amongst his peers and teachers, there was a feeling that the composer ought to be spared from active service. But in March 1916, as conscription began in Britain, Howells confided in a letter to Scott that, ‘the contention that potential creative artists should be preserved cannot hold good now that so many of them have been slain’. Parry, too, spoke of the apparent incompatibility between these two desires – protecting one’s gift or following the conflicting pull of patriotism. The question of Howells’ enlistment, however, was put to rest when he was diagnosed with Graves’ disease and declared exempt from service. His subsequent letters, and those of Scott -- who wrote for numerous music publications and cofounded the new Society of Women Musicians -- are invaluable in painting a picture of life on the home front, both at College and beyond. In the early months of the war, there was a sense of business as usual at the RCM. ‘It is surprising how little the convulsions and upheavals of the European struggle have affected the calm stability of English institutions,’
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reads an editorial in the Christmas 1914 RCM Magazine. ‘Lessons have been given and received … talents have expanded’. In an address the following spring, Parry declared that, ‘civil life has to go on’ and with it, the development of ‘special gifts of art’. Yet by 31 May 1915, civil life, too, was on the firing line as Zeppelins rained their first bombs down on London. The raids intensified over the next year. On 5 April 1916, Scott wrote from the capital to tell Howells of ‘those monstrous Zeppelin moths which the fine weather fetched out of their cocoons’. The Germans launched the first ever chlorine-gas attack later that month and then, on 1 July 1916, the Battle of the Somme began. Only six days into the conflict, Bliss was wounded and sent to Derbyshire to recuperate, a convalescence that, he wrote to Howells, at least allowed a brief pause in which to ‘think a little about music.’ A month later, the battle claimed the life of RCM composer George Butterworth. Howells’ letters show that frequently, music became the language with which these RCM composers chose to respond to this new reality. Against the evolving soundtrack of the battlefield, they created their own sounds. Compositions were passed from Europe back to England, confirming Parry’s assertion that, ‘the art we follow is fit to be pursued and cultivated even by the side of the greatest doings of active life.’ Gurney found unexpected inspiration on his first night on the front. Arriving to relieve a Welsh regiment, he spent the evening immersed in Welsh song in what he deemed a ‘strangely beautiful entry to war’s rout.’ Despite taking a gunshot to the shoulder in April 1917 and wrestling long-term mental health problems, the soldier maintained an impressive musical
and poetic output. Indeed in July, Scott wrote to Howells that, despite his deteriorating psychological state, Gurney had ‘a new song already planned in his head’. The composer was gassed that September, however, and invalided back to Britain. He was reposted to Northumberland, but suffered his second breakdown in March 1918. Having not engaged in active service, Howells was, unsurprisingly, the most prolific composer during these years -- Bliss compared his friend’s energy to ‘the machine gun that links its [cartridges] at a rate of 500 a minute’. Several of his compositions are documented in his letters to Scott. In March 1916, he wrote of finishing ‘this latest microscopic fancy of mine’. The piece, Sir Patrick Spens, was to become his first major choral work. Later, he sent Benjamin some part songs, and his friend wrote back enthusiastically: ‘They are economy in war-time itself!’ Benjamin, meanwhile, was attached to the Royal Flying Corps in November 1917 and immediately taken with what he termed ‘God’s own sport’. Between flights, the Australian found time to begin a ‘Cyrano overture’. ‘Perhaps it will be a miniature tone-poem,’ he mused in June. But just two months later, his plane was shot down by a German squadron under the leadership of a young Hermann Göring. News of his imprisonment at Ruhleben internment camp – where he spent the remainder of the war – was received with some relief in London. Scott wrote to Howells, ‘Though it is sad to think of him “in” Germany, a prisoner … thankfulness overflows every other feeling’.
October, both Gurney and Howells had caught the virus. That month Scott wrote to a flu-stricken Howells describing how ‘the influenza is raging in London’. By November she revealed that the whole Scott household was also ill, and lamented ‘all the millions who have suffered’ from this ‘devil of a disease!’ In the autumn, the College was rocked when the pandemic claimed the life of one of its own. Scott penned a desperate letter to Howells: ‘For twenty five years all but three months Sir Hubert has been Director, and there are no words nor tears which can express what this loss will be to College’. The letter was postmarked 7 October 1918; Parry died that very day. While the final months of the year brought fresh tragedy – Bliss was injured in a gas attack a few days after Parry’s death -- it also brought new music. Benjamin penned a violin sonata, while Gurney returned from Europe with the mud-spattered manuscript of By a Bierside, famously composed by candlelight in a trench mortar. On 10 November, Scott wrote to Howells: ‘It makes me so happy that at this great time in the world’s history, you and Ivor are both bringing into the world these beautiful things, which will live and go down to succeeding generations as flowers of the English spirit, fadeless and fragrant.’ The next day, on 11 November 1918, the armistice finally brought fighting to a close.
The letters form part of the Herbert Howells Collection, housed in the RCM Library. Digitised versions can be accessed by searching the RCM Library catalogue: https://rcm.koha-ptfs.co.uk
On 19 May 1918, German Gothas launched a huge night raid on London. Weeks later, an even deadlier threat arrived on British shores. The Spanish flu reached the capital in June. By
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FEATURE
Dame Sarah Connolly: celebrating song Since graduating from the Royal College of Music in the 1980s, mezzo-soprano Dame Sarah Connolly has gone on to perform at some of the most prestigious venues and events in the classical music world. Upbeat talks to the opera star about finding her voice and her latest release, Come to Me in My Dreams – a stunning song collection that pays homage to 120 years of British composers who either taught or studied at the RCM.
1950s, and he loved Britten’s War Requiem. Mum preferred chamber music and the intimate artistry of Hermann Prey, Dame Janet Baker, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Daniel Barenboim’s piano recordings. By the time I went to the RCM I was familiar with many of these artists – it was a bit of a golden age! You studied piano and singing at the RCM and ultimately decided to follow your voice, but do you still sit down at the keyboard?
Above Dame Sarah Connolly Photo: Christopher Pledger
You came to study at the RCM in the 1980s, but can you tell us a little about your early musical education growing up? Was this the career path you always had in mind? I knew my destiny involved music making from around ten years old. I had passed Grade 5 piano with distinction and the die was cast. I was also composing a lot of piano pieces in the style of my favourite composers, Debussy and Mozart. I loved listening to pop too, especially soul, David Bowie and rhythm and blues. I’d worked out how to play them all on the piano -- to the delight of my friends! At home, dad played opera on his record player all the time, anything from Mozart through to Britten. He proudly talked about the production of Tosca he saw at La Scala in the
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I don’t practise the piano anymore but I accompany myself learning repertoire and try to play as much of the score as I can to get the feel of the piece. That’s a great advantage because I can sense the geography quickly. I can also transpose and read a figured bass, which has proved very useful in early music operas that haven’t been edited or transformed into official vocal scores. I had thought I’d become an accompanist, never a solo pianist, but Sir David Willcocks – my principal at the time – persuaded me to become a singer. How did your career and your voice progress after graduating? After graduating I joined lots of professional choirs and took part in live radio shows like Friday Night is Music Night as a soloist and chorister. It was a lot of fun, but my confidence as a singer wasn’t great. Even after leaving the BBC Singers aged 29, I was aware my technique needed taking in hand. I noted who the best singers were and who taught them. Most were taught by Gerald Martin Moore. He gave me what I needed, and he’s still my teacher. I was also working a lot with Philippe Herreweghe as one of his regular mezzo soloists. He helped me understand Bach from an
authentic 18th-century perspective. I eventually made my opera debut as Annina in Welsh National Opera’s Der Rosenkavalier at the age of 31, which is considered very late! looking back at your journey, what advice would you offer current RCM musicians aspiring to become professional singers? When you’re ready to hit the professional world and auditions, imagine your talent is a business project. Be objective about what you need to fill your toolbox. If it’s a different kind of technique, find the teacher who can help. Singers could take language coaching and try to get basic conversational skills in French, German and Italian. Build a profile based on the music YOU love rather than what others tell you -- banish the words ‘ought to’ and replace them with ‘want to’. You will only make an impression if your heart and soul are free to interpret the music you want to perform. You’ve performed in some of the most prestigious venues and events in the classical world, from Glyndebourne to the Proms, but where have you most enjoyed taking to the stage? The Last Night of the Proms was an adrenaline blast the like of which I have never experienced. Wisely, I prepared very well for all four of the items I was performing, so at least I wouldn’t be too worried about word recall. I’ve also loved working with Sir David McVicar, wherever it has taken me, and performing at Wigmore Hall is always so special. Over the years you’ve been the recipient of a number of accolades and honours, from a DbE to Royal Philharmonic Society Singer of the Year, but what would you say has been the most personally rewarding moment in your career so far? It’s always when younger singers tell me that I have shown them, through recordings or live performance, that I sing the truth with the music. This gives them the courage to be truthful, and to open up the repertoire, whether Baroque or Mahlerian. Tell us a little about how your latest CD came about – why did you feel moved to recognise an RCM connection? I might be biased, but to me it’s fairly obvious that the majority of famous British composers studied at the RCM. I spent a lot of time in the RCM Library as a student, soaking up the standard and unusual mezzo repertoire.
Sleep, dreaming and twilight appear to be dominant themes throughout the album. Do you find lullabies lend themselves to the English art song?
Come to Me in My Dreams is available now on Chandos Records.
There’s a dark psychology to British poetry, largely because of two world wars. The composers responded to this and I believe this shaped the style of English song. Britten’s lullabies are all dark in meaning and many of the songs on this disc are openly expressing loss of some kind. The album offers 29 carefully chosen songs across a 120-year time span. How did you select the pieces? Were there any that resonated with you in particular? There were so many songs to choose from but I tried to stick to music that I liked and that suited me rather than what I ‘ought to’ include. See? That dreaded phrase! Some people tried to steer me towards cheerier choices but I decided to embrace the melancholy and then things fell into place. Ivor Gurney has always fascinated me, both as a person and a composer, so his songs take pride of place. I was thrilled to discover Rebecca Clarke’s beautiful Cloths of Heaven and Muriel Herbert’s Lost Nightingale. I got to chat with Muriel Herbert’s daughter, the writer Claire Tomalin, because of this disc. Mark-Anthony Turnage’s gift of a song, Farewell, was written especially for the album, and it was the icing on the cake. As was discovering two Britten songs languishing unsung and unloved in the Britten-Pears Foundation Library!
You will only make an impression if your heart and soul are free to interpret the music you want to perform.
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SUPPORT US
SUPPORTING THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC Music has the power to transform lives. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, generations of gifted students from around the world have been nurtured and trained at the RCM. We would like to thank in particular our More Music Founding Patrons, Leadership and Principal Supporters, as well as those who have made donations of £1,000 or more between 1 August 2017 and 1 August 2018. Gifts are listed alphabetically in order of surname.
SUPPORTING THE FUTURE OF MUSIC From becoming an RCM Friend to leaving a gift in your Will, there are many ways you can support the Royal College of Music. For more information, please visit www.rcm.ac.uk/ supportus Alternatively, contact the Development team on development@rcm.ac.uk
More Music Founding Patrons ABRSM The Estate of George Frederick Burgan The Estate of Basil Coleman Croucher Hong Kong Charitable Foundation Heritage Lottery Fund The Estate of Christopher Hogwood CBE HonDMus Kingdom Music Education Group Rena & Sandro Lavery The Estate of Neville Wathen Ruth West HonRCM & Dr Michael West Garfield Weston Foundation Leadership Supporters Jane Barker CBE FRCM G & K Boyes Charitable Trust The Derek Butler Trust Philip Carne MBE HonRCM & Christine Carne The Estate of John & Marjorie Coultate The Estate of Jocelyn Cruft The Estate of Margaret Dewey The Foyle Foundation The Future of Russia Foundation The Harry and Gylla Godwin Charitable Trust HEFCE Linda Hill HonRCM & Dr Tony Hill Sara Nelson Horner The Leverhulme Trust The Linbury Trust The Estate of William Mealings The Mirfield Trust The Polonsky Foundation Geoffrey Richards HonRCM & Valerie Richards
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The Estate of Michael Rimmer Victoria, Lady Robey OBE HonRCM The Estate of Emma Rose Soirée d’Or Scholarships The Wolfson Foundation Principal Supporters Meredith & Denis Coleman The Estate of Thomas Cottrell The Estate of Heather Curry J Paul Getty Jr Charitable Trust The Harbour Foundation Kirby Laing Foundation John Lewis Partnership Philip Loubser Foundation John Nickson & Simon Rew The Pure Land Foundation The Julia & Hans Rausing Trust Leopold de Rothschild 1959 Charitable Trust The Estate of Humphrey Searle Dasha Shenkman OBE HonRCM The Peter Sowerby Foundation H R Taylor Trust The Estate of Ivor Charles Treby The Estate of Gweneth Urquhart Sir Siegmund Warburg’s Voluntary Settlement Major Supporters Laurie Barry The Bertarelli UK Foundation The John Curwen Society Peter & Annette Dart Fishmongers’ Company Hamish & Sophie Forsyth The Hargreaves and Ball Charitable Trust The Headley Trust The Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation UK
The Dolly Knowles Charitable Trust Professor Christopher & Vivienne Liu The Estate of Billy Newman The Estate of Ann Richardson Peter & Dimity Spiller Steinway & Sons Michael Whittaker and the Big Give Christmas Challenge The Henry Wood Accommodation Trust Supporters The Estate of Gillian Ashby Ashley Family Foundation The Estate of Kenneth Atkinson Dr Linda Beeley Lord Black & Mark Bolland The Boltini Trust Bowerman Charitable Trust Cambridge in America Brian & Janice Capstick Sir Roger & Lady Carr HonRCM The Estate of Ella Carstairs Thomas Sivewright Catto Charitable Settlement Lord Davies of Abersoch CBE The Drapers’ Company The Gilbert & Eileen Edgar Foundation Lesley Ferguson Fiona & Douglas Flint The Freakley Family Gisela Gledhill Elaine Greenberg & Linda Perez Helen Hamlyn Trust The Abinger Hammer Award Terry Hitchcock The Houston Family
Independent Opera at Sadler’s Wells David James JMC Ruth Keattch James and Clare Kirkman The Honourable Society of the Knights of the Round Table James & Margaret Lancaster Lark Music Lee Abbey London Dr Mark Levesley and Christina Hoseason Carol & Geoff Lindey Ian and Natalie Livingstone Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust The Hon Richard Lyttelton & Romilly Lyttelton Ian Mactaggart Trust The Estate of Anthony Mason The Mercers’ Company Sir Peter & Lady Middleton FRCM Jamie Milford Rosemary Millar HonRCM & Richard Millar The Howard & Abby Milstein Foundation Midori Nishiura HonRCM P F Charitable Trust The Charles Peel Charitable Trust The Stanley Picker Charitable Trust
Richard Price FRCM and Sue Price
Pro Musica Ltd Russell Race The Hon Robert Rayne and Mrs Benita Refson The Estate of Charles Stewart Richardson Sir Simon & Lady Robertson Roland Saam Christopher Saul Hilda Scarth Alethea Siow & Jeremy Furniss Kathleen Beryl Sleigh Charitable Trust Bryan Stott Ian Stoutzker CBE FRCM Betty Sutherland Ian & Meriel Tegner Richard Toeman / Weinberger Opera Scholarship Universal Music Group Rev Lyndon van der Pump FRCM & Edward Brooks FRCM Their Serene Highnesses Prince Donatus and Princess Heidi von Hohenzollern
Brian and Anne Wadsworth OBE
Sir Peter & Lady Walters Bob & Sarah Wigley Jane Wilson Professor Lord Winston & Lady Winston The Worshipful Company of Musicians The Wyseliot Charitable Trust
We are deeply grateful to longstanding Friend and RCM supporter, the late Kenneth Atkinson, who generously left 1% of his estate to the RCM in his Will, amongst several other charities. Ken was a loyal supporter for many years, regularly attending concerts and taking a genuine interest in the progress of RCM students. The Kenneth Atkinson Scholar for 2018–19, bass-baritone James Schouten, has recently commenced his MPerf in Vocal Studies and is indebted to Ken for giving him the opportunity to study here and fulfil his huge potential. The RCM is deeply grateful to all our generous legacy pledgers for the transformational impact their legacy gifts can have. For more information on legacy giving or to discuss leaving a gift to the RCM in your Will, please contact Emma McCormack, Supporter Engagement Manager – Legacies on 020 7591 4761.
Core Contributors Robert Anderson The Anglo Norse Award Avenue Chapter of Royal Arch Freemasons Isla Baring OAM John & Halina Bennett Lady Bergman Blenheim Music Circle The Bliss Trust Gary & Eleanor Brass Frank Bridge Bequest Edward Brooks Lorraine Buckland Sir Anthony Cleaver FRCM & Lady Cleaver Andrew Curran Jonathan Davie The Derek Hill Foundation Douglas and Kyra Downie The Ann Driver Trust Dr Ian & Janet Edmondson The Finnis Scott Foundation Douglas & Adele Gardner Professor Alice Gast Elaine Gould Peter Granger Edwin and Hilary Green Julian Hardwick Lily & Julian Harriss Greta Hemus John & Susan Heywood Lilian Hochhauser CBE FRCM The Estate of Barbara Margaret Holt
Professor Colin Lawson CBE FRCM David & Sue Lewis Charles & Dominique Lubar Marcus McDonald David Mildon Ellen Moloney Music Talks Jennifer Neelands Keith O’Nions Gordon Palmer Charitable Trust Kevin Porter HonRCM Kerry & Dimity Rubie South Square Trust Sudborough Foundation Janis Susskind OBE HonRCM Robert Swannell Sir Richard & Lady Sykes Kara Radcliffe John and Jenny Reid Janet Richardson Anthony Thornton Rhoddy Voremberg Opperby Stokowski Collection Trust Ofenheim Charitable Trust The Wall Trust John Ward Marc Wassermann and Lisa Osofsky Sir Robert & Lady Wilson Yip Wing-Sie The York Competitive Festival of Singing
RCM FRIENDS FESTIVE OFFER Give the gift of music this Christmas Treat yourself or a loved one to an RCM Friend membership and save £5 when you purchase before 31 December. Becoming an RCM Friend is the best way to keep up with news and events taking place at the RCM, while showing your support for young musical talent. For just £40 a year (usually £45) or £35 when you pay by Direct Debit (usually £40), you will receive: •
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To become a Friend or for more information, contact Emma Adlard, Head of Supporter Engagement, on 020 7591 4743.
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STUDENT UPDATES
STUDENT UPDATES below XueLin Xie’s new album of piano sonatas
SHARE YOUR NEWS Tell Upbeat readers about your recent successes by emailing news@rcm.ac.uk
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UPBEAT AUTUMN 2018
COMPOSITION CONGRATULATIONS Nino Russell has won the Theodore Holland Intercollegiate Composition Competition… Allan X Chen premiered three pieces this summer: Watch at the Grypario Cultural Center in Greece, In Time at the Cheltenham Music Festival’s Composer’s Academy and his string quartet at the highSCORE Festival in Italy… RCM Junior Department student Alexia Sloane has won the BBC Proms Inspire Competition with Elegy for Aylan. The piece was commissioned for Classic FM’s 25th birthday celebrations and performed by the Aurora Orchestra under Christopher Stark at the Proms in August.
KEYBOARD ACCOMPLISHMENTS Laura Farré Rozada has performed Roberto Gerhard’s Piano Concerto with the Camerata Eduard Toldrà Chamber Orchestra at Barcelona’s Auditori Eduard Toldrà... Peggy Wu has won Second Prize and the Audience Prize at the Birmingham International Piano Competition… Arina Lazgiian has been announced as the Benjamin Britten Piano Fellow for 2018/19 and has also been selected as a finalist for the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition… JunLin Wu has won First Prize at the In Musica Roma International Piano Competition 2018… Victor Dai has been awarded the Dr Bill Williams OBE Memorial Second Prize at the Australian Concerto and Vocal Competition… Tamila Salimdjanova has been awarded a semi-final prize in the Leeds International Piano Competition 2018, while alumni Salih Gevrek and Samson Tsoy were awarded quarter final prizes… Antoine Pichon was placed as a finalist at the ICoM Piano Award 2018 International Competition in Hamburg, where he also won the Yamaha special prize for the most interesting interpretation of a work by Chopin… XueLin Xie organised and performed in a charity concert in Foshan Youth Palace in July, which also featured performances from RCM musicians Jonathan Ma, Tiffany Cheng, Yiming Li, Karrie Yip and John Lee. XueLin was also part of the judging panel in the final of the GOCAA International
Piano Competition, and released a CD of piano sonatas in September… Thomas Kelly has been awarded First Prize in the Chamber Music Competition and Second Prize in the Piano Competition at the Virtuoso and Belcanto Festival.
STRING SUCCESSES The Kandour Quartet (Aleem Kandour, Iona Allan, Nazlı Erdoğan, and Robbie StanleySmith) has won the Boconnoc Music Award… Clara Garde has won the European Soloist Competition in Violin, and performed Prokoviev’s Violin Concerto no 2 in Bulgaria in September with the Symphony Orchestra of Ruse… Julia Hwang performed a short tour of Korngold’s Violin Concerto with Nicholas Daniel this summer, and made her South Korea debut with a performance of the Bruch Violin Concerto with the New World Philharmonic Orchestra under Gum Nanse in August… Esther Abrami has performed as a soloist with the Yorkshire Young Sinfonia in Leeds Town Hall. The final rehearsal was broadcast live on Sky News and filmed by Classic FM... Ha Im Choi has been awarded First Prize in the Chamber Music Competition at the Virtuoso and Belcanto Festival.
VOCAL ACCOLADES Peter Edge hosted and performed in an opera gala in Shropshire in October. ‘Opera on an Autumn Evening’ also featured a full line-up of RCM performances from Milly Forrest, Poppy Shotts, Hannah Crerar, Rhys Batt and William Diggle… Rory Carver has been selected for Les Arts Florissants’ academy for singers… Ben Smith has secured a place at The National Opera Studio for the 2018/19 season.
WOODWIND AWARDS Kristin Hammerseth has been appointed an Associate Flute of the Philharmonia Orchestra... RCM Junior Department flautist Marie Sato has won the RPS Duet Prize for Young Instrumentalists, alongside pianist Noah Zhou… Robbie Marrs performed a programme of Mussorgsky, Ligeti and Debussy with the
Left Lauren Brown in Jordan with the Wind-Up Penguin Theatre Company
National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain at the BBC Proms in September… Lauren Brown has taken part in the Wind-Up Penguin Theatre Company’s three-week project in Jordan, where she performed a wordless music-theatre show to over 1,000 underprivileged children in refugee camps and community centres across the country.
ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC COMPETITIVE PRIZES
RCM Worldwide Violinist Esther Abrami has won the 2018 RCM Worldwide competition with a photo taken during the Summa Cum Laude international youth music festival in Vienna. The runners-up were Polish composer Tymon Zgorzelski, whose photo was taken in Croatia, and a submission from France sent by RCM alumna and recorder player Fatima Lanham. To view more entries search #RCMWorldwide on Twitter and Instagram.
Sam Howes and Alex Taylor have won the Percussion Competition… The Prince Consort Trombone Quartet has won the Brass Ensemble Competition… Theodore Platt has won First Prize (Lies Askonas Prize); James Atkinson has won Second Prize (Cuthbert Smith Prize) and Julieth Lozano has won Third Prize in the 2018 Lies Askonas Competition, while Prajna Indrawati was awarded the Pianist Prize (Titanic Memoriam Prize)... The Artha Quartet (Charlotte Saluste-Bridoux, Line Faber, Ana Dunne-Sequi and Silvestrs Kalnins) has won the Helen Just & Susan Connell and Sacconi Quartet Prize… Philip Nelson has won the RCM Double Bass Prize… The Century Fund Prize and The Richard III Prize have been awarded jointly to Laure Chan and Ensemble La Notte (Gabriella Jones, Iain Hall, Matthew Lewis and Aidan Phillips)… The Aesthesia Saxophone Quartet (Jonny Vaux, Daniel Scott, Stephanie Frankland and Ashley Brand) has won the Launchpad Prize in the Woodwind Ensemble Competition.
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STAFF UPDATES
STAFF UPDATES Right Norma Fisher’s recent CD, Editor’s Choice in the July issue of Gramophone
Assistant Head of Undergraduate Programmes Dr Anastasia Belina has appeared on BBC Radio 3’s BBC Proms Extra 2018 and in the BBC TV series Our Classical Century to discuss the works of Shostakovich. In July, she was on the jury of several competitions at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod. She is currently completing her next two edited volumes, Cambridge Companion to Operetta and Cosmopolitanism in Music History. Research Fellow in Performance Science Terry Clark has been running a series of interdisciplinary workshops for RCM students and Imperial students on the MEd in Surgical Education programme, in order to encourage them to explore other domains of performance. In one session, students were gowned and put through one of Imperial’s simulated operating theatres, then taught to perform a vocal song in the RCM performance simulator. This summer piano professor Norma Fisher has given masterclasses at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in Israel and at the Bydgoszcz Academy of Music in Poland. She also sat on the jury of the Ricardo Viñes International Piano Competition in Spain, while Norma Fisher at the BBC Volume 1 was selected as the Editor’s Choice in the July issue of Gramophone magazine. Vasco Hexel, Area Leader in Masters Programmes in Composition for Screen, has published a new book, The Film and Media Creators’ Guide to Music. He draws on over 15 years’ experience as a media composer and educator to offer practical advice and accessible examples to aspiring, emerging and established filmmakers, animators, multimedia creators and video game designers.
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Composition professor Kenneth Hesketh has released three discs, one on the Paladino Music label (In Ictu Oculi – orchestral works) and on the Prima Facie label (Diatoms for two pianos). Another disc, including his work Inscrizione (derivata) – A lie to the Dying, performed by RCM alumni, will also be released in November on the Challenge Classics label and a tribute to Ken featured in the periodical Musical Opinion on the occasion of his 50th birthday. Saxophone professor Kyle Horch has performed in and led the Saxophone Summer Course at MusicFest Aberystwyth. Kyle also gave a concerto performance at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre and shared a recital with Lars Lien at the Old Hall, Aberystwyth University. In August, he performed and taught at the Singapore Saxophone Symposium, giving recitals as well as one-to-one lessons and chamber coaching.
Dr Trevor Herbert has been appointed to a Personal Chair as Professor of Music Research at the RCM. Trevor is a former foundation scholar of the College and Research Fellow. As a professional trombonist he has performed with various orchestras and ensembles including the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
This summer piano professor Peter Jablonski gave masterclasses at the Peter Jablonski Piano Academy in Sweden and sat on the jury of several competitions at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod. In September, he was on the jury of the International George Enescu Competition in Bucharest, gave a solo recital at the Romanian Athenaeum and performed Ernő Dohnányi’s Variations on a Nursery Tune with the Tampere Philharmonic.
Bassoon professor Martin Gatt has released a new recording, Après un rêve, as a companion disc to Abendlied. Martin will also be travelling to Hong Kong in February 2019 where he will adjudicate for the Hong Kong Schools Music and Speech Association 71st Music Festival.
Professor Janis Kelly, Chair of Vocal Performance, has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera New York as Mrs Rutland in Marnie, composed by Nico Muhly with libretto by Nicholas Wright. Marnie opened in October and included a global cinema showing.
Vocal Studies professor Justin Lavender has been interviewed for the October issue of Opera magazine. The article focuses on Justin’s opera company, Arcadian Opera, and its latest production, Ethel Smyth’s The Wreckers. The RCM Library provided a facsimile of the full score for the opera. Academic Programmes professor Andrew McCrea gave a keynote lecture on organ historiography at the Global Baroque Conference at Cornell University in September. Andrew is the editor of this year’s Journal of the British Institute of Organ Studies and has recently published a study of the English organ sonata in Studies in English Organ Music, part of the Ashgate Historial Keyboard series. Flute professor Susan Milan has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Flute Association of the USA, which will be recognised at an award ceremony and banquet in August 2019. Susan has also joined the Flute Faculty of the Royal Northern College of Music and in September sat on the jury of the Nicolet International Flute Competition. Head of Composition William Mival’s Rond premiered at Brentwood Cathedral in July. The piece was performed by Professor in Charge of Organ David Graham as part of the 10th Anniversary Organ Recital, in a programme that featured a number of works by RCM composers such as Howells and Stanford. Speech and language coach Norbert Meyn has given a lecture recital at the 2018 Association of Anglican Musicians Conference in Texas. Norbert introduced his research at the RCM, which explores the legacy of musicians who came to Britain from Nazi-occupied Europe. The programme included songs by Peter Gellhorn, recently published through RCM Editions. In June, Norbert’s Ensemble Émigré also gave a special recital of Gellhorn’s works.
Violin professor Itzhak Rashkovsky has contributed to a recent article published online on The Violin Channel. The article featured several international string teachers who each advised on the common mistakes they see when sitting on a conservatoire panel.
Below Ashley Solomon with Li Lin
Pande Shahov, Head of Aural and Musicianship at the Junior Department, was chosen as one of the composers-in-residence at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in California in August. His Piano Concerto no 2 (commissioned by CFCM) had its world premiere at the opening concert of the Festival. Chair and Head of Historical Performance Ashley Solomon has performed a duet on the baroque flute alongside Li Lin on the Guzheng. The concert took place at the Royal College of Music and was attended by Mr Yongli Wang, Minister Counsellor of Education for the People’s Republic of China in the United Kingdom. Aaron Williamon, Head of the Centre of Performance Science, was shortlisted for the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Health Humanities Medal, as Chair of Healthy Conservatoires. Healthy Conservatoires brings together stakeholders from across the wider performing arts community to assist in supporting health promotion and occupational wellbeing. Piano professor Andrew Zolinsky gave a recital in the Orange Theatre Concert Hall in Shenzhen, China in August. The concert was organised by Andrew’s former student, Liwen Chen, with help from RCM musician Xiyuan Sun, and was attended by Mutong Shao and Lifei Weng.
SHARE YOUR NEWS Tell Upbeat readers about your recent successes by emailing news@rcm.ac.uk
Violin professor Madeleine Mitchell has recorded an album of chamber music by alumna Grace Williams, to be released in 2019. She was joined by professor John Anderson, visiting professor David Owen Norris, alumnus Roger Chase and teachers Konstantin Lapshin and Sarah-Jane Bradley. This summer Madeleine also performed at the Buxton International Music Festival, taught at the Orfeo International Festival and gave a recital at St John’s Smith Square for American Independence Day alongside Kyle Horch and Nigel Clayton. Rosie Perkins, Research Fellow in Performance Science, has been elected to the steering group of the Royal Society for Public Health’s Arts, Health and Wellbeing.
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ALUMNI UPDATES
ALUMNI UPDATES SHARE YOUR NEWS Tell Upbeat readers about your recent successes by emailing news@rcm.ac.uk
Below Tatty Theo and The Brook Street Band Bottom Emily Sun
Léonie Adams has featured as Guest Principal Cello with Scottish Opera. Her chamber group, The Dionysus Ensemble, has also been appointed as the first ever Ensemble In Residence for The Commonwealth Resounds. David Sutton Anderson premiered a new commission for the annual Colourscape Music Festival in September. How far away is a rainbow? featured acoustic instrumental music as well as live electronics and dance. Composer and pianist Eduardo Andrade made his Cadogan Hall debut in May as part of The Urology Foundation Charity Gala Concert. He received the Best Music Award at EuroFest for the animation Leave a Print, and an Honorific Mention at the 5th Carlos Fuentes Award Ceremony in July. João Araújo has won the John Newmark Best Collaborative Pianist Award at the 2018 Concours musical international de Montréal. David Braid has formed the Braid Ensemble (comprising fellow alumuni Peter Cigleris and Rossitza Stoycheva alongside Emily Gray and Gerard Cousins) to perform his works. The group debuted at Southbank Centre in July. David has also released a new CD, David Braid: songs, solos and duos, and his Score for an Imaginary Film was performed by the London Mozart Players at St John’s the Evangelist in November. Composer and conductor Lee Yuk Chuan received the Singapore Chinese Cultural Contribution Award from the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Grace Fu at the launch of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre’s Cultural Extravaganza in May. RCM Junior Department alumnus Jacob Collier teamed up with conductor Jules Buckley and his Metropole Orkest for a special BBC Proms collaboration in July, in which he sang and performed on a number of instruments. Baritone Daniel D’Souza has won the AESS Dame Patricia Routledge National English Song Competition 2018. Percussionist and composer Ruairi Glasheen is finishing his first documentary, Hidden Drummers of Iran. It will form part of a series revealing the ancient drumming traditions from around the world through the eyes of the young people keeping them alive.
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Soprano Charlotte Hoather won the Voice of the Future International Singing Competition at the Eisteddfod Festival in July, receiving a prize of £6,000 and the new silver Pendine Trophy. Former composition professor Joseph Horovitz saw his oratorio Samson performed by fellow alumnus Sir Thomas Allen and conducted by former Head of Brass Peter Bassano at St Mary’s Church, Wendover in May. Horovitz’s Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo was also performed by the BBC Singers and conducted by alumnus John Wilson at the Barbican in June. In July, professor Simon Lepper accompanied Dame Felicity Palmer in Horovitz’s Lady Macbeth at Wigmore Hall. Lisa Illean’s piece Cantor was awarded Instrumental Work of the Year at the Australian Art Music Awards in August. Previous RCM Benjamin Britten Piano Fellows Dinara Klinton, Pavel Kolesnikov, Alexander Ullman and Nikola Avramovic attended the second annual Philip Loubser Foundation (PLF) Fellowship Gathering in Amsterdam in August. The unique gathering involved discussions led by Ivo van Hove and Edward Gardner. Dinara Klinton and Ewa Tytman-Csiba were selected to take part in the First International Chopin Piano Competition on Period Instruments in Warsaw, Poland in September. Their performances were live-streamed via the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in collaboration with Polish TV and Polish Radio. Pavel Kolesnikov has released a new recording which features his International Piano Series debut recital at Southbank Centre as well as his Hallé Orchestra concerto debut and chamber music performances at Wigmore Hall. Maria Kustas won Second Prize and the Audience Prize in the Premio Roberto Melini International Piano Competition in Italy. Baritone Simon Lobelson will perform the title role of Gregor Samsa in Brian Howard’s Metamorphosis for Opera Australia’s 2018 season. Simon is currently professor of voice, lecturer and coach at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. The two-year anniversary of the death of Alan Loveday was honoured in a tribute concert by New Zealand Symphony Orchestra soloists in
his home city of Palmerston North in June. The virtuoso performed on The Beatles’ Hey Jude track, which turned 50 this year. Soprano Marie Lys has won First Prize in the Cesti International Singing Competition for Baroque Opera in Innsbruck, Austria. Julien Van Mellaerts has been awarded the Maureen Forrester Second Prize and the German Lied Award at the 2018 Concours musical international de Montréal. Richard Pinkstone has performed the titular role in The Grange Festival’s Albert Herring, which was one of three productions shortlisted for a 2018 South Bank Sky Arts Opera Award. Conductor and bassoonist Warwick Potter has been appointed as Director of Performance and Engagement at the School of Music, The University of Queensland. He will also be conducting the university Symphony Orchestra in Shostakovich and Stravinsky in the near future. Helen Sanderson was presented with a Churchill Medallion in June, which recognised the successful completion of her overseas research as a Churchill Fellow. Helen travelled across America to investigate whole class guitar programmes in a variety of different settings, including schools on San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation and a Juvenile Detention Centre. Composer Christopher Schlechte-Bond has premiered his choral composition, The Juggler, in a concert at St Edmund’s Church to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Leeds chamber choir Cantabile. Specially commissioned by the choir for the event, the piece takes inspiration from Rudyard Kipling’s poem of the same title. Pianist Sebastian Stanley has undertaken a ‘Beethoven Sonatathon’, performing sonatas across the country in order to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. The charitable challenge is inspired by his father, a two-time cancer survivor, and will end with a 12-hour ‘Sonatathon’ in February 2019 in which he will perform all 32 works.
Citta Della Pace Audience Prize. Sara currently directs the annual Spirit of Music Festival. Christopher Strange has been appointed as Assistant Organist at York Minster. Christopher graduated from the RCM in July and has just completed two years as the Graham Rogers organ scholar at Chelmsford Cathedral. Violinist Emily Sun and cellist Ariana Kashefi have been selected to join the City Music Foundation Programme as 2018 CMF Artists. Emily is the first solo violinist to join the scheme, which provides musicians with mentoring, professional development and promotional tools and offers various performance opportunities and collaborations with CMF Patrons. As part of his Benjamin Britten Piano Fellowship, Alexander Ullman is recording Russian ballet piano transcriptions at the Wyastone Concert Hall in the Wye Valley, alongside producer Andrew Keener. The recordings include music from The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Firebird Suite and Petrushka. Composer Bertram Wee has won Third Prize in the Ding Yi Music Company 3rd Singapore International Composition Competition Category B for his piece, Imagine Scenes. Tie Zhou picked up the Singapore Style Award in the competition, and also performed in Shanghai for the International Composition Masterclass Concert with Unsuk Chin. Composer Jeffery Wilson’s new work, Saxophone Concerto for Rob Buckland, premiered in London in March and a wind orchestra version will be given with the Central Band of the Royal Air Force later in 2018. Saxtet Publications will also publish the work, with a percentage of royalties going to Help Musicians UK.
Top Colourscape Music Festival Below Simon Lobelson, photographed by Georges Antoni. Image courtesy Opera Australia
CONNECT Join our LinkedIn group, visit www.rcm.ac.uk/alumni or contact the Alumni team on alumni@rcm.ac.uk or 020 7591 4743.
Tatty Theo has released a new CD, Handel Sonatas for Violin and Basso Continuo, with The Brook Street Band and fellow alumna Rachel Harris. Soprano Gemma Summerfield has been awarded the last ever Chilcott Award for young British opera singers, presented by the Royal Philharmonic Society. For the last 13 years, the award has offered funding to an emerging British Opera Singer, in honour of the late singer Susan Chilcott. Sara Deborah Timossi, née Struntz, has won the Premio Bonporti International Baroque Violin Competition 2017 and received the Rovereto
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IN MEMORY
IN MEMORY
LEAVING A LEGACY By remembering the RCM in your Will you can play a significant role in helping the College continue to inspire and educate musicians of the future. For more information on leaving a legacy to the RCM, please contact Emma McCormack on 020 7591 4761 or Emma.McCormack@ rcm.ac.uk
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Richard Nelson
Richard Norman Nelson was a distinguished violinist and conductor. He was born in Dublin in 1931 and studied at the Royal College of Music during the 1950s. Richard enjoyed a full musical career working with orchestras across the world. In London, he worked with the Royal Philharmonic, London Symphony and BBC Symphony Orchestra. He was a founding member of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Concertmaster of the Vancouver Symphony, founding member of the Purcell String Quartet, and Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at the University of Alberton. Richard also founded the Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra in 1997 and was a recipient of the Orchestras Canada Betty Webster Award, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and the Barbara Pentland Award of Excellence for his many years of dedicated service to Canadian music. His effect on so many of his students was truly life changing and he continued to build and nurture vibrant musical communities around him until the end. Richard passed away on 23 February 2018. A special Celebration of Life concert took place in his memory in Canada in March, featuring performances from some of the musicians he touched throughout his life.
Composer Darrol Barry was born in Salford and joined the local school brass band aged 14 as a tuba player. His talent for music soon became apparent, and he went on to play baritone and euphonium. His interest in composition and arranging was also encouraged by his school music teacher, and he continued arranging for brass bands even as he left school to become an apprentice joiner. In 1978 he enrolled at Salford University on the pioneering LTCL course in Band Musicianship, before moving to London to study composition with Joseph Horovitz at the Royal College of Music. His professional career soon took off, and as a respected freelance composer and arranger he worked for many of the major publishing houses including Studio Music, Wright & Round, Bernaerts Music and Obrasso. He taught at Salford University, Barnsley College and Accrington & Rossendale College before taking up the role of Composer and Arranger in Residence at The Royal Guard of Oman in 2002. He leaves behind a fine array of compositions for all levels. Darrol passed away on 3 June in Muscat, Oman. Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow but spent much of his childhood near London, composing from the age of six. He conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in the world premiere of his first symphony when he was aged just 15. Oliver went on to become one of the most brilliant and well-respected composer-conductors of his time. He conducted for different orchestras around the world and his recordings included works by Igor Stravinsky, Modest Mussorgsky and Ruth Crawford Seeger. He was awarded a CBE in 1994 and became Music Director of the London Sinfonietta in 1998. His many awards included the Nemmers Prize and the Royal Philharmonic Society Conductor Award. Oliver worked with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and most recently with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group. He produced many popular works and became well known, in particular, for his opera adaptation of the children’s classic, Where the Wild Things Are. Oliver received an FRCM from the RCM in 1989 and was due to receive an Honorary Doctorate in Music in 2019. He passed away on 8 July.
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