Widening horizons – RCM and its community

The Magazine for the Royal College of Music I Summer 2010

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Front cover – Photograph by Jess PearceInside front cover – A selection of images from Handel’s Il Pastor Fido, a collaboration between the London Handel Festival and the RCM International Opera SchoolInside back cover – Images from the RCM’s recent festival Piano Fever!, celebrating piano music in a variety of ways

4 In the news Latest news from the RCM

including BBC Young Musician success and a visit from the Prince of Wales

11 Celebrating the RCM community...

A celebration of our students’ many and varied pursuits beyond the College walls

20 Meeting the supporters… Upbeat meets Graham Bamford

of the Royal Garden Hotel

21 With thanks to… The College expresses its gratitude

to recent supporters

22 Student notes… More news from our student body

24 Staff notes Updates from our professorial,

academic and admin staff

25 Alumni notes Latest developments from

RCM graduates

26 Births, marriages and obituaries

Welcome to upbeat…If you walk around the RCM and stop to talk to three random people, chances are you’ll hear three amazing stories. So we’ve decided to dedicate the next two issues of Upbeat to celebrating the extraordinary RCM community.

Our autumn issue will focus on RCM professors, but first we turn our attention to RCM students. Every issue of Upbeat is full of stories about their many successes on the world’s stages and concert platforms. But in this special issue we’re celebrating the many ways in which they’re using their extraordinary musical skills to take music out into the wider world, and sharing their love of music with people from every possible background. On pages 11 to 19 you can read about education projects in the UK and much further afield, unusual performances in pubs and clubs, brand new ensembles and orchestras, TV and radio appearances, and a visit to the Edinburgh Fringe. If you have in your head the stereotypical image of a lazy student shuffling bleary-eyed from bed to bar, prepare to think again!

As usual, the rest of Upbeat is packed with news from around the College. So if you want to find out why ten RCM harpists performed with a leading rapper, or what RCM organists got up to in Amsterdam when the ash cloud left them stranded, then read on!

We’re always keen to hear from students past and present, so if you have anything you’d like us to feature in the next issue of Upbeat, send your news and pictures to news@rcm.ac.uk by 20 September 2010.

What’s inside...

Contents

NB: Please note that we cannot guarantee to include everything we receive and that we reserve the right to edit submissions.

RCM Sparks Summer Music

RCM Sparks Summer Music

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Museum turns 40On 23 April, the RCM’s world-famous Museum of Instruments marked its 40th birthday with a special exhibition, performances on treasured instruments from the collection, and a reception attended by honoured guests from the musical world. The collection is based on that given by Sir George Donaldson in 1894, together with instruments given by other donors, including the Rajah Sourindro Mohun Tagore who gave a collection of Indian instruments to the RCM in 1883.

Over the years the collection grew but was dispersed around the College and suffered as a result. When Elizabeth Wells was asked to catalogue the instruments in 1964, it was evident that fumigation and rehousing were urgently needed. The College appealed for funds and gained support from the Leche Trust, in association with the late Mr Angus Acworth, the Chase Charity and the Pilgrim Trust. With their generous aid, and that of other donors, the current Museum was built and was opened by H M Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1970.

As a result, the College has benefited from further individual donations and collections. There are now over 1,000 instruments and accessories in the collection and the high proportion of exhibits of outstanding importance places it amongst the world’s major collections. Besides contributing to the education of students, the Museum provides tours and research facilities, undertakes research projects and hosts international conferences. The Museum is run by a small team of expert curatorial staff and benefits greatly from volunteers who help with invigilating, cataloguing and other areas of the Museum’s work.

In the news...

Grove comes home“A slight token of our affection and esteem”: these words end a most extraordinary document recently and fortuitously acquired by the Library. It is neither slight nor a token, but a richly decorated book presented to Sir George Grove, the first Director of the College, on his retirement in 1895. It contains not only a beautifully illustrated tribute to him, but also the signatures of many who studied and taught at the College in those early days, amongst them Clara Butt, Arnold Dolmetsch, Ralph Vaughan Williams, William Hurlstone and Gustav Holst.

The text reads: “We, the undersigned, past and present pupils of the Royal College of Music, being anxious to express to you our deep regret at your resignation of the Directorship and our heartfelt gratitude for the ever ready sympathy and assistance you yourself have so freely given to us, take this opportunity of presenting

you with an address, and marble bust of yourself as a slight token of our affection and esteem. Easter Term 1895.”

The volume came to light in an auction job lot and was acquired by a dealer who most kindly brought it to the Library before offering it elsewhere. We are delighted that such an important part of the College’s history has come home.

RCM at the BritsOn 16 February, ten harpists from the Royal College of Music performed at this year’s Brit Awards ceremony, alongside two of the year’s biggest acts.

The harpists accompanied Dizzee Rascal and Florence Welch (of Florence and the Machine) in You Got the Dirtee Love, a mash-up of Dirtee Cash and You Got the Love. The ceremony was held at the Earls Court Arena in London and was broadcast live on ITV1.

The booking was arranged by the RCM’s Professional Engagements service, which every year gives thousands of performance opportunities to RCM students and recent graduates.

Elizabeth Wells with RCM Chairman Lord Winston

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RCM Library receives award for excellenceThe RCM Library has recently been awarded one of the first ever Excellence Awards for music libraries in the UK and Ireland by the International Association of Music Libraries. Pam Thompson, Chief Librarian, received the award on the Library’s behalf on 11 April at the Annual Study Weekend of IAML (UK & Ireland) in Nottingham.

An independent panel of library experts and musicians, chaired by Professor John Tyrrell (authority on Janáček and editor of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians), commended the RCM Library for the depth and breadth of its collections; its acquisition of donated materials which has allowed it

to develop a unique and rich holding of international importance; the progress made with cataloguing and associated fundraising; its extensive engagement with staff and students and its overall service to external researchers and in outreach activities.

Congratulations to all the Library staff who have worked hard to ensure that the Library provides an excellent service and will continue to do so!

Young Musician of the Year RCM Junior Department student Lara Ömeroglu has been crowned BBC Young Musician 2010.

Lara was presented with the award at a gala concert in Cardiff on Sunday 16 May, after a stupendous performance of Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto no 2 with Vasily Petrenko and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Lara attends RCMJD on Saturdays, where she is taught by Emily Jeffrey. RCMJD Director, Peter Hewitt, who attended the final in support of Lara, commented: “Lara was a deserving winner after an outstanding performance in which she really inhabited the music. It was a risk to tackle such an enormous piece, but she displayed tremendous focus and a fantastic command of her instrument, and communicated wonderfully well with the audience. I’m thrilled for her, her family and her teacher. This win is a tribute to all her hard work, and to the support she’s received.”

Lara’s success caps a tremendous year in the competition for RCM

Junior Department students. Fellow JD student Lucy Landymore, who is taught by Cameron Sinclair, won the percussion section final. She only narrowly missed joining former JD student Callum Smart (violin) in the final. Also competing in the section finals were JD students James Larter (percussion), Finlay Bain (horn), John Hewitt-Jones (viola), and Katy Smith (violin) – the total contingent of six students being the largest of any other junior conservatoire. And to top it all, even BBC television presenter Clemency Burton-Hill is an alumna of the Junior Department!

Congratulations to Lara, and all these other supremely talented JD students.

The King James Bible Composition Awards

In 2011, a brand new composition prize will celebrate the 400th anniversary of one of the world’s most influential books, and bring together some of the UK’s most important composers, educational institutions and performers.

The King James Bible, known as the Authorised Version, was published in 1611. Now its 400th anniversary is being marked with a series of events and initiatives arranged by The 2011 Trust. Among those is the King James Bible Composition Awards, a competition for young composers.

The competition has two categories, both of which invite young composers to submit new works for church performance, selecting and setting texts from the King James Bible (AV). The competition will be open to all composers aged 30 and under and has a closing date of 31 January 2011. Up to four shortlisted entries in each category will be performed by the RCM Chamber Choir at a Concert and Reception at Temple Church, London on 17 May 2011, when the two winning entries will be announced. The winner in each category will receive prize money of £2,000. The winning work in category B will also be performed at a service at Westminster Abbey in November 2011 which forms the climax of The 2011 Trust’s series of celebratory events, running throughout the year.

The 2011 Trust gratefully acknowledges the generosity of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster for their support of the King James Bible Composition Awards. Full details of the competition can be found at www.2011trust.org

Running alongside the competition, the RCM will hold a series of public masterclasses for composers in autumn 2010, exploring writing for voices, and contemporary music in worship today.

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In the news...Rob the Iron ManRCM alumnus Rob Wallace is undertaking an extraordinary physical challenge in order to raise money for an RCM scholarship fund.

Rob, who now works as a freelance professional trumpeter, is entering the notorious UK Ironman Triathlon, held in Bolton on 1 August. The Ironman Triathlon is a long distance triathlon comprising a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run (marathon distance). Rob will be setting off at 6am, and hoping to complete the course by 9pm, some 15 hours later!

The purpose of Rob’s stupendous undertaking is to raise money for the Nic Branston Foundation. Nic Branston was a supremely talented horn player, and a close friend and colleague of Rob. The two of them were flatmates in July 2008 when Nic was tragically killed in a car accident, just a few weeks after graduating from the RCM. Nic’s parents Paul and Rachel established the Nic Branston Award in his memory, to enable other talented musicians to study at the RCM.

If you would like to sponsor Rob, you can either find him on Facebook or call the RCM Development Department on 020 7591 4320.

Good luck to Rob from all at the RCM!

RCM and the BBC PromsWe are delighted to announce that for the third year in a row, we are heavily involved in the BBC Proms.

As in 2009, Proms Plus events will take place in our Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall. There are more than 70 events in the Proms Plus series, providing a

fascinating context to the season’s music and artists. The range of events includes a literary festival, a series of composer portraits, a number of enlightening pre-concert talks, and a whole host of events for all the family. For full details of Proms Plus events see www.bbc.co.uk/promsAlongside this, we will once again be running the extremely popular RCM Sparks Summer Music, a series of events linked into BBC Prom concerts. Whether it’s playing, composing or uncovering treasures in the Museum or Library, RCM Sparks is providing opportunities for everyone to engage in musical activities this summer. For more information see www.rcm.ac.uk/summermusic

At the Royal Albert Hall itself, RCM alumni are as well represented as ever. A new Violin Concerto by RCM alumnus Huw Watkins will be premièred on 17 August by fellow former student Alina Ibragimova; RCM alumnus John Wilson will be conducting a celebration of Rodgers and Hammerstein on 22 August; and as usual there will be appearances from several graduates from the RCM’s International Opera School, including

A Seat by the WindowA very special project involving RCM musicians came to a grand conclusion with a world première at Cadogan Hall on 23 March. The song cycle A Seat by the Window was created by people with dementia and their carers, with the help of composer Rachel Leach, Tim Yealland (English Touring Opera) and six students from the Royal College of Music. The song cycle takes us on an extraordinary journey from one tea-time in September to a brief encounter with a boxer and a tragedy at sea.

The song cycle was the result of “Turtle Song”, the third annual collaboration between Turtle Key Arts, RCM Sparks (the Royal College of Music’s groundbreaking Learning and Participation programme) and English Touring Opera. For more information, and to see videos of previous collaborations, visit www.rcm.ac.uk/sparks

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RCM Sparks Summer

two performances by Andrew Kennedy, an opening night appearance from Malin Christensson, and a return for 2009’s Last Night star Sarah Connolly.

We hope you’ll join us for a busy summer of music-making!

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The RCM lends a hand to the British Library

The Royal College of Music made an important contribution to a major new exhibition at the British Library this spring. Chopin: The Romantic Refugee, marked the 200th anniversary of Chopin’s birth, and shed new light on the composer’s life, from his birthplace in Poland to his years spent in Britain. The exhibition examined the ways in which Chopin’s music displays his Polish patriotism in the context of the political sympathies for Poland that were current in France and England during his lifetime. It included original music manuscripts, portraits, historic recordings, as well as two special items on loan from the Royal College of Music: Chopin’s death mask and a plaster cast of his left hand.

China comes to South KensingtonEarlier this year, we were delighted to welcome students for the first ever RCM International Piano Course for Chinese students.

From 25 March to 1 April, young pianists from China, Singapore and Malaysia participated in a busy week of lessons, lectures, masterclasses (with John Lill and Dmitri Alexeev), performances and cultural excursions, including trips to the Southbank Centre and Wigmore Hall. The week ended with a gala concert given by the students in the Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall, when they were presented with certificates by RCM Director, Professor Colin Lawson.

Speaking on behalf of all the participants, Lynn Tan said “This has been one of the most enriching

and wonderful programmes. The camaraderie we had is obvious – one can walk down the corridor on the second floor and hear laughter and endless chatter, tinkling notes spilling out from the practice rooms on a daily basis! We’ve picked up so many new skills, ideas and insights… We would like to extend our deepest appreciation and gratitude to the Royal College of Music.”

RCM welcomed Chinese students for the International Piano Course

Lynn Tan with Professor Colin Lawson

2010 Rod Williams Memorial Concert The College was pleased to welcome Nigel Woolner and Jeremy Pickering, representatives of the Mills Williams Foundation, to a concert by the RCM Symphony Orchestra on 4 March 2010. The current Mills Williams Junior Fellow, pianist Konstantin Lapshin, was delighted to attend the event and to be presented with his Mills Williams Medal

which Peter Mills had commissioned for all recipients of the award.

Peter Mills established the Mills Williams award on the death of his life-long partner, Rod Williams, in 1995, with the aim of supporting music and young musicians. To date, the award has endowed 14 Mills Williams Junior Fellowships and continues to fund an annual concert at the Royal College of Music in memory of Rod Williams. Sadly, Peter died in 2006 after a long battle against cancer.  Happily, the Mills

Williams Foundation lives on with the objective of supporting music and young musicians.

A plaster cast of Chopin’s left hand

Nigel Woolner, Konstantin Lapshin and Jeremy Pickering

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In the news...

The RCM was saddened to hear of the death of Philip Langridge CBE in March this year. Known and loved on opera and concert platforms worldwide, Philip

was Prince Consort Professor at the RCM. Despite his busy schedule, he visited the College regularly for more than two decades. His eagerly-anticipated classes allowed him to bring his unparalleled experience across a range of musical genres for the benefit of generations of RCM singers. We are profoundly grateful for the influence he has had on so many of our students.

Widely acclaimed for his operatic interpretations, most notably perhaps those of Britten and Janáček, Philip was also at home on the recital platform.

His versatility was underpinned by extraordinary musicianship, a wonderfully expressive voice and a capacity to get right inside the drama of any piece and project it to an audience.

A man of great warmth, intelligence and wit, Philip was a compelling presence in any situation; as performer, teacher, friend, or simply the man in front of you in the coffee queue, which is how many of us at the RCM will remember him with particular affection. He chatted freely with everyone, ensuring that he won friends wherever he travelled. His classes at the RCM were always a highlight, attracting a devoted following of members of the public who realised what a privilege it was to see such a man at work. Music has lost a towering influence, and we have lost a friend. Our thoughts are with his wife Ann Murray and the rest of his family.

Philip Langridge CBE FRCM RCM on The One ShowOn Wednesday 21 April, the Royal College of Music’s Triumph Brass Quintet (Christian Barraclough, Shane Brennan, Adam Howcroft, Dave Clark and William Roberts) made a special appearance on BBC1’s primetime television show The One Show.

The quintet performed live at London City Airport to welcome the first groups of travellers back into the country after volcano ash caused widespread closures to UK airports.

Janet HiltonEarlier this year, much-loved figure Janet Hilton stepped down as Head of Woodwind. Janet spoke to Upbeat about her decision:

“Being Head of Woodwind at the RCM for the past 12 years has been a most rewarding part of my career. The post uniquely combines helping young musicians to achieve their potential with playing an important role in areas such as academic excellence.

It’s been great to work with so many distinguished professors. I have attended nearly all the masterclasses which I have organised, which has been a terrific opportunity for me – I have more time for practice now, and find that my playing and teaching have benefited from all the ideas that these classes have thrown up!

The standard of today’s RCM woodwind students is world class, and I often meet former RCM woodwind students who are flourishing in the profession. I am happy to be handing over to Simon Channing who will sustain and develop this excellence. He is a fine, perceptive musician who will lead the department with a clear vision for the future.”

Janet was given a grand send-off in February, after conducting the RCM Wind Orchestra in pieces by Mozart and RCM alumna Helen Grime. Numerous illustrious former students and colleagues attended a reception in the Parry Rooms, and witnessed RCM Director Colin Lawson present Janet with a photograph of her with the RCM Wind Orchestra. He told Upbeat:

“For more than a decade the internationally renowned clarinettist

Janet Hilton has continued to develop the reputation of the RCM Woodwind Faculty as a natural first choice for students worldwide. Her own musicianship has been inspirational, and her generosity of spirit has transformed the lives and careers of generations of students at the College.”

Happily, Janet is staying on at the RCM as Clarinet professor, balancing her teaching with an increasing number of recording and concert-giving activities.

Director Colin Lawson presents Janet with a photograph of the RCM Wind Orchestra

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Organs in AmsterdamA recent organ study trip to the Netherlands was definitely a visit to remember. The trip, which was made by several RCM staff and students, provided an opportunity to see and play some of the finest instruments in Europe. Masters student Jonathan Bunney tells us a little about what they got up to:

“The instrument in St Bavokerk in Haarlem was inspirational to listen to and stunning to look at; the organ music of Bach, Reubke and Rheinberger sounded incredible. We were fortunate to be tutored there by the great Jacques van Oortmerssen. Other visits included St Michaelskerk in Zwolle, where we met the composer Toon Hagen who demonstrated some of his minimalist compositions, which were highly effective on the organ. One of the main highlights was our visit to St Laurenskerk, Alkmaar where Pieter van Dijk demonstrated two stunning organs before we all got to play one of the most famous organs in the world. We even got to visit the Flentrop Organ factory with much for us to see and learn. Sint-Janskathedraal was another gem (where we heard Véronique van den Engh give a fantastic performance of some Reger).

Although our return was delayed by the volcanic ash cloud, we all certainly made the most of our extra time, enjoying the very best of what Amsterdam has to offer. This included visits to the local bars, where we encountered a group of stranded American pilots and a rather delightful Dutch folk group, allowing for a different kind of musical experience! We finally made it back to England’s green and pleasant lands by ferry - what a palaver!”

Many thanks to David Graham and Nick Prozzillo for organising a truly memorable trip.

Rhythm for Life The RCM has recently been awarded a major two-year grant by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation to pioneer new wellbeing initiatives for older adults. Rhythm for Life aims to enhance wellbeing among older adults in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, a borough that has one of the largest disparities of wealth in the UK and sizeable areas of deprivation.

Over the next two years, participants will be offered opportunities to learn and make music in individual and small-group lessons, delivered by RCM students. The first phase of the project is already up and running, with eight specially-trained students leading lessons for approximately 30 participants, aged from 50 to 86 years old. The second phase of the project will begin in September with a range of free creative music workshops.

The RCM’s Centre for Performance Science will be monitoring the effects on the participants’ health, wellbeing, and social engagement throughout the project.

As the project progresses, further information will be available at www.rcm.ac.uk/RhythmForLife

Piano Fever onlineOn 7 March, the RCM entered a brand new era when our piano day Poles Apart, celebrating the music of Chopin and other Polish composers, was broadcast live on the internet.

More than 1,200 people tuned into this experiment, which allowed RCM performers to be heard around the world. One visitor wrote. “Viewed and listened to the performances from Canada. Thoroughly enjoyed the program, since both of my parents came from Krakow. Look forward to next year’s theme and performances. Great Idea!”

Look out for more live broadcasts in coming months at www.rcm.ac.uk/live

The instrument in St Bavokerk

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The President’s VisitOn Tuesday 11 May, HRH The Prince of Wales made his annual visit to the College.

In his role as President of the RCM, His Royal Highness conferred Honorary Doctorates in Music (DMus) upon former RCM Director Michael Gough Matthews and German composer Hans Werner Henze, whose Sonatina 1947 was performed at the ceremony by RCM student Antoine Françoise.

Fellowship of the Royal College of Music (FRCM) was conferred upon eight outstanding musicians: horn player (and RCM Head of Brass) Nigel Black, clarinettist Michael Collins, pianist Gordon Fergus-Thompson, cellist Natalia Gutman, composer Helmut Lachenmann, pianist (and RCM Head of Keyboard) Vanessa Latarche, conductor and organist Wayne Marshall and conductor Wing-sie Yip.

Honorary Membership of the Royal College of Music (HonRCM) was presented to seven notable individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to music and to the RCM: Chair of the Soirée d’Or committee Stephanie Carr, dedicated philanthropist, Geoff Richards, RCM Student Services Manager Lynnette Easterbrook, solicitor and former RCM Council member John Hall, educator and composer Johannes Johansson (President of the Association of European Conservatoires), RCM Junior Department Performance Manager John Mitchell, and finally much loved teacher Joan Hale, who taught at the RCM Junior Department for some 54 years.

His Royal Highness also presented the Tagore Gold Medal to two students who graduated last year – violinist Dunya Lavrova and horn player Nicolas Fleury – and the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Rosebowl to pianist Konstantin Lapshin. These three came together to entertain a packed Britten Theatre with the finale from the Brahms Trio op 40 for violin, horn and piano.

After the ceremony, His Royal Highness was treated to a special performance by six harpists from the RCM Junior Department, and he met young children on the RCM Sparks Juniors scheme, our brand new programme that allows a wider range of children to access the RCM Junior Department’s inspirational learning experience.

And an extraordinary Postscript…The Prince’s visit occasioned an extraordinary moment in music history.

Arguments between Hans Werner Henze and Helmut Lachenmann, acclaimed as the two greatest living German composers, have been raging since an infamous occasion in 1978, when they engaged in a very public confrontation at the Stuttgart Hochschule. Since then, they have challenged each other in print on a number of occasions.

There was therefore some trepidation about their both appearing at the RCM together. However in an extraordinary and profoundly moving scene in the Britten Theatre foyer, the two composers finally embraced and put aside their differences. RCM Head of Composition Bill Mival, whose controversial idea it was to invite both composers to the RCM on the same day, commented:

“The acrimonious artistic dispute between Hans Werner Henze and Helmut Lachenmann has been a running sore for far too long. They are both heroes of mine

– towering musical personalities – each, in their very different musical voices, a true musical visionary for our age. Together they represent the energy, diversity, inventiveness and creativity of music today – both for me personally and for our students and young composers. It was a privilege for me to be able to bring them together here at the Royal College of Music and to witness perhaps the beginning of the healing of a too long open wound.”

Henze and Lachenmann

In the news...

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Celebrating the RCM community

Ben MacDougall

Ben MacDougall’s website describes him as “Flautist, composer, broadcaster”. He’s active in all three of these different fields…

What have you got coming up as a flautist? I’ve got a concert on 28 August as part of the Best of Eden Festival. It’s a “Music for a Summer’s Evening – Ben MacDougall and Friends” kind of malarkey, so flute and guitar, flute and voice, and so on. You could describe the repertoire as lightweight, but not frivolous – or tedious! It will be fun, but there will be some meat there. It won’t all be encore pieces, basically.

…and as a composer? It’s manic! In June and July I’m going to be in America to work with Lorin Maazel. I’m going with an orchestral version of piece I’ve written, which will be performed – I presume with Maazel conducting – and I think that is also going to be a starting point for new work. I’ve been asked to take some chamber pieces too. We’re still discussing the details of it.

You’re also working with Icelandic group the Elektra Ensemble? Well that’s slowed a bit since the volcano! But that’s an ongoing relationship where I’m writing pieces for them to play. The ensemble is Emilia Sigfursdottir, who was

a flute player at the RCM, and the rest of them are Icelandic. I’ve written a piece specially for them, which they’re learning at the moment. I went to Iceland a year or two ago and it was amazing – it really gave me a thrill. The landscape is barren but also so alive at the same time. I haven’t been over on a professional level yet as it’s a fledgling project, but the idea is that I will go over there soon.

And you’re also working on a choral project? Yes I’ve written a Kyrie for the Levens Choir, directed by Ian Jones, which they will be performing later in the year. I’m toying with the idea of writing the rest of the mass.

With all these projects, I’m sort of standing at the edge of the cliff. It’s all suddenly going to get incredibly busy! And next year I’m going to do the Composition for Screen course here at College, which is going to be amazing.

How does composing compare to performing? It’s a completely different mindset from performance, as you do all the work beforehand and you’re removed from the performance process, unless of course you’re playing your own piece – which I find quite hard, by the way, because everything’s about you! When you’re performing someone else’s piece, then you’re saying something about yourself through that music. But when you’re performing your own piece, it’s all about you in a rather daunting kind of way.

Does your performing career influence your composition? Yes, I think the composition comes out of the performance. My music is very tune-orientated, which I think comes from the flute. I’ll sit at a desk, writing, and I’ll compose with my flute in the same way that a ‘normal’ composer might use a piano, which I think does make my music melodically based. Now I’m learning more about orchestration and arrangement from Ken Hesketh here at College, so that I can compose from the ground up, as well as from the clouds down!

Do those relate to your broadcasting? How do your three musical lives combine? I think they’re wonderfully complementary, they’re completely seamless. I’ll start off by playing my flute. From that I might come up with an idea for a piece. From that, I’ll be thinking

things through, and writing them down, and from that might come an article, or a piece for radio. The composition comes out of my opinions and ideas about music in general, and vice versa.

Tell us about your radio show… Simply Classics is on BBC Radio Cumbria, every Sunday evening – no holidays at all! I’ve been doing it since October, and it’s great fun.

How do you decide what to play? Sometimes I just stick a whole load of stuff on my iPhone, I listen to it and if I think “oh that sounds good”, I’ll stick it on a playlist that syncs back to the computer. By the end of the week I’ll have six or seven pieces that I’ve randomly chosen, which could be old crackly classical recordings or the Transformers soundtrack.

Alternatively, shows can have themes. For example we might go on a tour around Europe, so start in Spain with Albéniz, work up to France, Italy, Germany and so on.

I have complete licence over what I’m playing. It’s got to be fundamentally classical, but, for example, Nigel Kennedy has just brought a CD called Shhh! with Boy George, and that is verging on the pop/jazz side of things, but it still counts! People can have this cold, removed idea of classical music, but it’s just not an isolated thing in itself, it’s a starting point from which lots of things have grown. The idea of the show is to show that classical music isn’t a heartless, old thing – it’s just as alive and organic as every other kind of music. I aim to show that, not through an in your face “classical music is cool – yeah!” kind of thing, because that would be the wrong way to do it. But just by treating music fairly, I think.

You have an excellent website. Is promoting yourself important?I think that self-promotion is important. It’s by no means the be all and end all, and it’s a very dangerous topic to talk about without appearing either vain or big-headed! But it’s a good thing to have a website in such a media-consuming world – and in the arts it’s especially important. We can practise as much as we want, but if nobody comes to our concerts, and no-one knows what we’re doing, then what’s the point?

www.benmacdougall.com

In addition to their studies, RCM students contribute to the wider world of music in all sorts of unusual ways. Read on to discover what just some of them are up to…

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Celebrating the RCM communityAlvaro Corral Matute

Delhi Music Society with Hannah Gill, a student from Guildhall who is now a trustee of the foundation, and we also did a concert in the Polish Embassy in Delhi to open the Chopin Bicentenary.

What age people were you working with? Anything really, from the age of six to mature students. We had a wide range of people, and the point of the collective lessons – which I think were the most important things we did – was not only for the students to be taught a specific piece, but for everyone else to see what they can learn from that.

Some teachers came to the masterclasses as students, which I thought was very nice of them. Whatever problem we saw in the students, we would inform the teacher in order for him to correct it, not only for the student to be corrected, but for the teacher to have a different perspective.

What kind of issues did you come across? We tackled certain problems that had arisen not because the teachers were not able enough, but because the teachers hadn’t actually had good training behind them.

One issue was that students do the same three exam pieces, from standardised syllabi like Trinity Guildhall and ABRSM, and teachers won’t dare do anything else. So we tackled the fact that students need to do other things outside their exams.

I also gave theory lessons, as they had very little stylistic awareness. For example, there was a teacher who played some Bach, and since there were no indications written on the score he actually played it like that. Of course you had to tell him that the lack of indications is simply a historic fact, but you have the responsibility to choose the indications yourself.

Generally speaking, I would say in India they have tried to apply to classical western music the same method of teaching that they apply to classical Indian music, which is the teacher plays, the student repeats, and so on. With western classical music, the score is much more important than what your

teacher does, and being able to read confidently is more important than observing how your teacher moves their fingers on the keys. This can be very useful, but you can’t learn, say, Chopin’s Fourth Ballade by listening and imitating! I think that would actually be the most important issue that we tried to improve.

What was the response? The response we got from students, parents and teachers was very good, very enthusiastic. We felt quite sort of embarrassedly praised! Most teachers seemed very happy with what we had done, so much so that in fact this year the scheme is expanding to more cities.

How was the cultural experience for you? Culturally it was a very different experience, very enriching. Three of us were living in a flat rather than a hotel, which was very nice, but there were things that were quite hard to see. We had to commute to our schools in a cab or a rickshaw because Gurgaon has no public transport system. You would pass through the slum quarters, and particularly during the first days I was quite shocked, because that was a reality I had never come to terms with so closely before.

Has this experience benefited you? Absolutely, I did learn a lot from teaching. You have to start thinking in very different terms; you have to take what, to a conservatoire student, has become second nature after so many years, and you have to turn it into words that a 10 year old can understand. The sort of process that you go through to tidy your thoughts in order to teach is also useful to tidy your thoughts in order to practice. You become your own teacher, and that is really useful from the point of view of musicianship.

To find out more visit www.wamfoundation.org.uk

In July 2009, pianist Alvaro Corral Matute headed to India to take part in a groundbreaking teaching project…

How did you get involved in the project? Back in December 2008 Vanessa Latarche sent round an email from the Worldwide Appreciation of Music Foundation about a pilot scheme for students teaching in India. From those that applied they chose seven of us. I went to Gurgaon – an industrial suburb about 15 miles outside Delhi – for two months, from 1 July to 1 September.

Were you given any preparation? Yes, we did have a training week, which was lots of fun! Nadia Lasserson taught us, and we did a lot of improvisation and multi-hand games. We also had a talk about the musical issues that we were likely to encounter, and health talks and logistical information about actually living in the country.

What did you do? I took classes on a one-to-one basis, and I also held a series of piano workshops and masterclasses, both at the Delhi Music Society and the Gurgaon School of Music. Not that I deserved to be named as the leader of a masterclass! But essentially, I was teaching somebody while everybody else was listening.

Apart from that we also gave concerts. I played a couple of concerts in the

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James Maltby and Will Kunhardt

Clarinettist James Maltby and violinist Will Kunhardt co-founded the CLIC Sargent Symphony Orchestra in July last year. The orchestra raises funds for CLIC Sargent, the UK’s leading children’s cancer charity.

So how did the orchestra come about? J: One of my friends was diagnosed with leukaemia, and I used to visit her in hospital and got to see the amazing work that CLIC Sargent were doing. I wanted to help in some way and my initial thought was to donate bone marrow, which I will do at some point, but in the end I thought why not use music, given that it’s my biggest strength? I was living opposite Will in halls at the time, and we initially planned to organise a single concert, but the plans grew and we’ve now performed three concerts, played in front of audiences of over 800, and raised thousands of pounds for the charity.

Running the orchestra is a huge undertaking… W: It’s a joint venture, and we share everything depending on our strengths and other commitments. We both have College careers that aren’t connected specifically to managing an orchestra, so it’s usually just a case of working out who can take on what around those.

J: We basically manage everything between the two of us – from booking the players to spending hours putting leaflets through doors. We’re doing some outreach work in schools at the moment to try and get some schoolkids involved in our next concert. It can often mean long days trying to fit everything in.

The orchestra is largely made up on RCM students – how did you persuade them to get involved? W: We’re proud that every English music college has been represented in the orchestra, but the bulk of our players do come from the RCM and everyone has given their time freely for the charity which is really quite amazing. We’ve even had quite a few RCM alumni, including several with professional orchestral careers, who have still made the time to come and work with us.

J: Initially we began by recruiting our friends and just about managed to pull together a 70-strong orchestra, but after our first concert players were contacting us to say that they’d love to be involved.

W: We’ve spent a lot of time making it a good and enjoyable place to play, and have even secured sponsorship from a catering company to provide everyone with free food. I also think that players find it gives them a certain amount of freedom – the CLIC Orchestra gives us and them an opportunity to be more experimental.

How do you cover all the costs? J: Every gig is a real battle. We raise a bit of capital from each concert to help with the costs of the next one, and we’ve negotiated special rates with some suppliers, but it is tough and it’s generally what we worry about the most. We think we have a very strong message – young people working for a young people’s charity – and we are always looking for sponsors who are willing to help us with what we are doing.

How much involvement do CLIC Sargent have? J: It was quite hard when we initially approached them, but we invited them to the first concert and they were blown away. Since then they’ve helped us secure Sir James Galway and Julian Lloyd Webber as patrons, and they occasionally help us with printing, or by giving pre-concert talks.

W: It’s such a large charity that the relationship has been something we had to earn, and that will continue to grow in the future. Music is a strong part of what they do and there are ongoing talks about how we can be a part of some of their other activities, and about how their other musical patrons might get involved with some of our concerts.

J: We’re now an official fundraising group for CLIC Sargent and we’re the first independent group to achieve that, which I think demonstrates how seriously they now view us.

How much have you raised so far? W: Between £500 and £2000 from each concert depending on the scale of each one. We’re still very new though so some of the income gets swallowed up on investments for the orchestra. We’ve managed to launch a new website and start a newsletter in the last couple of months, but we’d still like to be able to buy our own stands so that we can take that cost out of future gigs for example. Sponsorship is really important – The Rotary Club last night agreed to pay our venue fees for two concerts – and without it costs often have to come from either the concert income or from us.

J: Will personally funded the rehearsal venues for the second concert himself for example…

W: I was eating beans on toast for most of March!

What has the experience given you personally? W: Immense satisfaction. It’s been quite life-changing for me as I’ve always wanted to be a conductor, and a lot of people have to wait a long time for their first opportunity, and I’m now getting those opportunities through the orchestra. It’s given me valuable experience and has really given me a chance to start building my career.

J: I guess for me it just puts everything in perspective. It’s very easy to have tunnel vision on say, a technical exam for example, and it’s good to be able to see the bigger picture. It’s definitely improved me as a musician, more so than years of private practice and I’m humbled to be supporting such a worthy cause.

www.clicsargentsymphony.com

Will Kunhardt conducting the orchestra

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Celebrating the RCM communityBryan Kelly

Bryan Kelly, a fourth year undergraduate studying piano with Andrew Ball, was inspired by a festival last summer to create his own rather unusual, and increasingly successful, trio.

So what happened at this festival? It is a contemporary music festival in Pavia, Italy, called SoundSCAPE. It focuses on the collaboration between performers and composers and gives world premières of new works by participating composers. I have always been interested in new music and I was given the score of a work for violin, guitar and piano by a participating composer that really took my attention. Along with a guitarist from Manchester and violinist from Baltimore, USA, whom I met at the festival, I’ve been exploring this instrumentation over the past six months to assemble repertoire for concert programmes.

We are preparing for a short UK tour in June and July, for this instrumentation. We’re currently fundraising and so far we’ve raised nearly £2000 and secured three confirmed concert dates, including one at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester.

Isn’t this rather an unusual combination of instruments? Maybe, but it works really well. It offers three different approaches to writing for stringed instruments – bowed, plucked and struck – opening up a range of intriguing timbres and textural possibilities.

Where is your career heading? When I finish my studies at the RCM this summer, I plan to go back to my native Canada for master’s study at McGill University, a music college in Canada well known for contemporary music. Promoting Canadian music is something I am keen to do, and this will be strengthened by my European training and my time in London, both of which have been culturally and artistically enriching. Canadian music is too little known in Europe. There is a great range of styles and I look forward to digging into the repertoire, including concertos, in readiness for both solo and chamber music performances. In my final recital here at the RCM I included a substantial work by Canadian Alexina Louie, Scenes from a Jade Terrace, which worked very well.

I see this trio project as a stepping stone into a career of which contemporary music plays an important role. It gives the three of us experience organising a concert tour, managing logistics, raising funds, making repertoire choices, rehearsing under tight timelines and in self-promotion – all important skills in transitioning from college life to career. We’ve even engaged a composer in a commission to write for our trio.

Does new music feature in your plans?Definitely. My experience at SoundSCAPE had me working alongside composers as part of the creative process. Collaborating with composers - being part of the unfolding evolution of a work - is fascinating, and has deepened my understanding of the process of composing. In turn, I believe it can be enlightening and helpful to composers to have instrumentalists involved alongside them. I see it as an opportunity for me to put my stamp on the development of music in the 21st century.

How will you remember your time in London? Lots of ways. Great lessons, lots of performance opportunities and, with the trio and our forthcoming tour, the chance to experience all aspects of creating a project. I’ve had the chance to gain valuable performance experience both within and outside the College that I wouldn’t have had access to otherwise.

You are quite an entrepreneur...That may have something to do with my business background. I completed a degree in business and mathematics and by the time I started at the RCM had nearly five years of experience working as an accountant. Although I continued to work part-time while at the College, I was lucky to have a manager who appreciated the time I needed to practise and study. Had I started at the RCM when I was 18, I may not have been ready to get the most out of it. Those extra years gave me time to develop and refine my focus and commitment.

Advice for other pianists? Think ahead to life beyond College and how you can be flexible with your talent. I seized the piano-violin-guitar trio as a way to branch out into something different and am building on to that in a way that is increasing my network of contacts and stimulating me as an artist. Also, standard piano repertoire is so massive that it’s easy to overlook new music. That’s a pity, since one of its most interesting aspects is that it has no weight of history behind it – it’s more open, and full of possibilities.

More information about the SoundSCAPE music festival can be found at www.soundscapefestival.org

Pavia, Italy

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Chris Green

Chris Green is in his second year of a Masters in Composition. He set up his own composition and sound design company, Blurred Edge, three years ago.

Tell us about Blurred Edge… I set the company up three years ago after graduating from my undergrad course. It was initially set up as a sound design company as a way of generating funds for my time at the RCM. I soon realised I definitely wanted to make composition more than a sideline hobby, and began to take on small bits of composition work before eventually joining the RCM to study it properly. At the end of my first year here we were visited by someone from the BBC who seemed impressed with my work, and put me in touch with some of her industry contacts. That’s when I really started to get work coming in.

How do you go about getting commissions? Do you pitch for work or do clients approach you directly? When it comes to adverts it usually all comes through an agency – they put you forward for jobs and you have to pitch to the clients for the work. They set very tight deadlines though, and you normally have about two sleepless days in which to write the music!

As far as film and TV goes, it’s a case of getting lucky. You might get an opportunity to work on something which is very rushed, but then you build up a rapport with someone and it leads to other work. I recently just finished a computer game project for a new client which involved composing 12 minutes of music in three days. I got no sleep, but hopefully it will lead to other things with better timescales!

What has been your most challenging commission to date? I suppose the biggest creative challenge was for a series of National Geographic documentaries, all paid for by a Sultan in Saudi Arabia. They’d already made the documentaries for a Saudi audience and had used very traditional music, but they wanted it rewritten for an American audience. It had to combine both an Arabic flavour and a western feel, and that was very difficult having never written music of that type before. After a bit of research we came up with three or four demos, but they all seemed a bit cheesy, so we began to experiment with using traditional instruments and combining them with more western melodies and harmonies, which was much more successful.

Is there a commission you particularly enjoyed? Every commission or project has its own interests. I guess because I’m still starting out I haven’t been typecast yet, and a lot of the fun actually comes from facing something different each time.

Do you have a dream job or client? The way the industry seems to work at the moment is that you don’t get much time in an actual recording studio – you might record the odd solo instrument to make things sound more live – but I’d love to get a budget that allowed me to take a piece I’d created on a computer and give it to an orchestrator to record live in a studio. Anything with a budget that big would be great!

How do you juggle your studies and your commercial work? There is definitely a conflict of interest sometimes. At the moment for example I’m working on my dissertation, so I’m hoping that perfect job doesn’t come in because I’d probably have to turn it down! My principal studies teacher has been very flexible about the type of work I put into my portfolio though, as I was worried they wouldn’t be keen on commercial idents and music for advertising. Lots of RCM composition alumni go on to compose Hollywood scores, but short idents and electronic music is a much less common route to take, so it’s great that they are being so supportive.

What has the experience of running your own company given you?I feel that it has given me a good view of the industry, which is really important. The way academic life works

is that you are given the time to excel and look at your music in a very detailed way. You can spend a lot of time on one single musical cue until every smallest nuance is just the way you want. In the professional world you get given very short deadlines and have to create the same quality of work in a much quicker time and to a client’s requirements. I find this really makes you stand back from your work, see it as a whole and how it integrates with the full creative project. I think if you want to make a living out of music you need the ability to see music as a job as well as something you love!

Examples of Chris’ work can be found at www.blurrededge.co.uk

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Celebrating the RCM communityAnnabel Mountford

Soprano Annabel Mountford is in her second year of a Masters in Vocal Performance. For the past seven months she has been performing the role of Musetta in an Opera UpClose production of Puccini’s La Bohème at the Cock Tavern Theatre, Kilburn.

Tell us a little about the production… Opera UpClose is a new opera company based at the Cock Tavern Theatre, Kilburn. The theatre’s Artistic Director, Adam Spreadbury-Maher, trained as an opera singer in Australia before becoming an opera director. He wanted to break down the barriers between opera and the general public, to put opera on in people’s normal surroundings in English, so they can relax and enjoy it.

Acts 1, 3 and 4 of La Bohème take place in the 80 seat theatre above the pub. However, in the cafe scene in Act 2 the action moves downstairs into the pub itself. I made my entrance with Alindoro from the street. The chorus was spread amongst the pub’s patrons and at the appropriate moment sprang into song.

Our director, Robin Norton-Hale, wrote the English translation, which has massively helped the production on its road to success. The libretto is often updated to reflect current events including references to Jedward and, when I performed Musetta last week, a reference to the election: “I’m rushing off to the palace....I am the new Prime Minister”

Laura Ritchie

Laura Ritchie is in her second year of a DMus in Psychology of Music at the RCM. She is also a member of indie band The Mummers.

Tell us a little about The Mummers… The Mummers have been together for a couple of years now. The group formed when Raissa Khan-Panni, who is really at the heart of it, and Paul Sandrone, the guitarist, took the skeleton of a song to Mark Horwood to orchestrate. He asked me to play some cello and a couple of other people played as well. The group grew from there as new songs were written and instruments were added. Thus the name ‘The Mummers’, meaning a group of medieval door-to-door actors who put on plays, often singing and in mime, became appropriate.

The Mummers line-up has been described by The Guardian as ‘a shifting, fluctuating, raggle-taggle bunch of musician friends’ – how does this work and what challenges/benefits does it present?There are always challenges with a large group - we are nine regular musicians who all come together in Brighton to rehearse. The music is very orchestral, and it is difficult to capture this with a slimmed down group. The dream would

be to have a full orchestra to play with, and hopefully that will happen. 

Much of the music seems to be inspired by fairy tales – is it true that you used to rehearse in a tree house?The studio where the album was recorded is called Tree House and was built one storey up in the midst of huge pine trees, so yes! 

You performed on the Jools Holland Show last year – what was that like? It was thrilling and daunting at the same time. It was fantastic to be playing on the same show as such well established artists as Carole King, The Specials, and Franz Ferdinand. We were told to be ready to play at any time as the order of performances might be decided on the spot. 

Do your studies and your involvement with The Mummers inform one another, and how do you balance the two?They certainly do. My research is focused on self-efficacy - a person’s self-belief in his ability to do something - and my specific areas are learning and performing music. Much of my research has been with students, but The Mummers have helped me to see what happens at the other end of the spectrum, in professional performances. The approach to learning and performing popular music has become the basis for a research project planned for September involving students at the RCM, the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, and the University of Chichester.  As for balance, I am hungry to learn and work hard... It goes back to the topic of my thesis: if you believe you can, then you most likely will. 

What has being a member of The Mummers given you? Confidence and freedom of expression - musically and physically - within my playing, and a great deal of happiness! 

The Mummers

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The production is a fairly unconventional one – what tempted you to get involved? Through the RCM, I had worked with Robin Norton-Hale at English Touring Opera in their production of Ariodante, as part of ETO’s Handelfest 2009. She phoned me up and asked me to audition for the role of Musetta. The opportunity to perform La Bohème was very exciting. For a young cast to have the chance to perform these roles is very rare, and to be able to explore a role by performing it more than 20 times is unheard of in conventional opera houses.

For me, the idea of setting La Bohème in a pub was a wonderful idea, merely for Act 2 purposes.

How did performing in a pub theatre compare to more conventional settings? Opera UpClose really does live up to its name. Obviously being in such a small space means there is a limited set, however, nowhere else will you find an atmosphere like that at the Cock Tavern. Anything can happen in this type of theatre, from locals getting into a fight, joining the cast on the stage, some ‘interesting’ heckling, and singing that strives hard to compete in volume with the cast. I am happy to say that the locals lost! The incredible thing is that the singers and the pub patrons blend into the sound of a noisy tavern. The wonderful honky-tonk piano in the corner and chorus members hidden in and amongst the audience added to the overall effect.

Do you think the venue and translation helped attract a different type of audience? Absolutely, I think that the fact that the opera is presented in a witty, up-to-date English translation increases its impact. People in the audience were in tears by the end. At the Cock Tavern Theatre we are giving the general public a cheap and easily-accessible insight into opera. I think many people are scared of approaching places like the Royal Opera House or even English National Opera, and the price of a ticket is a barrier to most people even trying it out. Many of the locals who happened to be in the pub during Act 2 enjoyed it so much that they bought tickets for the whole show.

What have you learnt from your involvement in the production? When we started rehearsing La Bohème roughly seven months ago, none of us would ever have imagined the success that the production has had. We didn’t do it for the money – it was a chance to perform roles that we normally wouldn’t have the chance to perform for many years to come. I honestly believe part of its success comes from our dedication and love for what we do, and the opportunity to share it with new audiences. I have learnt so much, from having the courage to perform in front of an unpredictable audience to gaining the stamina to perform over 20 performances as Musetta.

La Bohème is transferring to the Soho Theatre in the West End from 27 July to 4 September 2010.

Andrew Terrafranca

Andrew Terrafranca, 13, is a pupil at Willington School, Wimbledon, and a student of trumpet and voice in the RCM Junior Department. He recently starred in a school production of new children’s opera Azincourt and will be taking the performance to the Edinburgh Fringe this summer.

Tell us a little about the production… The play is based on a true story of the boys who went to battle at Agincourt with Henry V, to look after his luggage, to sing Mass and to help his Knights. It was written by Jeremy James Taylor OBE, from the National Youth Music Theatre. I get to play one of the older Pages, who is a great archer.

How did you get involved? I‘d been in his production of Solomon Pavey at Willington School two years ago, so when Mr Taylor wrote this new play, I really wanted to be in it, because he is such a fantastic director. I was really happy to get a good part, because otherwise you sit around a lot during rehearsals. I study voice with Ms. Maguire at JD, and she has helped me a lot with my solo performance skills, and I think that’s why I got the part I did.

What was first night like? Well, it was pretty worrying, because my voice was changing, and just before the opening night, the Music Director re-wrote my solos to make them easier for me to sing. I wasn’t 100% sure I could remember it all!

You’ll be taking the performance to the Edinburgh Fringe this summer – are you excited? I’ve never been there before, but it sounds amazing. I hope we have time to see other shows too, because there are loads of new types of performances that we can’t see in London.

You’ll be competing with lots of other shows and performers – what would you say to try and tempt people to see your show instead of something else? Well, firstly I don’t think there are other shows with only kids performing. And Azincourt is based on one of the greatest victories in history. I should warn you, the battle scenes are realistic and it has a rather shocking ending that made some girls cry…

What do you think you’ve taken from the experience? Well I used to think I wasn’t very good on stage, but this time I really enjoyed performing, and now I think singing and acting is maybe even a career for me some day! For sure my experiences performing at RCMJD have built up my confidence and technique for preparing for a performance like this.

Azincourt will be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe from 15-20 August at the Edinburgh Academy.

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Celebrating the RCM communityFrances Slack How did you get involved?

When MusicFirst@Highbury Grove began couple of years ago, Hayley Clements, the Learning & Participation Manager in the Woodhouse Centre, was involved in putting the school in contact with many of the instrumental tutors. Some of these original RCM students still teach at the school today, and others, myself included, have joined the project since.

What’s special about the project? Those who choose to participate receive, completely free of charge, a weekly instrumental lesson, improvisation and theory classes, sectional and full orchestra rehearsals and choir. The orchestra is at the heart of each academy, encouraging respect, co-operation and team-building. Each pupil gets to hear and experience all of the orchestral instruments in the first few weeks of Year 7, and they then make their choices which are carefully balanced to provide an orchestra in each year group.

Many of the pupils have never seen or heard the majority of the instruments before, and even simple items we take for granted can cause much excitement- ‘really cool’ is how I once had a music stand described to me! Imagine the reaction double basses, trombones and oboes receive!

Throughout the year, the pupils work towards ABRSM Exams and Music Medals, as well as giving regular performances. In February, a concert in the Union Chapel involved well over 200 students, from all branches of MusicFirst, and was featured on BBC London News. Most recently, MusicFirst@Highbury Grove gave their annual concert in the school, showcasing their work from throughout the year: featuring Crash Bang Wallop, Batman and Samba Groove to the Grieg Piano Concerto and Charpentier’s Te Deum, the students are exposed to an extremely eclectic and varied musical repertoire.

Why do you find this work so rewarding? It’s about making a difference and from this respect the project is hugely rewarding to be involved with. The school is in a diverse borough, an area full of contrasts. It has a very dynamic Head, Truda White and Director of Music, Marianna Hay, who are very supportive of all the pupils. As a result, great progress has been made by the school in recent years and Highbury Grove is

now doing well. Some of the pupils come from challenging backgrounds and a number have Special Educational Needs. Also, because the neighbourhood is so varied, many pupils journey to school through multi-million pound properties, while they themselves are growing up in areas of comparative deprivation. MusicFirst’s aims are aligned with those of the Sistema Scotland Big Noise and Lambeth In Harmony projects, both of which work with primary age children. MusicFirst@Highbury Grove is unique in that it is a secondary age project which brings with it a whole range of different challenges.

Has your experience at Highbury Grove influenced your future career goals? Absolutely. It is fantastic to see the progression from a group of disaffected pupils struggling to concentrate, to an orchestra which is alert and focused on the conductor’s beat. It brings huge satisfaction. At heart, many of the pupils are petrified of failure, so music helps to build their sense of confidence and self-worth. It’s as though the specialist ‘schools’ at Highbury Grove, including the music project, give pupils a place to belong. Teachers throughout the school have commented that they have seen results they never imagined possible. I shall certainly want to continue this sort of work alongside everything else that I do in music.

For more information visitwww.musicfirst.org

Marianna Hay, Director of Music at MusicFirst says of the project:“What excites me most is seeing some of the most challenging young people we work with grow in confidence and self-esteem through their instru-ment and doing things they never thought they could. I love seeing the look of delighted surprise on their face as they play the perfect B flat for the first time or stand up in front of an audience to perform their first solo. The effect it has throughout the whole school is evident - music is now the ‘cool’ thing to be doing.”

Frances Slack, in her second year of Master’s study as an oboist, is involved with a groundbreaking music project in a North London school.

Which school and what’s the project? The school is Highbury Grove in Islington; on entry to the school, all pupils in Year 7 select a ‘specialist school’ to attend – music, sports, catering and science are just some of the choices available. Those who choose music become part of MusicFirst@Highbury Grove, a scheme which runs through years 7, 8 and 9. MusicFirst is inspired by El Sistema, the music education scheme in Venezuela which aims to allow all young people to have instrumental tuition and participate in performances. Like El Sistema, MusicFirst aims to provide new skills and opportunities, increase self-esteem, build confidence and ultimately transform communities. MusicFirst involves hundreds of children in Highbury & Islington, and has three main elements: MusicFirst@Islington- an afternoon project including string group, jazz band and choirs. MusicFirst@Highbury Quadrant- large group instrumental and choir tuition in primary schools and MusicFirst@Highbury Grove- the part of the scheme with which I am involved as an oboe tutor.

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The Mercury QuartetVlad Maistorovici (violin), Harry Cameron-Penny (clarinet), Corentin Chassard (cello) and Antoine Françoise (piano) formed the Mercury Quartet at the RCM. In 2008 they won a major competition to discover new talent run by the Non-Classical record label, and will release their debut album of improvisations in September.

So you’re heading to the Dartington Summer School? HCP: We’ve been contracted by Dartington to visit as professors. We’ll be teaching a student ensemble to play Pierrot Lunaire, and performing the piece ourselves with Linda Hirst. And it’s set repertoire for the conducting students, so we’ll be rehearsing with them too. We’re also working closely with Julian Anderson, whose composition class students will be writing pieces for us. We’ll be playing a couple of his pieces, and Messiaen, and we’ll probably do a late night improvisation concert as well. So it’s going to be a busy week!

You’ve worked a lot with composers…HCP: We take every opportunity to work with up and coming composers.

AF: I feel that when we do this, everybody gains something. Sometimes we can be an inspiration to composers, and composers inspire us too. I can’t wait for Dartington, working with composers for a whole week.

How do you balance these written pieces with your improvisations? HCP: It used to be the case that we kept our improvisations very much separate from our performances of notated works. But we tend to incorporate them now into one concert programme, and we find that works very well. For example, we did a concert in Oxford when we played some Thomas Adès, then we did some free improv, and then we played Pierrot. I was surprised by the number of people who gave very positive feedback on the improv, including people you might not expect to like that sort of thing.

AF: People can be very moved. I think it’s because it’s just us. There’s no score, there’s no composer in between us and the audience – it’s direct communication.

How do you go about improvising? Do you have a starting point? Rules?HCP: When we’ve tried to have a starting point for an improvisation, it always ends in an argument! So if someone says, “we should start with a big noise”, someone else will say “No, that’s a bad idea!” As we’ve played more and more we’ve honed our improvisational skills to make it more interesting.

AF: Vlad has invented a term for what we do – he calls it “live composition” rather than “improvisation”. And I really like the term, because we know and react to each other so well that it’s almost like we’re writing pieces.

How did you make your CD recording? HCP: At the beginning it was quite hard to sit down without an audience, in a very dry studio, and try to create these soundworlds and atmospheres. It took us a while to really settle down and play.

AF: Once we had a few tracks we listened back to them and said “Now what’s missing?”, and tried to do something contrasting, to be sure that at the end we’d have enough material in different characters that we could play around with.

What kind of venues do you perform in? AF: We’ve been playing in bars through Non-Classical – they have this residency in pubs around Shoreditch. Playing in these different places is brilliant.

HCP: We’ve just applied for funding for a big concert series in a variety of venues – churches, art galleries, pubs – there are lots of excellent places in London.

How do pub audiences react to complex notated music? AF: Very well! We played a piece by Mark Simpson in this bar, and I remember I was introducing the next piece and this guy interrupted me and bawled out “WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE COMPOSER BEFORE?” And I said “Mark Simpson”, and he yelled back: “VERY GOOD!” Instant feedback!

HCP: What I like about the improv scene is that it attracts all different kinds of people who aren’t classical musicians or artists, they’re just interested in expanding their minds – or just going to a pub and looking alternative!

Would you encourage other classical musicians to improvise? AF: If people feel like doing improvisation, they should just do it, and the more they do it, the more they’ll understand, and the more they’ll get the feel for it. But if someone’s not ready for it then they should not force themselves.

Some of the kids I teach sometimes, aged 7 or 8, they say “I haven’t done my homework”, and I say “well, let’s do some improvisation”. I try to train their ear, and not teach them improvisation, but teach them that there’s nothing wrong. A scale is good, but a big cluster can be a good thing as well, if it’s well played! I teach them that anything, any sound, can be good, if it’s well used.

For more information visitwww.mercuryquartet.com

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Meeting the supporters...

What are the benefits for a business of working with the RCM?Well, I think the relationship with the College is very much about networking, and being part of the wider community. We’re very keen to help young people – we also sponsored the National Youth Theatre for 10 years – and it’s great to see people you’ve been involved with at an early stage go on to achieve great careers. When you see talent such as you’ve got at the RCM it’s great, and the more people we can tell about it, the better.

What about your own music background?I grew up in Lancashire and my sister was a graduate of the Royal Manchester College of Music. She is nine years older than me and at the time we both played piano. One day she came home with a young clarinettist – none other than RCM Professor Janet Hilton! – and on hearing her play I decided to switch to the clarinet. I have to say that I no longer continue my studies with the piano or clarinet, but I am still very passionate about music.

Earlier in my career I worked as a management trainee at the Savoy, which due to its location is very popular with musicians. I remember once Arthur Rubinstein came to stay, and Steinway were due to deliver a piano to his suite. Unfortunately we also had another Rubinstein staying in a very small single room, and Steinway accidentally installed the piano in there instead! The hotel was fully booked that night, but luckily the

occupants were happy for the piano to remain as long as they could listen to Rubinstein practise!

What are your own musical tastes?Well it’s very hard to say. I heard Chloë Hanslip play last night with the RPO, and that was fantastic. I like all the classical ballets – Prokofiev, Rachmaninov – and piano music is very much in my blood.

I also love all the work John Wilson has done with restoring MGM musicals; and I saw last night that he’s going to be performing Singing in the Rain with the Philharmonia Orchestra in November. When you’ve been involved through the RCM with a young musician like John, who is of course now a great friend and who I’ve watched grow over the years, and you see the calibre of the orchestra he has managed to pull together, and you see them performing that type of music in huge concert halls, you realise it’s great for music, it’s great for diversity.

Graham Bamford is General Manager of the Royal Garden Hotel. Both he and the hotel support RCM musicians in a variety of ways, as he explains…

Tell us a bit about your involvement with the Royal College of Music…Well, the Royal Garden Hotel reopened to the public in 1996 and we were approached by the College at that time to see if we could work together. The hotel is very supportive of music in general and we reached a solution quite quickly – the hotel would provide around 35 rooms a year for visiting conductors who are performing at the College – the next conductor to stay is Sir Roger Norrington – and reciprocally we would be able to hold receptions in the Donaldson Room, prior to RCM concerts.

The life of the hotel is very much about relationships – with long-term customers, suppliers, local councillors, Kensington Palace and so on – and through the receptions we’ve hopefully been able to introduce a lot of people to the College, many of whom have gone on to become Friends of the RCM.

What about your friendship with John Wilson?I came across John Wilson just as he was leaving College. At that point he had an orchestra of 16 players, and when I heard it I decided I had to have them here at the hotel. So I spoke to John, and once a month for about eight years he came here to perform during our Manhattan Nights. I think for John it was chance to rehearse and fine tune the orchestra, and it was great fun.

Is that how the relationship with the RCM Big Band came about?When we reached our 40th anniversary three years ago, we wanted to do something extra special. It was decided that we’d host a light orchestral concert at the hotel, and it would be nice if John Wilson could conduct it. It was a fabulous evening, very lavish, and it gave the musicians a different acoustic in which to play. Then the following year, the RCM Big Band performed in the Palace Suite at the hotel. It was very well received, and we repeated the arrangement again last year. Now the challenge is – what do we do to top that?!

Graham Bamford, Royal Garden Hotel

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RCM Opera CircleThe RCM’s International Opera School has acquired worldwide renown for excellence and has an outstanding record of launching its graduates onto national and international stages. Former students include Sir Thomas Allen, Gerald Finley, Janis Kelly and Jonathan Lemalu, all of whom have singled out the outstanding quality of the teaching and care they received at the College. One of the priorities for the Royal College of Music is to ensure that our Opera School maintains and builds on this reputation for excellence by continuing to attract the very best students from around the world.

Join the new RCM Opera Circle to

• support the RCM International Opera School and its award-winning students

• enjoy a rewarding relationship and learn how each individual singer is nurtured

We are inviting opera-lovers to join as Patrons for a minimum donation of £5,000. For a minimum donation of £10,000 we would be delighted to create an opera scholarship in the name of your choosing.

Founder Patrons: Anonymous • Philip & Christine Carne • Matthew & Fiona Collins Vernon & Hazel Ellis • Gisela Gledhill • Linda & Tony Hill • Clare & James Kirkman

Richard & Sue Price • Sir Peter and Lady Middleton • Richard & Victoria Sharp

For further information, please contact Sophie Hussey, Major Gifts Manager on 020 7591 4353 or shussey@rcm.ac.uk

vvv

With thanks to...We would like to express our gratitude for recent donations from the following:

H R Taylor TrustMs Megan BeynonMr Anthony BoltonMr Geoffrey RichardsMr Roland RuddWorshipful Company of MusiciansMr Thom NapperThe Drapers’ CompanyDr Michael WestMrs Rosemary MillarAckroyd TrustWorshipful Company of FishmongersThe David Laing Foundation

The Wyseliot Charitable TrustThe Wall TrustCentenary Group LtdMr and Mrs Hamish RitchieRobert Mayer Trust for Youth and MusicMr David RossSir Edward Lewis FoundationSouth Square TrustThe Ann Driver TrustMr Rodolphe Olard and Dr Susan SinclairChapman Charitable TrustMr Rui de SousaMr Mark SlaughterMs Janna Spark Family and friends of Ronald Reah Mr Dudley Winterbottom

Mrs Nissho AstridgeMr Alec BowersDr Valerie DiasMr John DrysdaleMr Paul FrancisMrs Barbara Ilias

Mr Gerard McDermottMs Remi Omotesho-JohnsonMr Roland SaamMiss Sarah ThurlowMrs Marie-Louise Warner

Founding members of the Patrons’ CircleMr and Mrs David AndrewsMrs Jane BarkerMrs Halina BennettMr John ChengMr and Mrs David Lewis

Welcome to new FriendsWe are delighted to welcome the following people who have joined the RCM Friends recently:

Generations of gifted students from around the world have been guided and inspired to develop their musical potential within the Royal College of Music’s stimulating creative environment. In order to sustain the provision of the highest levels of training and performance opportunities to our students - whatever their financial means - we rely heavily on the support of individuals, companies and charitable trusts. There are many ways you can get involved and support our work. Every gift to the RCM helps to transform the lives of talented young musicians, and all supporters are invited to see at first hand what a difference their support makes. Please join us.For more information, visit www.rcm.ac.uk/Support+Us or call 020 7591 4320.

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Student notesSinging sensations…Mezzo-soprano Rosie Aldridge will be starring in Richard Jones’ Macbeth at Glyndebourne this season, and has also been selected for the Jerwood Trust Chorus Scheme for promising young artists… Ross McInroy (bass), Jimmy Holliday (bass) and Tyler Clarke (tenor) have all been awarded places at the National Opera Studio. This intensive one-year course is offered to a limited number of young and exceptionally talented singers and repetiteurs and helps bridge the gap between music college and the main UK opera companies… Soprano Sarah-Jane Brandon won Second Prize at the prestigious Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition in Dublin, as well as the Joan Sutherland Award for most promising newcomer. Sarah-Jane also reached the final of the Operalia Singing Competition, which was held at La Scala and conducted by Placido Domingo… Countertenor Christopher Lowrey won Second Prize in the Handel Singing Competition… Soprano Robyn Parton won the intercollegiate Joaninha Trust Award, scooping a prize of £5,000… Mezzo-soprano Emilie Alford won a Miriam Licette Scholarship of £1,500 in auditions held at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden… Andrew Boushell (tenor) and Peter Brathwaite (baritone) have both been awarded places at the Flemish Opera Studio in Ghent…Soprano Joohyun Lee has been awarded the Prix d’Honneur à l’Unanimité at the Bellan International Singing Competition in Paris.

Keyboard accomplishments…Jonathan Hope has been appointed Organ Scholar at Southwark Cathedral, London, where he will be working with Director of Music Peter Wright and Assistant Organist and RCM alumnus, Stephen Disley... Alexey Chernov took First Prize at the 13 Concours International de Musique, Jean Françaix in Vanves, France, winning a cash prize and a recording contract. Alexey was also awarded Second Prize in the first Sussex International Piano Competition, sponsored by Bluthner… Poom Prommachart and Konstantin Lapshin won First and Second Prize respectively at the 5th Isidor Bajic Internatonal Piano Competition in Serbia. Poom also received the Audience Prize and the title of Competition Laureate… Jun Ishimura won Second Prize in the finals of the prestigious 2nd Takamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan, with a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto no 1. Jun was the youngest finalist and played four rounds of demanding repertoire to reach the grand final…Gamal Khamis won First Prize in Richmond’s Young Pianist of the Year Award, as well as Second Prize in the Sevenoaks Young Musician of the Year competition… Meng Yang Pan won First Prize at the Bromsgrove Festival’s International Young Musicians’ Platform, receiving £3,000 and the opportunity to give a recital at next year’s festival. She was also the only solo pianist to have gained a place in the finals of YCAT which took place in May at the Wigmore Hall…

Last year’s YCAT winner Alexander Romanovsky has just been signed by Hazard Chase. Future dates include concerti with Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and the Russian National Orchestra conducted by Pletnev...  Nathan Tinker won First Prize in the Richmond-upon-Thames Performing Arts Festival Piano Concerto Class, and First Prize in Brighton & Hove Youth Performing Arts Festival Under 25 Open Concerto Class, while Jooyeon Sir won Richmond-upon-Thames Young Instrumentalist of the Year 2010, and also received Second Prize at Brighton & Hove Festival Concerto Competition… Tong Wang and Dinu-Mihai Stephan claimed Second and Third Prize at the Hastings Piano Competition… Kentaro Nagai won Second Prize in the Christopher Duke Award… Pianist Caterina Grewe won First Prize of €3.000 and a concert tour of France at the Lagny-sur-Marne International Piano Competition (Concours International de Lagny) in Paris.

String stars…Violinist Matt Bain recently beat three other finalists to win the Concerto Competition at the Edinburgh Festival of Music, Speech and Dance. He performed the Britten Violin Concerto with the Friends of the Festival Orchestra and was awarded the Audrey Innes Trophy. Matt has also recently won a place in the European Union Youth Orchestra… Viola player Ruth Gibson won the Royal Over-Seas League String/Keyboard Ensemble Final with the Finzi Quartet. The Harpham Quartet and Piatti Quartet, both of which include current RCM students, also reached the

Peter Brathwaite

Konstantin Lapshin

Kentaro Nagai

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final of the competition. Meanwhile, cellist Jun Sasaki won the ROSL Strings Final… Violinist Galya Bisengalieva took part as Leader in the 8th Concert Season of the Symphony Orchestra of India at the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, Mumbai, and also starred as soloist in a Chamber Music Concert at the Tata Theatre in February, 2010… the Kallisto Quartet - Joshua Burke (violin), Agata Darashkaite (violin), Ilona Bondar (viola) and Ben Havas (cello) - won the Intercollegiate String Quartet Competition at the Royal Academy of Music… Viola player Yan Beattie has recently successfully auditioned for the London Symphony Orchestra String Experience Scheme, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. She will be performing with the Welsh National Opera Orchestra at the 2010 BBC Proms.

Composer congratulations…Solfa Carlile has won the Jerome Hynes Composers’ Competition, awarded by the National Concert Hall of Ireland, with an entry for voice and piano entitled Sounds, set to the poem of the same name by Irish poet Brendan Kennelly. As well as securing a substantial cash prize of €1.500 Solfa had her piece performed in recital by the National Concert Hall ‘Rising Star 2010’ mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught… Enrica Sciandrone won First Prize in both the concert and film music sections of the Gofreddo Petrassi International Composers’ Competition. President of the jury was the distinguished Italian film and concert composer Ennio Morricone… Shiva Feshareki won the Intercollegiate Theodore Holland Composition Prize. The prize is administered by the RAM and invites single nominations from each of the UK Royal Schools of Music.

Shiva wins prize money of £1,000. Shiva’s TTKonzert - concerto for turntables and orchestra - had its world première at the Roundhouse in January, performed by the London Contemporary Orchestra conducted by Hugh Brunt. She has also recently learned that she is to receive a commission for a new work for the London Sinfonietta... New works by Isa Khan were performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in May… Lauri Supponen’s work Orastus was workshopped and performed at the Heidelberg Atelier in March. The Atelier was led by Matthias Pintscher, with Magnus Lindberg in attendance… Mark Boden’s Trio for clarinet, cello and piano was awarded First Prize in the Friends of the Music of St Giles’ Cathedral Composition Competition.

Junior Department achievements…Violinist Stephanie Childress recently performed at a fundraising concert for UK charity Young Virtuosi. The concert was conducted by senior RCM student William Kunhardt… French horn and cello student Ben Goldscheider recently won a place in the National Children’s Wind Orchestra and attended a 10-day residential course at Queenswood School, Hertfordshire… Asagi Nakata, a Junior Department student of Ian Jones, won the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe Junior Intercollegiate Piano Competition. Asagi won £200 and the opportunity to perform two recitals… Jake Brown made it through to the final ten of this year’s Young Drummer of the Year competition, out of over 800 entries. Jake was by far the youngest finalist.

New releases…Composition student Christopher Chong has recently scored music for a new video game Plain Sight. Visit www.plainsightgame.com for a listen… Soprano Susanna Hurrell has recently performed on a recording of 20th century English trumpet music due out this summer. The CD features music by Geoffrey Grey, Eric Ball, Nigel Clarke, Gordon Carr and a previously unrecorded piece by William Lloyd. Susanna sings on a set of five pieces for trumpet, piano and soprano by Gordon Carr.

The Harpham Quartet

Out and about…Gemma Kost, cello, and Rebecca Breen, viola, have already spent 12 weeks of this year travelling the USA, Canada and Western Europe playing in the Star Wars in Concert show with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra… Tenor David Webb made his Spanish debut at the Teatro Real in May, singing the role of Soldato in Il Coronazione di Poppea… Eleanor Dennis, Martha Jones and Edward Grint are among a number of RCM students performing in Woodhouse Opera’s production of Cosí fan tutte this summer. Also starring will be RCM alumni Helen Jane Howells and Joe Ramadam in his conducting debut. The production will be set in the beautiful grounds of Woodhouse Copse, overlooking a lake, and will be a ‘promenade opera’, promising direct interaction with the audience. Performances will take place on 2-5 September. For further details and booking information please visit www.woodhousesounds.com

David Webb

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Staff notesComposer Jean-Philippe Calvin received a French Lyric Academy Arts Award, an Orphée d’Or (Golden Orphée), in May. The award was presented by Pierre Bergé at the Bastille Opera in Paris, in recognition for Calvin’s opera La Cantatrice Chauve (The Bald Soprano). His most recent work, operoratorio La Divina Commedia (text by Dante), will be premièred in August at the Grand Theatre de Limoges.

Junior Department trumpet professor Torbjörn Hultmark will be performing at the RSAMD in Glasgow this summer with the Headspace Ensemble (www.headspaceensemble.co.uk). The ensemble also includes RCM alumnus Clarence Adoo, who was a trumpet player prior to a serious accident ten years ago. Paralysed from the neck down, Clarence now plays the Headspace instrument (hSi) – a groundbreaking new instrument designed specially for him by Rolf Gehlhaar.

Lynette Stulting, piano professor for the Junior Department, has been regularly opening her home in Oxfordshire for a series of monthly public concerts. The concerts are free of charge and enable those who may find it difficult to get to larger city venues to hear quality live music in more intimate surroundings. The concerts give young, upcoming artists an opportunity to perform in front of a friendly audience, as well as established performers the chance to try out new programmes for the first time.

Junior Department organ professor Daniel Moult has released two new DVDs. The Elusive English Organ traces the English organ and its music from Tudor times through to Napoleon, a journey which took Daniel and the film crew around the UK to far-flung country homes, chapels and even a trip to France. The second DVD is a concert of virtuosic 20th century organ music, from Schmidt to Messiaen and beyond, from Bridlington Priory, UK. 

Mark Messenger, Head of Strings, has run his fifth London Marathon in support of the Anthony Nolan Trust. Mark completed the course in an impressive 3 hours, 38 minutes and 55 seconds and has to date raised over £2,500 for the charity.

Ashley Solomon, Head of Historical Performance, recently visited Bolivia with RCM Ensemble in Association Florilegium. In addition to working with the Florilegium players, Ashley conducted local musicians and a choir,

which he formed on a previous visit. He has managed to obtained sponsorship for instruments for these young players, and took with him a baroque cello to add to violins and violas already purchased. Florilegium will also be making their first appearance at the Edinburgh International Festival this August.

Madeleine Mitchell recently won an award from the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation for her collaboration with Japanese pianist Noriko Ogawa. They will be giving recitals at festivals throughout the summer, including Buxton and Aldeburgh, combining Franck and Debussy sonatas with short pieces by Takemitsu and Bridge.

Vocal Studies Professor Justin Lavender recently travelled to Denmark to sing Britten’s War Requiem in a 65th anniversary concert commemorating

the signing of the armistice at the end of the Second World War. The concert fell in the middle of recent closures to UK airspace, so Justin embarked on a long and difficult journey involving a car ferry from Harwich to Holland, and two days of driving through Holland and northern Germany to reach Aarhus, Denmark, where the concert was taking place.

Fellow violin professor Yuri Zhislin is currently preparing for a tour of South America with his string ensemble, The Russian Virtuosi of Europe. He will perform in Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina and will be directing as well as playing solo.

Bassoon Professor Martin Gatt has formed a new chamber ensemble with fellow RCM professor Sue Dent, RCM alumni Colin Parr and Margaret Lynn, and Leslie Shiells and Jane Finch. Martin is also one of a number of RCM professors who will be teaching and performing at the Charterhouse International Music Festival this July.

Simon Lepper has released a CD on the ECM label with violinist Carolin Widmann, featuring works by Xenakis, Schoenberg, Feldman and Zimmermann. The recording was awarded a Diapason d’Or in December 2009.

Peter Savidge, vocal studies professor, has just completed a busy year in opera which included the seven baritone roles in Yoshi Oida’s production of Britten’s Death in Venice at the State Opera Prague; Don Alfonso in David McVicar’s production of Cosí fan tutte at Scottish Opera; Albert in Tom Cairns’ production of Werther at Opera North conducted by Richard Farnes; and Don Alfonso again at Opera National du Rhin, Strasbourg conducted by Ottavio Dantone.

Ben Wiffen (right) with his band Lewis Garland and the Kett Rebellion

Recording Engineer Ben Wiffen will be performing with his band ‘Lewis Garland and the Kett Rebellion’ at Glastonbury this year. Ben provides percussion, clarinet and backing vocals for the band, who have been together since 2006. They released their debut album, Places We Neglect, last summer.

John Crawford, Alexander Technique instructor for the Junior Department, recently gave two performances of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, one conducted by JD colleague Lev Parikian with the Camden Chamber Orchestra, another with the Forest Philharmonic.

Junior Department piano professor and alumna Ann Martin-Davis is about to embark on a series of recordings with fellow alumna, mezzo-soprano Susan Legg. They will be performing the works of long-lost RCM composer Peter Pope, after being gifted a box of his scores that were discovered in an attic.

Adrian Levine, violin professor, recently returned from the USA and Poland, where he was performing in a series of concerts with music written by Krasa, Klein & Ullman. The pieces were written in 1941 in Terezín concentration camp, and the composers all perished later in Auschwitz.

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Alumni notesLatest news…Composer Edmund Joliffe, with co-writer Julian Hamlin, recently finished writing music for the documentary The Real Slumdogs, to be shown on the National Geographic and Channel 4. They are also currently working on a second series of The Hospital for Channel 4.

RCM alumna Laurie Ashworth has won the 2010 Kathleen Ferrier Song Prize, one of the most prestigious international singing competitions. The result was announced at London’s Wigmore Hall on 23 April.

Baritone James Rutherford will be taking the role of Hans Sachs in a production of Die Meistersinger at the Bayreuth Festival and in Hamburg in August. The opera is Wagner’s only mature comedy, set in Nürnberg in the 16th century.

Maria Marchant has been selected as a young artist for Concordia Foundation and will be performing a lunchtime recital at St. Martin-in-the-Fields on 2 July as part of the American Festival. She was also recently selected as one of three artists for the Tillett Trust Young Artists’ Platform 2010, which provides young musicians with performance opportunities in the UK’s Festivals. As a Tillett Trust Young Artist, she has been invited to give her Wigmore Hall debut on 27 September, as part of the Tillett Trust Monday Platform Presentation Concert. 

Also making her debut at Wigmore Hall will be pianist Ivana Gavric, who will be performing there on 15 July. The programme will include works by Schubert, Janáček, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev.

Composer Paolo Boggio’s work The Angel of Loneliness (a homage to RW Fassbinder) was chosen for the 2010 concert series of the American North/South Chamber Orchestra and was premièred in New York in May. The work has already won First Prize at the Seinäjoki Chamber Music International Composition Contest.

Siblings Danae and Kimon Eleni have released a new album entitled Love’s Philosophy. The recording features classical love songs by Liszt, Chausson, Brahms and work by 19th century Greek composers.

New appointments...Graham Ross, composer, conductor and former RCM Junior Department and Masters student, has been appointed Director of Music for Clare College, Cambridge, aged just 24 years old. This exciting new role combines overseeing all music-making in the College with individual teaching and directing the world-renowned Choir in regular evensongs and outside engagements. Graham takes up the post in autumn 2010.

In December of last year, Opera School graduate Saffron van Zwanenberg took up the appointment of Artistic Director at Jackdaws Music Trust. Andrew Wall, Chairman, said ‘We are delighted to welcome someone of Saffron’s experience and passion to Jackdaws and are looking forward to a bright and exciting future.’

Past memories…We were recently contacted by alumna Muriel Fielder, who graduated from the College in 1932 and is now 100 years old. Some of Muriel’s best memories were of performing with Dr Malcolm Sargent, acting in Hiawatha and Elijah at the Royal Albert Hall with Peter Pears, and attending lectures by Vaughan Williams, Howells and Walford Davies.

To read more of Muriel’s memories, and those of others, visit www.rcm.ac.uk/pastmemories If you are an alumnus of the Royal College of Music and have past memories you’d like to share, send them to us at news@rcm.ac.uk

Spotlight on…Former student and RCM Piano Professor Colin Horsley OBE celebrated his 90th birthday on St George’s Day. He received greetings from around the world and was joined by

family, friends and former students. Colin studied at the RCM and went on to make his debut with the Hallé Orchestra and Sir John Barbirolli. Sir Lennox Berkeley wrote his two piano concerti for him, as well as a horn trio which Colin performed regularly with Dennis Brain. As well as performing all over the world as a soloist and at the Proms for 25 years, he collabo-rated with Max Rostal (violin) and the Allegri, Amadeus, Amici and Griller string quartets. He was appointed OBE in 1963 and is an FRCM and HonRAM. Colin was a Professor at the RCM and RNCM for many years be-fore retiring to the Isle of Man, where he has since taken an active role in musical life.

Florian Uhlig

Harry Brown

In March, pianist Florian Uhlig performed the world première of Schumann’s Abegg Variations for piano and orchestra. Only an orchestral ‘Introduzione’ of this version has survived: a particello score of 40 bars with specific hints for instrumentation, which is missing in the known version for piano solo and presents a new discovery. The concert took place in Zwickau, Schumann’s birthplace.

Harry Fox, keyboard alumnus, has won an all expenses paid trip to Colorado to perform a concerto with the Lakewood Symphony Orchestra in Easter 2011. He also recently won the Derek Butler London Prize after a final held at London’s Wigmore Hall.

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Births, marriages & obituariesObituariesKerry Camden, bassoonist, teacher, and arranger, passed away earlier this year. Born in 1936, Kerry studied bassoon at the RCM with his father Archie Camden. His studies were interrupted by national service with the Irish Guards, but he returned to the College as an Associate in 1957. He enjoyed a rich and varied career, beginning as principal bassoonist with the BBC Concert Orchestra and going on to perform with all the major London orchestras. He was a well-known coach of chamber music and a skilful arranger, and directed many music courses for young professionals and amateurs. In 1964 he was appointed principal bassoonist for the London Mozart Players, and in the same year returned to the RCM as bassoon professor. He was admitted to Fellowship of the College in 1992, and continued to teach until 2000. He was highly respected by all who knew him and will be sadly missed.

Rosamund Strode died on 25 March after a brief illness. She graduated from the College with an ARCM in 1948 having studied singing, viola and composition, and worked as a postgraduate at Dartington with Imogen Holst. Having helped out for a number of years she replaced Imogen as Britten’s music assistant in 1964, working as his copyist, editor and archivist. Following his death she was the first archivist at the Britten-Pears Library until her retirement in 1992. Kind but firm and precise, she will be remembered by many for her inexhaustible supply of insights into Britten’s working methods, and by two generations of artists and students who she made feel at home in Aldeburgh.

Classical tenor Kenneth McKellar died in April, aged 82. Despite an obvious vocal talent, he initially studied forestry. After just two years with the Forestry Commission however, he decided to switch careers and took up a Caird Scholarship to study at the RCM. Prompted by an operation on his tonsils and fears for his voice, Kenneth made a private recording at a booth in a HMV record shop and was immediately signed up by Parlophone. This led to a principal tenor role in the Carla Rosa Opera Company, and a subsequent and varied career in opera, recording, television and scriptwriting, including some revue sketches for Monty Python. He was perhaps most famous for his performances of popular and folk songs

of his native Scotland, and was widely recognised for his interpretations of Burns’ love poems.

Keyboard alumnus Surendran Reddy passed away aged 47 in Konstanz, Germany. His friend and fellow alumnus Martin Feinstein writes: “I met Surendran in the foyer of the RCM on my first day. He was only 15, thousands of miles from his home in South Africa, and understandably wary of strangers. A mutual love of Bach and books cemented our friendship. My most vivid memories of him involve us either playing through open scores of the Art of Fugue and the Musical Offering together, or having endless discussions about Dostoyevsky and P G Wodehouse. I owe Surendran a huge debt because, through our friendship, I was given the chance to play through and discover vast amounts of repertoire, from Dowland to Boulez. Surendran’s life was shaped by the fact that he hated performing. Many may feel that his huge promise was not fulfilled, and certainly as a concert pianist this is true. But there is no question that his decision to devote himself to composition, and to his own particular brand of crossover jazz, gave him enormous pleasure - something that performing never did. I will remember him as the most able musician that I ever played with and as an intelligent and passionate lover of music.”

Ronald Reah passed away earlier this year. Ronald had a love of music from an early age, but served in the army before joining the RCM as a mature student in 1953, studying oboe, composition, piano and organ with Dr Osborne Peasgood. He funded his first year of studies himself, but benefited from a scholarship in subsequent years, gaining an ARCM in Piano Teaching and a GRSM. He won the Farrar Prize for composition in 1956. Upon graduation he dedicated himself to music administration and education, and was a Senior Lecturer in Music in Leicester for over 20 years. He was also a composer of theatre, choral and church music, and a songman for Leicester Bach Choir. Ronald was an RCM Friend of long standing and also a generous supporter of the Restore a Score scheme.

Phyllis Norbrook died last year aged 96. Phyllis studied piano and accompaniment at the RCM under Harry Stubbs in the 1930s and went on to accompany performers including sopranos June Wilson and Barbara Lane, and cellist Antonia Butler. During

the Second World War she worked for the British Red Cross Society, where in addition to helping families and fire watching, she also organised a number of fundraising concerts. She worked closely with touring opera companies throughout the 50s and 60s before returning to the RCM in 1972 as a piano teacher for the Junior Department. She continued to play and perform well into her 80s and in her last years was greatly supported by the Musicians’ Benevolent Fund.

BirthsThe College is pleased to announce the arrival of several new additions to the RCM community. Congratulations to:

Ceri Herd, Audience Development Officer, and Jonny Herd, on the arrival of Rhys James Herd on 27 April.

Hayley Clements, Learning and Participation Manager, and Alex Redpath, RCM alumnus, on the birth of their daughter Poppy Isabella Redpath on 18 February.

Joana Witowski, Membership and Events Coordinator, and Jérôme Le Crapper on the birth of their son LoÏc on 30 January.

Ailsa Molyneux, Front of House Manager, on the birth of her son Hector Bonaventure James Molyneux.

Rhys James Herd

Poppy Isabella Redpath

Hector Bonaventure James Molyneux

Royal College of Music Prince Consort Road London SW7 2BS

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Box Office: 020 7591 4314weekdays 10am-4pm

Upbeat: 020 7591 4372news@rcm.ac.uk

Alumni: 020 7591 4368alumni@rcm.ac.uk

RCM Friends: 020 7591 4331friends@rcm.ac.uk

Supporting the RCM: 020 7591 4320keberwein@rcm.ac.uk

Hiring RCM facilities: 020 7591 4674mcosgrave@rcm.ac.uk

Hiring RCM musicians: 020 7591 4367droberts@rcm.ac.uk

Switchboard: 020 7589 3643info@rcm.ac.uk

Upbeat is printed on Lumi Silk, which consists of fibre sourced from sustainable forests.

Designed and Produced by The Design Avenue • www.thedesignavenue.co.uk