More Music: - Royal College of Music

The Magazine for the Royal College of Music I Summer 2015
More Music:
Reimagining the Royal College of Music
What’s inside...
Welcome to upbeat...
Providing exceptional facilities and high quality musical and professional
training for its students has always been at the core of the Royal College of
Music’s work and ethos. That dedication has recently been recognised by The
Guardian which ranked the RCM first for music in the 2016 Guardian University
League Table. You can read more about this fabulous news on page 6.
Now, the RCM embarks on a new period of development which will rejuvenate
the College and ensure the continued provision of outstanding facilities for
both students and the wider public. Renovation and redevelopment works will
provide two new performance spaces, a new interactive museum, more practice
rooms and a new communal space. RCM Director Professor Colin Lawson tells
us more about the plans on page 12.
As usual, Upbeat brings you all the news from around the RCM, including the
recent visit of HRH The Prince of Wales for our annual awards ceremony, an
RCM clean sweep at the Kathleen Ferrier Awards and the alumnae celebrated
on BBC Radio 3 for International Women’s Day.
Do you have any news you want to share with staff, students and supporters of
the RCM? We’re always keen to hear from students and staff past and present,
so if you have anything you’d like us to feature in the next issue of Upbeat,
please send your news and pictures to news@rcm.ac.uk by Monday 21
September.
NB: Please note that we cannot guarantee to include everything we receive and
that we reserve the right to edit submissions.
Contents
4
In the news
The latest news from the RCM,
including the annual visit of HRH
The Prince of Wales, the winners
of the Kathleen Ferrier Awards
and information about the next
alumni reunion
10 In Pictures
photographic look through
A
the changes and improvements
that have been made to the
Royal College of Music estate
over the years
12More Music
RCM Director Professor Colin
Lawson describes the exciting
redevelopment plans ahead for
the Royal College of Music
14 Meeting the supporters
Upbeat meets legacy supporter
and RCM Friend Paul Duffy
16 Student notes…
Current student success stories
18 Staff notes…
News from professorial, academic
and administrative staff
20 Alumni notes…
Updates from RCM graduates
22 Obituaries and births
The Royal College of Music welcomed prospective students and their families to Open Day on
Wednesday 29 April for the chance to explore and experience all the RCM has to offer
Front cover – The Royal College of Music © Saul Peckham
Inside front cover – Images from Vladimir Ashkenazy’s recent visit to conduct the RCM Symphony
Orchestra on 12 and 13 March
Inside back cover – International marimba player She-e Wu rehearsing with RCM percussionists for the
Music for Marimbas concert on 4 February
All photography © Chris Christodoulou
Upbeat online
Upbeat is available to read online at
www.rcm.ac.uk/upbeat
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3
In the news...
RCM Clean
Sweep at Kathleen
Ferrier Awards
All major prizes at the 2015 Kathleen
Ferrier Awards have been won by
current students or recent graduates of
the Royal College of Music.
RCM soprano Gemma Lois
Summerfield was named winner of
the prestigious competition’s First
Prize and Song Prize. In the final,
which took place on Friday 24 April
at London’s Wigmore Hall, Gemma
gave an outstanding performance
of songs by Sibelius, Mendelssohn,
Duparc and Copland as well as an
aria from Nicolai’s The Merry Wives
of Windsor, accompanied by RCM
alumnus Sebastian Wybrew.
Recent RCM graduate soprano Soraya
Mafi won Second Prize, while the
Accompanist’s Award went to her
performance partner Ian Tindale, a
recent RCM Junior Fellow. In addition,
RCM countertenor Timothy Morgan
was presented with the Junior Ferrier
Prize Bursary he won earlier this year.
RCM Unveils
Transformative
Development
Plans
The Kathleen Ferrier Memorial
Scholarship Fund’s annual
competition offers the chance
for young professional singers to
compete for cash prizes and instant
international recognition. The First
Prize of £12,500, Second Prize of
£6,000 and Song Prize of £5,000 are
sponsored in perpetuity by Mark and
Liza Loveday, and the Accompanist’s
Award is provided by Help Musicians
UK in memory of Arthur and Gwyneth
Harrison.
Artist impression
Photo © Robert Piwko reproduced by kind permission of the Ferrier Awards
On 15 April, the Royal College of
Music announced plans to transform
its building in the heart of London’s
South Kensington. The RCM site
will be reimagined by renowned
architect John Simpson and planning
permission is being sought for a twoyear programme of works to start in
2016.
4
The £25 million redevelopment is a
significant investment in professional
music education in the UK and the
reconfiguration of the RCM will
benefit both students and visitors to
the iconic building. HRH The Prince of
Wales has agreed to be Patron of the
RCM’s ‘More Music’ campaign to fund
the building development.
Left to right: Gemma Lois Summerfield, Ian Tindale and Soraya Mafi
RCM Director Professor Colin
Lawson explains how the new
building will transform both the
student and visitor experience on
page 12. Further information can be
found at www.rcm.ac.uk/moremusic
The President’s Visit 2015
His Royal Highness The Prince of
Wales honoured a number of
outstanding figures in international
musical life at the Royal College of
Music’s Annual Awards Ceremony on
Thursday 12 March.
Those honoured included renowned
conductor and pianist Vladimir
Ashkenazy and acclaimed lyric
soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, who
both received their Honorary Doctorate
from HRH The Prince of Wales, the
President of the RCM.
Fellowship of the Royal College of Music
(FRCM) was conferred upon acclaimed
oboe player John Anderson, renowned
soprano and RCM professor Janis Kelly,
Chairman of the British Association
for Performing Arts Medicine Richard
Price, celebrated British tenor Toby
Spence, renowned scholar and
performer Robin Stowell and Chair of
the Mills Williams Foundation Nigel
Woolner.
Honorary Membership of the Royal
College of Music was presented to
six individuals in recognition of their
outstanding contribution to music
and to the RCM: Chief Executive of
the Royal Albert Hall Chris Cotton,
BAFTA winning stage and film
actor Edward Fox, eminent music critic
and academic Ivan Hewitt, RCM Head
of Keyboard Technical Services Chris
Moulton, early music pioneer Jane
Ryan and philanthropist Ruth West.
On receipt of the Honorary Doctorate,
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa said: ‘I am
delighted and thrilled to be honoured
in this way by the Royal College of
Music, especially as the honour is being
conferred by HRH The Prince of Wales
himself.’ Vladimir Ashkenazy said: ‘It is a
tremendous honour on this truly special
and memorable occasion to be awarded
the degree of Honorary Doctor of Music
of the Royal College of Music.’
His Royal Highness also presented
awards to the RCM’s most exceptional
recent graduates: violinist Agata
Daraskaite received the Queen
Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Rosebowl and saxophonist Amy
Green and double bassist Rodrigo
Moro Martín were both awarded
the Tagore Gold Medal. They all also
performed at the ceremony.
The President’s Award was presented to
composer Arne Gieshoff, whose works
have been performed by, amongst
others, the BBC Scottish Symphony,
Philharmonia, London Philharmonic
and Royal Scottish National Orchestras
and have been broadcast on BBC Radio
3. His new work Fanfare was performed
at the ceremony.
Professor Colin Lawson, Director of
the RCM, said: ‘I am delighted that the
Royal College of Music has honoured this
diverse array of eminent musicians and
RCM supporters, in recognition of the
contribution they have made, not to only
the Royal College of Music, but also to
musical life in this country and beyond.’
5
In the news...
RCM Ranked
Top for Music
The Royal College of Music has been
ranked first in the 2016 Guardian
University League Table for music, and
is the only institution in the music
league table to score a full 100 marks
in the overall ranking. The RCM’s
career score was also the highest in
the table – with 97% of graduates
finding graduate-level jobs, or
studying further, within six months of
graduation – and a top rating of 10/10
was given for the RCM’s individual
investment in each student.
Queen’s Medal for
Simon Halsey
Royal College of Music alumnus Simon
Halsey has been awarded The Queen’s
Medal for Music 2014.
The prize is awarded to an outstanding
individual or group of musicians who
have had a major influence on the
musical life of the nation. Simon was
presented with the award by HM The
Queen at a reception at Buckingham
Palace on Wednesday 11 March,
following a performance by the London
Symphony Orchestra.
Simon Halsey studied conducting at
the RCM, and has since made a name
for himself as a renowned conductor of
choral repertoire and an ambassador
for choral singing across the world. He
has been Chorus Director of the City
of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Choruses for over 30 years and, in
2012, was appointed Choral Director
of the London Symphony Orchestra
and Chorus Director of the London
Symphony Chorus.
Simon is the tenth recipient of the
award and follows in the footsteps of
fellow RCM alumnus Sir Thomas Allen,
who was awarded the medal last year.
The Guardian’s university guide states,
‘Students at London’s Royal College
of Music have no excuse not to feel
inspired’, praising the RCM’s location,
‘top-notch’ facilities and care in
preparing students for viable careers
in the music industry.
Photo © Kevin Leighton
Professor Colin Lawson, Director
of the RCM, commented : ‘The RCM
continues to be a natural first choice
for talented students from around
the world and I am delighted that
the 2016 Guardian University League
Table confirms our position as the UK’s
leading institution for music education.’
RCM Simulator at
Imperial Festival
A pop-up version of the Royal College of
Music’s ground-breaking performance
simulator has featured at Imperial
College London’s annual May Festival.
Developed by the RCM’s Centre for
Performance Science, the simulator,
which features an on-stage and back-
6
stage area and a virtual reality audience,
and is supported by the Peter Sowerby
Foundation, helps manage the stress of
performing in front of large groups by
recreating the conditions of a concert
hall or audition.
the simulator shows that musicians
who are given repeated exposure to
realistic performance situations can
more effectively manage the stresses of
performing and the demands of their
audiences.’
Professor Aaron Williamon, RCM
Head of Performance Science, said:
‘Stage fright is a very real problem,
not just for musicians but for anyone
who is required to perform in front
of an audience […] Our work with
The Imperial Festival has grown from
a pilot project in 2012 to a largescale prominent annual fixture with
thousands flocking to South Kensington
to enjoy a range of workshops, tours,
talks and performances.
Royal Over-Seas
Success
RCM Digital Technology Showcased
on BBC Radio 4
RCM musicians have won prizes at the
coveted 2015 Royal Over-Seas League
Competition.
The Ensembles A and B Sections were
both won by RCM alumni: the Jackson
Bielby Duo (violinist Martyn Jackson
and violist Annie Bielby), and the Ferio
Saxophone Quartet (Huw Wiggin, Ellie
McMurray, Jose Manuel Banuls and
Shevaughan Beere) respectively. Both
groups were awarded £10,000.
Winners of the solo awards competed in
the ROSL Competition Final which was
held on 1 June at Queen Elizabeth Hall.
The evening also included performances
by winners of the ROSL Ensemble Prizes.
Violinist Matouš Pěruška in Prague performing with pianist Alison Rhind at the RCM
via 4K Gateway technology during NPAPW 2015
The Royal College of Music’s innovative
use of digital technology has been
highlighted on BBC Radio 4.
RCM Head of Studios Matt Parkin and
Research Fellow in Performance Science
Dr Tania Lisboa appeared on the
channel’s Arts Technologica programme
to talk about how the use of the highspeed JANET network is changing the
way music is taught, rehearsed and
performed at the RCM.
In recent years, the RCM has
established itself as one of the UK’s
New Museum
Audio Guide
The RCM Museum of Music has
launched an exciting new interactive
audio guide to help visitors explore the
treasures on display.
The specially commissioned tabletbased app uses Bluetooth-based
‘beacons’ throughout the museum,
allowing visitors to automatically access
information about nearby artefacts.
Juliana Myslov
The guide incorporates a range of
material, including written descriptions,
audio commentary, images and musical
excerpts, and it can be updated as
exhibitions change or develop. Visitors
Photo © Sven Ubik
Soprano and recent graduate Soraya
Mafi won First Prize in the Singers’
Section, accompanied by Ian Tindale,
while RCM harpist Juliana Myslov
triumphed in the String Section. Both
were awarded prizes of £5,000.
leading innovators in the use of highspeed global networks, connecting
student musicians with professors,
researchers and collaborators around
the world in real time.
Recent events at the RCM utilising
new digital technologies include a
three-day international conference
on specialist streaming technologies
and an experimental student-led
performance which intertwined music,
theatre, dance and computer-generated
graphics with three live link-ups with
Barcelona, Helsinki and Edinburgh.
can also follow a pre-designed tour
route of the RCM Museum of Music
which highlights key items and
automatically displays information as
new locations are reached.
Developed in partnership with the
Department of Computer Science at
University College London, the guide
has been supported by funding from
Arts Council England’s Share Academy
programme and Tania Chislett, RCM
Patron and museum volunteer.
There are ten tablets available for
visitors to use, all of which include
assistive text-to-speech technology
for the visually impaired. The RCM
Museum of Music is open Tuesday to
Friday, 11.30am to 4.30pm.
7
In the news...
This summer the RCM once again plays
a big part in the BBC Proms, the world’s
greatest classical music festival.
Almost every Prom will be preceded by a
Proms Extra event in the RCM’s Amaryllis
Fleming Concert Hall. The RCM will also
be hosting Katie Derham and a selection
of Proms stars for the weekly magazine
programme aired on Saturdays on BBC
Two, recorded in the RCM’s Parry Rooms.
In addition, RCM Sparks Summer
Music runs alongside the BBC Proms
season and offers a range of events for
participants of all ages and levels of
ability. This year the series includes fun
family workshops and an exciting threeday course for young people aged 10 to
12. For teenagers, a five-day composition
course sees participants create an
Arcos Quartet
Wins Boconnoc
Award
The Arcos Quartet has been named
as the recipient of the fourth annual
Boconnoc Award.
Comprising RCM violinists David
Lopez and Laia Valentin Braun, violist
Ana Teresa Alves and cellist Juliette
Giovacchini, the ensemble will be in
residence at Boconnoc in Cornwall for
a week in July. They will present two
eclectic new ensemble and compose a
new piece. Finally, hands-on workshops
for children aged six to nine offer the
chance to delve deeper into the music at
the Proms.
For more information about the RCM
Sparks Summer Music programme please
visit www.rcm.ac.uk/summermusic
Four RCM
Singers Join
the National
Opera Studio
Photo © Sheila Burnett
BBC and the Proms
recitals, one at Boconnoc House on 21
July and the second in the estate’s 14thcentury parish church on 23 July.
The award was established in 2012
thanks to the generosity of Boconnoc
owners Anthony and Elizabeth
Fortescue. The prize constitutes
a week’s residency on the estate,
providing a valuable opportunity for
the musicians to work intensively on
repertoire and technique in a private
and unique environment. To find out
more about Boconnoc and the Arcos
Quartet, and for tickets, please visit
www.boconnoc.com
Four singers from the RCM
International Opera School have been
offered places at the National Opera
Studio (NOS) for 2015/16.
Current RCM singers soprano He Wu
(pictured), mezzo soprano Angela
Simkin and tenor Gyula Rab,
alongside recent graduate tenor
William Morgan, have all been
selected for the NOS programme by
the UK’s leading opera companies
from hundreds of applicants.
He Wu, Angela Simkin and Gyula
Rab all recently starred in the RCM
International Opera School’s 2014
production of Mozart’s The Magic
Flute and the 2015 London Handel
Festival and RCMIOS production
of Giove in Argo.
Left to right: Laia Valentin Braun, Juliette Giovacchini, Ana Teresa Alves and David Lopez
8
The National Opera Studio provides
professional training of the highest
quality for singers and repetiteurs
who have the potential to become
the leading artists of their generation.
RCM alumni who have trained at
NOS include Gerald Finley, Jennifer
Johnston, Alfie Boe and Susan
McCulloch.
Celebrating
Humphrey Searle
This year the Royal College of Music is
celebrating the centenary of alumnus
and former composition professor
Humphrey Searle, widely recognised as
one of Britain’s pioneers of serial music.
To mark 100 years since his birth, the
RCM will be performing a selection
of Humphrey’s works this autumn.
One particularly delightful piece is his
setting of T S Elliot’s Practical Cats.
A cat-lover himself, Searle’s playful
‘Cat Variations’ are based on a theme
from Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf
and will be performed on Wednesday
2 December. Earlier in the season,
his 1974 work Five for solo guitar will
be showcased in a special chamber
concert in the Britten Theatre.
For further details visit
www.rcm.ac.uk/events
In memory of Humphrey, the estate of
his wife, the late Fiona Searle, supports
composition scholarships and prizes
at the Royal College of Music, and
this year we’re delighted to award
an exceptional three scholarships to
Andrew Churchill, Andrew Howes
and Nicholas Moroz, and two bursaries
to RCM Junior Department students
Siobhan Connellan and Alexander
Walton-Keeffe.
We look forward to celebrating
Humphrey Searle’s music in upcoming
months.
RCM Alumnae
Celebrated on
International
Women’s Day
The work of several RCM alumnae
has been featured on BBC Radio 3’s International Women’s Day celebrations on Sunday 8 March.
In a day of programming dedicated
entirely to music written and chosen by
women, the station celebrated the
talents and creativity of women who
have written music throughout the
centuries, as well as championing the
next generation of female composers.
Rebecca Clarke’s music was featured
alongside works by Fanny Mendelssohn
and Clara Schumann in a coffee concert,
which included performances by RCM
alumna and BBC Radio 3 New
Generation Artist Kitty Whately.
Other highlights of the day included a
special broadcast of Private Passions with former RCM Junior Fellow Anna
Meredith, and the world premiere of a
new collection of piano miniatures
written and performed by British pianist
Grace Francis.
Humphrey Searle outside Buckingham Palace with his mother and wife after receiving a CBE in 1968
RCM Alumni
Reunion:
1956–1965
tours of the College, including the
RCM Museum of Music, Library and
Britten Theatre. The opportunity to retrace your steps along corridors in the
Blomfield Building will bring memories
flooding back!
Following a very successful alumni
reunion in March, we’re delighted to
announce the next reunion will be
held on Sunday 20 September 2015
(12.00pm – 4.00pm) for those who
attended the RCM between 1956
and 1965.
More than half of the tickets for the
September reunion have already been
sold and space is limited, so please
contact Rachel Bowden, Friends &
Alumni Assistant, on 020 7591 4331
to secure your place. Please also check
with your contemporaries and ask
them to contact the RCM if they wish
to attend. Information and a booking
form, as well as a selection of images
from previous reunions, can be found
at www.rcm.ac.uk/alumni
The afternoon will include an
introduction talk from RCM Director
Professor Colin Lawson, lunch in the
Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall and
In the week following International
Women’s Day, five young female
composers – including RCM alumnae Charlotte Bray and Hannah Kendall –
were interviewed for Composer of the
Week, discussing life as a female
composer today.
On 31 March 2015, 75 alumni and friends who
attended the RCM between 1930 and 1955, were
reunited in the Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall
9
The Royal College of Music Estate in Pictures
For more than 130 years, the Royal College of Music has adapted and improved in order to continuously
provide excellent facilities and a welcoming atmosphere for its students and for the general public.
10
1883 - The Royal College of Music opens beside the Royal Albert
1894 - The RCM’s iconic Blomfield Building opens on Prince
Hall in what later becomes the Royal College of Organists.
Consort Road.
1967 - The RCM becomes the first educational institution in the
1986 - HM The Queen opens the Britten Theatre following an
UK to have its own electronic studios.
appeal led by HRH The Prince of Wales.
1901 - The newly-completed Concert Hall is opened with a
1965 - The South Building is inaugurated by Her Royal Highness
gala concert.
The Queen Mother.
2006 - The refurbished suite of Parry Rooms opens at the top of
2015 - The newly rebuilt hall of residence, Prince Consort Village,
the Blomfield Building
will open.
Turn the page to read about the next chapter in the life of the Royal College of Music..
11
More Music: Reimagining the RCM
Artist impression
The Royal College of Music
is embarking on an exciting
period of development,
improving and adding to its
current facilities. Here, RCM
Director Professor Colin
Lawson sets out the plans
and explains how they will
further the values and ethos
of the College.
The Royal College of Music is launching
a £25m transformation of its estate,
a significant contribution to musical
education in our lifetime. This
development will make it possible for
us to maintain our commitment to
the highest standards of excellence in
training young musicians for generations
to come, securing our prime position in
the international market for talent and
contributing to London’s position as the
cultural capital of the world.
12
which English musicians might resort
with confidence, and thence derive
instruction, counsel and inspiration.’
The provision of scholarships was
immediately an integral part of widening
access – and the press was quick to note
that the initial intake of RCM students
included ‘a mill-girl, the daughter of a
bricklayer, the son of a blacksmith, and
the son of a farm labourer.’
Founding Principles
When the Prince of Wales founded the
RCM in 1882, he was fiercely ambitious
for the new institution and sowed
the seeds for the College’s remarkable
subsequent success. He demanded
from the RCM nothing less than the
‘encouragement and promotion of the
cultivation of music as an art throughout
the world.’ As he himself said, there
was at that time ‘no centre of music to
Within a dozen years the RCM had
moved into its present iconic building
near to the Royal Albert Hall and a
number of benefactors had laid the
foundations for its unique collections of
manuscripts and historic instruments.
The roster of RCM students in
succeeding years is literally a Who’s Who
of British music, including composers
Benjamin Britten, Frank Bridge, Gustav
Holst, Herbert Howells, John Ireland,
Sir Michael Tippett, Ralph Vaughan
Williams and Mark-Anthony Turnage,
as well as eminent performers such as
Dame Joan Sutherland, Sir Colin Davis,
John Lill, Sir Thomas Allen and Sir James
Galway, to name but a few. Outside the
realms of classical music, alumni Andrew
Lloyd Webber, Rick Wakeman and Oscar
winner Anne Dudley are among those
who can trace their formative influences
to the RCM.
Current Provision
Over the last generation or so the
Royal College of Music has been a
trailblazer in developing a subtle blend
of education and training that provides
an exceptionally rich student experience,
making it a natural first choice for young
musicians from around the globe. More
than half of our current 800 students
are British and the cohort as a whole
numbers almost 60 nationalities,
providing the ideal foundation for
a stimulating learning and teaching
environment.
Study at the RCM is centred upon oneto-one tuition, supplemented by an
annual programme of over 300 concerts,
masterclasses and opera productions,
bringing to the College a dazzling array
of visiting musicians throughout the year
(see www.rcm.ac.uk/events for current
highlights).
We offer specialist career advice for
students, together with professional
support in such essential areas as health
and well-being. Entrepreneurship and an
appreciation of both the art and craft of
being a musician are at the heart of the
curriculum. Unsurprisingly, employment
prospects for RCM graduates remain
reassuringly high.
The Present Estate
The RCM’s characterful Victorian
building is an important part of its
heritage and continues to be much
loved by today’s generation of students,
staff and audiences. Yet its monumental
qualities belie the pulsating, vigorous
institution within its walls, which is far
from reactionary or stuffy.
Indeed, the RCM is immersed in
contemporary culture and has embraced
the technological age with enthusiasm
and appropriate expertise. Concerts,
masterclasses and graduation ceremonies
are routinely streamed on our YouTube
channel (www.youtube.com/
rcmlondon), while teaching takes place
on digital platforms in collaboration with
some of our many international partners,
for example in the USA and the Far East.
We must now face the challenge of
bringing our estate up to date, in order
Artist impression
to ensure that our activities take place
in fitting surroundings. A programme
of refurbishment of the original spaces
within the main building was crowned
in 2008/09 by a £5m refurbishment and
transformation of the glorious Amaryllis
Fleming Concert Hall, arguably one of
the finest of its size in the world. Yet
since the addition of the superb Britten
Theatre in 1986, there have been no
physical additions to the RCM estate,
despite a recent radical increase in
student numbers.
Future Plans
By clearing some existing 1960s and
1970s buildings which have come to
the end of their useful lives, we have
identified a site of some 2,300 square
metres within the main campus on
which to build new facilities.
These will comprise:
• two new state-of-the-art performance
spaces of 150 and 90 seats respectively,
reflecting high contemporary standards
of acoustic quality, sound insulation
and lighting, with recording and
broadcasting capability
• an interactive museum to showcase
the collections of the RCM, for both
the College community and the wider
public
• additional practice rooms
• a new communal space to provide a
breakout area, a restaurant area and
theatre bar for visitors and students
alike.
The architect John Simpson has
produced a scheme that extends
the language of the RCM’s existing
architecture and will have a radical effect
on circulation around the campus.
The ambitions of 1882 remain as vivid as
ever; we want everyone who has contact
with the RCM to be transformed by the
experience and to feel that they have
developed an extra dimension in their
relationship with music. The RCM prides
itself on providing a uniquely enriching
learning environment, and not just
for our own students. We emphasize
the inspirational aspect of musical
experience that transforms it from
excellent to exceptional, from enjoyable
to life-changing.
As we embark on this new development
project, the Royal College of Music
is closer to its founding ethos, values
and principles than it has ever been, in
addressing its weighty responsibilities
to the national and international
community.
Find out more at
www.rcm.ac.uk/moremusic
13
Meeting the supporters...
Paul Duffy
Paul Duffy has been an RCM
Friend since 1992 and has included
the College in his will. As a member
of Mensa, Paul arranges regular
group trips to RCM International
Opera School productions for
members of the society.
You regularly bring large parties of
people from Mensa to the RCM
opera productions, don’t you?
Yes, for The Magic Flute, I brought 64. Our
party was 38 for La gazzetta, and a similar
number for the Ravel double bill. Those
events were so successful that I have
decided to go on to national advertising
within Mensa, which we’re doing for
Albert Herring [in July].
I joined Mensa a long time ago and
actually allowed my membership to lapse
because I couldn’t find enough activities
that interested me at the time. And then,
20 years later, they wrote to me and said
‘Mensa’s much better now, why don’t
you rejoin’, so I did. What I found was a
lack of cultural events and I thought that
was a major gap. I thought that members
should regularly have opportunities to go
to concerts and opera.
Classical music has always been a passion
of mine from childhood and it was an
experiment to see how successful it
would be to organise these events for
Mensa members, and I’ve proved that it
can be.
14
Due to a lack of music education in a
lot of schools many children grow up
without any knowledge or awareness of
classical music, which is very sad. So, I
just wanted to raise awareness and meet
other people in Mensa who shared my
interests.
Theatre every year. That was the first
thing I saw at the College. I wondered
what else went on there so I took an
interest and joined the Friends. I was
really delighted at what I found.
Do you feel that institutions like the
RCM are vital for the future of music
in Britain?
The feeling that I’m supporting it and
that young people will be enabled to
study there who perhaps wouldn’t
from their own resources – that we are
creating a different stream of income
which is helping. And I enjoy very much
the performances I go to.
Yes, very much so. I did do some
promotional work years ago for the
rock music industry, for a group that
my brother started – The Stranglers. We
didn’t have musical parents and neither
of us had a proper music education
which I always regretted. He went that
way and I went the other way because
my best friends at school were pianists.
I did try to play violin and even played
second violin in an orchestra in Hong
Kong but compared my performance
unfavourably with that of fellow
members of that orchestra.
I would like music education to be more
widely available and so I’m doing my
little bit to try and help the RCM. I think
it’s very important that institutions like
the College exist and thrive.
What has been your favourite
production that you’ve attended?
Well, I go back so far it’s hard to say. I still
think warmly of The Fair at Sorochintsi
conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky
and produced by Keith Warner in
the mid-1990s. Some of the Mozart
productions in recent years have been
very well sung and benefited from
simple but beautiful stage design and
lighting. And this is one of the things
that’s so refreshing about student opera
productions: generally speaking, they try
to stick to the creator’s intentions
You’re also a legacy supporter of the
RCM. Why did you decide to do
that?
I would like some of the modest amount
of wealth that I’ve created to be of real
lasting benefit to the world. Proper music
education is something that I didn’t have
and would have enjoyed enormously if
I had. It’s one of the great regrets of my
life.
When did you first encounter the
Royal College of Music?
I think I discovered the Royal College of
Music by accident. I became interested
in the London Handel Society which
does a Handel opera at the RCM’s Britten
What do you like about being a
Friend of the RCM?
What would you say to anyone else
who’s thinking about coming to
something at the College or
becoming an RCM Friend?
I’d say it was a very good thing to do, and,
in fact, of the Mensa group I’ve brought
to the College, I think at least 9 or 10 of
them have become Friends in the last
few months. That’s a very satisfactory
result, I think.
For more information about becoming
an RCM Friend or legacy supporter, visit
www.rcm.ac.uk/support
Welcome to New
Friends and
Supporters
We are delighted to welcome the
following people who have recently
made their first donation to the RCM
Mr Tony Barnfield
Mrs Sabine Betts
Mr Philip Boswell
Mrs Julie Cooper
Sir Anthony and Lady Mayella Figgis
Mrs Felicity Foster
Mr Lewis Graham
Mr Anthony and Mrs Ursula Hamilton
Dr John Hart
Mrs Denise Holle
Mr Campbell Hughes
Ms Sophie Hussey
Ms Ruth Keattch
Ms Mavis Masters
Mr David Mccord
Mrs Josephine Milton
Ms Caroline Newton
Mrs Ann Osbourne
Mrs Mary Ryan
Mr David Wilson
Supporting the future of music...
Music has the power to transform lives. Thanks
to the generosity of our supporters, generations
of gifted students from around the world have
been guided and inspired at the RCM. We would
like to thank in particular those who have made
donations of £1,000 or more in the last 12
months. Gifts are listed in descending order.
Supporters of named scholarships, bursaries and
Junior Fellowships
The Estate of Basil Coleman
The Estate of Christopher Hogwood
Soirée d’Or Scholarships
The Estate of Ivor Charles Treby
ABRSM
Leverhulme Trust
Future of Russia Foundation
Philip Loubser Foundation
The John and Marjorie Coultate Scholarship
Estate of Roselyn Ann Clifton Parker
The Big Give Trust
Laurie Barry and the John Barry Scholarship for
Film Composition
Estate of Dr John Birch FRCM
The Wolfson Foundation
H R Taylor Trust
H F Music Awards
The Richard Carne Charitable Trust
Andrew and Karen Sunnucks
Thomas Redford Legacy
John Lewis Partnership Scholarships+
Charles Napper Award
Lydia Napper Award
Hester Laverne Award
Croucher Hong Kong Charitable Trust
The Tsukanov Family Foundation
Richard and Rosemary Millar
The Worshipful Company of Musicians
Humphrey Searle Scholarship
The Polonsky Foundation
Gylla Godwin Award
The Reed Foundation
Opperby Stokowski Collection Trust
The Lee Abbey Award
Stephen Catto Memorial Scholarship
The Worshipful Company of Drapers
The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers
Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust
Sir Gordon Palmer Scholarship
Ian Stoutzker CBE FRCM
Ian and Meriel Tegner
Linda Beeley
H.M.D. Meyer Violin Prize
Emma Rose Scholarship
Williams Rose Scholarship
The Charles Stewart Richardson Scholarship for Composition
The Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation UK
Henri Cowell Soirée d’Or Scholarship
The Boltini Trust Scholarship
Gilbert and Eileen Edgar Junior Fellowship
Phoebe Benham Junior Fellowship
The Mills Williams Foundation
The Derek Butler Trust
The Charles Peel Charitable Trust
The Ackroyd Trust
The Wall Trust
Midori Nishiura Scholarship
The Richard Toeman/Weinberger Opera Scholarship
Carole and Geoffrey Lindey
The Estate of Clara Mary Field Reid
Amaryllis Fleming Scholarship
The Wyseliot Charitable Trust
The Stanley Picker Scholarship
Professor Lord Winston
South Square Trust
Lark Insurance Scholarship
Fiona and Douglas Flint Soirée d’Or Scholarship
Steinway & Sons
Mason Scholarship
The Gary & Eleanor Brass Scholarship
Betty Brenner Scholarship
The JMC Award
The Robin Ritzema Scholarship
The Howard and Abbey Milstein Foundation
David Laing Foundation Scholarship
The Greenbank Scholarship
Independent Opera Artist Scholarship
The Tait Trust Scholarship
The Radcliffe Trust
Rev Lyndon van der Pump FRCM and Edward
Brooks FRCM
Edgar Tom and Hilda May Cook
The Rothschild Foundation
Douglas and Kyra Downie
Knights of the Round Table
The Abinger Hammer Award
Mark Loveday Scholarship
Music Talks Scholarship
Miss Ianthe Williams Award
Arthur Wilson Trombone Award
Else and Leonard Cross Charitable Trust
Yehudi Menuhin Award
Bell Percussion
Kirby Laing Foundation
The Bliss Trust
Mr James McAlinden Legacy
Norman Reintamm
Peter Granger
Supporters of RCM Sparks
J Paul Getty Jr Charitable Trust
Royal Albert Hall
John Lyon’s Charity
Universal Music
The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust
The Oldhurst Trust
Sykes & Son
Members of the RCM Chairman’s Circle
Philip Carne MBE, HonRCM and Christine Carne*
Michael and Ruth West*
Linda Hill HonRCM and Tony Hill
Denis and Meredith Coleman+
John and Catherine Armitage*
Jane Barker CBE*
Dasha Shenkman OBE, HonRCM*
Sir Roger and Lady Carr HonRCM*
Karina and Dhairya Choudhrie+*
Guy Dawson and Sam Horscroft+
Gisela Gledhill*
Terry Hitchcock*
James and Clare Kirkman*
Dr Mark Levesley and Christina Hoseason*
John Nickson and Simon Rew*
Penelope, Lady Sitwell
Sylvia and Clive Richards*
Quentin Williams*
Victoria Robey OBE*
Alethea Siow and Jeremy Furniss*
Members of the RCM Director’s Circle
Daniel Chapchal
Mr James Lancaster and Mrs Margaret Lancaster
Sir Peter and Lady Middleton FRCM
Judy and Terence Mowschenson
Vivien McLean
Tania Chislett
Charles and Kaaren Hale
Helen Chung-Halpern and Abel Halpern
The Vernon Ellis Foundation
Richard and Sue Price
Peter and Dimity Spiller
Roland Saam
Joanna Kaye+
Sir Sydney and Lady Lipworth
Anne Wadsworth OBE+
Sir Robert and Lady Wilson
Members of the RCM Patrons’ Circle
John Ward
Russell Race*
Jane Wilson
Mrs Piffa Schroder
Ellen Moloney
Rhoddy Voremberg
Dimity and Kerry Rubie
Mrs Victoria Moore-Gillon
David and Sue Lewis
Mrs Isla Baring*
Halina and John Bennett
Lorna and Christopher Bown
Mrs Lorraine Buckland
Ms Sylvia Bettermann Nathenson
Mr Peter and Mrs Tessa Ettedgui
Mr Kenneth and Mrs Lillemor Gardener
Sir Anthony Cleaver FRCM and Lady Cleaver
Mary Godwin
Carol J Hagh
Ms Greta Hemus
John and Sue Heywood
Mr David James
Mr David Lewis
Barbara Simmonds
Betty Sutherland
Louisa Treger
Dr Yvonne Winkler
Mr Victor and Mrs Lilian Hochhauser FRCM
Sir Peter and Lady Gershon
Sarah Griffin
Mr William and Mrs AnnaMarie Hill
Mrs Yannick Mango
Sir David Lees
Sir Richard and Lady Sykes
Mr David Mildon
Robin Hambro
Charles and Dominique Lubar
Mrs Marcella Rossi
MarieNoelle and Mathias Gislev
Corporate Supporters
Campus Living Villages
M&G Investments
Niquesa Fine Jewellery and Hotels
GlaxoSmithKline
Royal Garden Hotel
RLM Finsbury
BAE Systems
Hatch Mansfield
Little Greene
Other generous donors
RBC Trust Company Ltd
The Peter Sowerby Foundation
Georg and Emily von Opel Foundation+
Geoffrey Richards HonRCM
The Robert Fleming Hannay Memorial Charity
Bob and Sarah Wigley
The Henry Wood Trust
Karen Cook
The Hon Richard Lyttelton
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Rothschild Foundation
The Seary Charitable Trust
St Marylebone Educational Foundation
John Hosier Music Trust
Roland Rudd
Miss Kathleen Beryl Sleigh Charitable Trust
The Sharp Foundation
Christopher Saul
Sian Westerman
Natalie Livingstone
The Leche Trust
Fidelio Trust
Professor Colin Lawson FRCM
Ofenheim Charitable Trust
Ann Driver Trust
Edward Mandel/Jaques Samuel Pianos Bursary
The Derek Hill Foundation
Friends of the National Libraries
Stephen Von Bismarck
Sudhir Choudhrie
Clore Duffield Foundation
Richard Everard
Mr Douglas Flint
Mitie
Paige Nelson
Dorothy Sayers
Michael D Steen
Sir David Tang
William Tilden
* also support a named award
+ also support RCM Sparks
For more information about supporting the RCM,
visit www.rcm.ac.uk/supportus
Alternatively, contact Fiona Rose on
020 7591 4321 or fiona.rose@rcm.ac.uk
15
Student notes
Student notes
String Successes
Vocal Awards
Mezzo soprano Maria Ostroukhova
has won Second Prize in the London
Handel Festival Singing Competition at
St George’s, Hanover Square. Soprano
Sarah Hayashi also reached the finals
of the competition… Baritone Huw
Montague Rendall has won the Brooksvan der Pump English Song Competition
Final 2015 and the Dunraven Welsh
Young Singer of the Year Competition…
Soprano Josephine Goddard has
received a Licette Award at the 2015
Maggie Teyte Singing Competition.
Keyboard
Accomplishments
Jamal Aliyev
Cellist Jamal Aliyev has won First
Prize at the Bromsgrove International
Young Musicians Competition 2015,
after performing a varied programme
including music by Schubert,
Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich and
Rachmaninov…Violinist Yume Fujise
has won Second Prize at the EuroAsia
International Competition… Violinist
Nadine Galea has been announced as a
Concordia Foundation Artist… Violinist
Laura Ayoub has won The Big Music
Project Competition as one half of the
Ayoub Sisters. Laura and her sister Sarah
performed Danse Macabre at the final
held at indigo at The O2 to win the
Classical Upper Age category. Their prize
includes the opportunity to perform at
Classic FM Live later this year… Violinist
Cécile Galy has won Second Prize at the
Concours International Léopold Bellan
in Paris.
Galina Averina
Soprano Galina Averina has won both
the Sexto Premio and the Audience Prize
at the Francisco Viñas Competition at
the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona…
Bass baritone Simon Shibambu has won
both the First Prize and the Audience
Prize at the Clonter Opera Singing
Competition… Soprano Natasha Day
has won Second Prize at the Filharmonia
Częstochowska Singing Competition and
has been awarded the opportunity to
perform in two orchestral concerts…
Soprano Marie Jaermann and her
Baroque ensemble AbChordis have won
First Prize at the Göttingen International
Händel Festspiele Competition. The
ensemble was subsequently invited to
perform at the festival in May, and Marie
was offered an extra concert with the
FestspielEnsemble Göttingen… Baritone
Timothy Nelson has won joint First
Prize in the Bruce Millar Gulliver Prize
singing competition held in Glasgow.
Pianist Claire Harris has won the
Help Musicians UK Accompanist Prize
at the 2015 Maggie Teyte Singing
Competition… Alexander Krichel has
been invited to perform Rachmaninov’s
Piano Concerto no 2 in Tokyo with the
Tokyo Symphony Orchestra on 5 July,
followed by a solo recital in Oji Hall on
7 July. His fourth CD, a live recording with
the Dresden Philharmonic under Michael
Sanderling for Sony Classical, will be
released in August.
Alexander Krichel
Cécile Galy
16
Timothy Nelson
Pianist Theresa Yu will be taking part
in the Young Musicians Festival in
Montville, Australia, in July. The annual
festival highlights international artists
and young Australian talent… Nikita
Abrosimov, Dinara Klinton, Alexander
Ullman and Natalia Sokolovskaya have
all performed at the XV International
Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow…
Pianist Luka Okrostsvaridze has been
chosen by the Tillett Trust for its Young
Artists’ Platform scheme, which includes
the opportunity to perform a recital at
London’s Wigmore Hall in December.
Woodwind
Triumphs
Laurence Long
Laurence Long has been appointed
the Dr John Birch Organ Scholar at
All Saints Margaret Street, London,
from September 2015. John Birch was
Professor of Organ at the RCM for
nearly 40 years (1959-1997), and also
Organist at All Saints Margaret Street
from 1953 to 1958… Pietro Gatto,
Vitaly Pisarenko, Tamila Salimdjanova,
Samson Tsoy and Alexander Ullman
have secured places at the Leeds
International Piano Competition in
August… Pianist Hamish Brown has
won the Accompanist Award at the
Brooks-van der Pump English Song
Competition Final 2015… Dinara
Klinton, Tamila Salimdjanova, HinYat Tsang and Alexander Ullman have
all been selected to take part in the
17th International Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Competition final in Warsaw in
October… Pianist Victor Maslov has
been awarded Second Prize at the Astana
Piano Passion International Competition
of Young Pianists in Kazakhstan. He was
also awarded the Denis Matsuev Prize
and the Prize of Astana Opera, both of
which offer concert opportunities…
Pianist Chi-Hoi Cheung has won the
Appelbe Piano Prize at the North
London Piano Festival.
Chi-Hoi Cheung
Brother and sister David and Kristina
Hedley, oboe and bassoon respectively,
have given a recital at St George’s
United Reformed Church in Morpeth.
The programme included music by
Saint-Saëns, Schumann, Telemann and
Nielson… Saxophonist Philip Attard has
been chosen for the Tillett Trust Young
Artists’ Platform scheme, which includes
the opportunity to perform at London’s
Wigmore Hall in December.
Brass Accolades
The RCM Trombone Ensemble (Ryan
Hume, Jonathan Hollick, Thomas
Barton, Dominic Hales, David Pitts,
Robert Moseley, Gregory Huff, James
Alexander and James Maund), directed
by trombone professor Byron Fulcher,
has been awarded ‘runner up’ in the
prestigious Emory Remington Trombone
Choir Competition for 2015. This is
the highest position achieved by any
British group since the competition
started in 1971… French horn player
Ana Feijao will perform as part of the
Jovem Orquestra Portuguesa during the
Young Euro Classic Festival at the Berlin
Konzerthaus on 12 August.
Composition
Congratulations
Composer Ross Koopmans has
written the score for the winning
documentary film in the Premio Firouz
Galdo competition, run by the National
Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome…
Christopher Schlechte-Bond has
taken part in the ‘And So Forth’ song
cycle project. Christopher worked
with librettist and RCM alumna Laura
Attridge and professional singers to
perform a cycle of songs at St James’s
Church, Sussex Gardens, on 4 June.
Christopher Schlechte-Bond
Spotlight on…
Several RCM musicians have taken
part in Musical Odyssey International
Masterclasses in Greece where they
won recital opportunities.
Tenor Gyula Rab won the Aspect
Foundation Prize and has performed
at Leighton House, baritone Timothy
Connor won the Concordia
Foundation Prize and has performed
at St Martin-in-the-Fields, soprano
Natasha Day will perform at the
Young Virtuosi Festival in France
in July and pianist Tony Falone has
given a lunchtime recital at the City
Literary Institute. Ben Goldscheider
RCM Junior
Department
Achievements
French horn player Ben Goldscheider
has reached the final round of the
BBC Radio 2 Young Brass Award 2015.
Ben is also horn section leader in the
National Youth Orchestra, of which 21
other RCMJD musicians are members
this year, including orchestra leader
Stephanie Childress, and section leaders
Athena Hawksley-Walker (second
violin) and William Barnes-McCallum
(trombone)… RCMJD French horn player
Joel Ashford has been accepted onto
the European Union Youth Orchestra
2015 Leverhulme Summer School…
RCMJD violinist Shoshanah Sievers
has performed in the Bramley & Little
London Festival in June.
17
Staff notes
Violin professor Madeleine Mitchell
will be teaching at this year’s Dartington
International Summer School and
Languages & Music for Life courses in
Wales and France, and will be a judge at
the Third International Western Strings
Competition in Guangzhou in August.
She recently performed in Victoria Hall
Singapore, Wigmore Hall and on BBC
Radio 3 with piano professor Nigel
Clayton, and at chamber concerts at the
Arnold Schoenberg Centre in Vienna and
Milton Court at the Barbican.
Cello professor Alice Neary has given a
recital with her father, organist Martin
Neary, at St Peter’s Church in St Albans.
The concert included works for cello and
organ by Saint-Saëns, as well as music for
solo cello by Britten.
Research Fellow in Performance Science
Dr Tania Lisboa and Head of the
Centre for Performance Science Aaron
Williamon have, in collaboration
with RCM alumnus Dr Terry Clark,
written a chapter for Advanced Musical
Performance: Investigations in Higher
Education Learning. Entitled ‘Learning
to be an Instrumental Musician’, the
chapter focuses on musical skills as well
as the training of musicians and includes
interviews with RCM students.
RCMJD organ teacher Daniel Moult
has edited An Easy Handel Organ
Album, to be published this summer by
Bärenreiter. Later this year, he will also
begin recording organs across the UK in
an ambitious project to document the
development of the English organ and its
music. The film will be released by Fugue
State Films.
Photos © Federico Alberto
Head of Strings Mark Messenger has
recently travelled to the Dominican
Republic to work with Music for Life – a
youth music programme set up by RCM
alumna Aisha Syed Castro – and met
with iconic composer Rafael Bullumba
Landestoy.
18
Rafael Bullumba Landestoy and Mark Messenger
Professor Ashley Solomon conducted students from NAFA in Singapore
Head of Historical Performance
Professor Ashley Solomon has travelled
to the USA to give masterclasses and
a concert at Penn State University
with members of RCM Ensemble in
Association Florilegium. The tour also
include two concerts in New York.
Ashley also directed students from NAFA
in Singapore in a performance of J S
Bach’s Magnificat.
Head of Studios Matt Parkin has
worked as a recording engineer on
Purcell’s Revenge: Sweeter Than Roses? The
new album from Concerto Caledonia
(Delphian Records) was recorded in the
Britten Studio at Snape Maltings and
brings together stars of both historical
performance and contemporary folk
music to reinvent some of Purcell’s most
popular works.
Faculties Manager David Badger has
completed a Masters in intellectual
property law, researching the legal
protection of creative works online.
Harpsichord professor Terence
Charlston has collaborated with
Professor Chris Howe and Dr Heather
Windram of the University of Cambridge
on an article article published in
Early Music last year. Concerning the
application of phylogenetic analysis to
variants in musical sources, the article
has also been published in the University
of Cambridge’s Horizons magazine.
Trumpet professor Mark Armstrong
has directed the National Youth Jazz
Orchestra to victory in the All Party
Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group
Education Award. Mark has also worked
with BuJazzO (the German National
Youth Jazz Orchestra) as trumpet tutor
at their residential rehearsals at the
Palazzo Ricci in Montepulciano, Italy.
Composition professor Kenneth
Hesketh has been invited to be a
featured composer at the ISCM Korea
Pan Music Festival in September 2015.
Three of his works will be performed,
including the world premiere of Bonnet’s
Phantoms for string quartet, and he
will lecture on his own work during the
residency.
The work of composition professor
Joseph Horovitz will be featured
on two new CDs released by RCM
alumni. This Other Eden is the debut
CD of Ferrier Award winner, mezzo
soprano Kitty Whately, and includes
Horovitz’s scena Lady Macbeth, in
which Kitty is accompanied by pianist
Joseph Middleton. Portraits of England
celebrates the ten-year collaboration
of clarinettist Jonathan Parkin and
pianist Sebastian Stanley and includes
Horovitz’s Clarinet Sonatina.
RCMJD vocal teacher Margaret Maguire
has written a booklet providing an
insight into choral singing as well as vocal
exercises. The booklet is available to
download from tutti.co.uk.
RCM Junior Department piano teacher
Clara Rodriguez has won Classical Act
of the Year at the 2015 Latin-UK Awards
(LUKAS) for her contribution to music
in the UK. LUKAS is the only awards
ceremony to recognise the contribution
of Britain’s one million Latin American,
Spanish and Portuguese residents. Clara
has also performed in London at the
Purcell Room, Southbank Centre.
Stefan Dohr
Berent Korfker
Violin professor Berent Korfker,
inventor of the Pirastro KorfkerCradle
and KorfkerRest, has exhibited these
two revolutionary shoulder rests at the
International Music Fair in Frankfurt.
He is also celebrating his tenth year at
the RCM, and has performed Brahms’
Violin Concerto with Harrow’s Trinity
Orchestra conducted by Ben Palmer.
Clara Rodriguez
RCM Head of Keyboard Professor
Vanessa Latarche has given a
masterclass and been a member of the
competition jury panel at the Astana
Piano Passion festival in Kazakhstan.
RCMJD piano teacher Nataša Lipovšek
will hold piano masterclasses for young
pianists this summer, with the final
concert of the week held at St Mark’s
Church, Wimbledon, on 22 August.
Performance and Programming Concert
Assistant James Greveson Hickie will
be running the Oxjam Brixton Takeover
in October 2015. The month-long music
festival is run by volunteers and will
feature hundreds of artists and events
across the country, all to raise money for
Oxfam. For more information or to get
involved, contact oxjambrixton2015@
gmail.com.
Organ professor Margaret Phillips has
performed at the Sherborne Abbey
Festival in May. Her recital included
Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in D major,
Ad Wammes’ Miroir and Lionel Rogg’s
Nun freut euch, all performed on the
Sherborne Abbey organ.
Simon Brown, Ivan Hewett, Dr Tania
Lisboa and Dr Ingrid Pearson and the
Listening Experience Database project
team will be holding a conference
on 24-25 October 2015 at the RCM.
As the project comes to the end of
its first phase, the LED is still seeking
documented sources of musical
experiences (e.g. diaries, memoirs and
letters) and you can find out more about
both the project and the conference at
www.rcm.ac.uk/led.
Harpsichord professor Jane Chapman
has released a new disc entitled The
Oriental Miscellany. Alumna Yu-Wei
Hu also features on the recording on
Baroque flute.
Photo © Monika Rittershaus
Spotlight on…
Three exciting faculty appointments
have been announced, with Stefan
Dohr, Trio Apaches and Maxim
Rysanov all joining the RCM this year.
Stefan Dohr, principal horn with the
Berlin Philharmonic, joins the Brass
Faculty as a Visiting Professor. Widely
regarded as one of the greatest
horn players of our time, Stefan
was principal horn of the Frankfurt
Opera and Museum Orchestra before
joining the Berlin Philharmonic in
1993.
Trio Apaches takes up the position
of Piano Trio in Association. The
Trio, which includes RCM professors
Ashley Wass (keyboard) and
Thomas Carroll (cello) alongside
Matthew Trusler (violin), formed in
2012 and has quickly established an
active and prominent presence on
the international concert scene. They
will give a series of lunchtime recitals
and offer chamber music coaching to
RCM students throughout the year.
Grammy-nominated violist and
conductor Maxim Rysanov will
join as Artist in Residence, making
regular visits for masterclasses,
one-to-one teaching and chamber
music coaching, as well as giving solo
recitals and directing larger string
ensembles. Maxim’s residency has
been made possible by a donation
from the Georg and Emily von Opel
Foundation.
19
Alumni notes
Soprano Pumeza Matshikiza has
appeared on the front cover of the
February issue of Opera Now. In addition
to a five-page feature about the soprano,
the magazine also included an article on
tenor Thomas Walker.
Violinist Benjamin Baker’s third and
latest CD, The Last Rose of Summer, has
been championed by Classic FM. The
recording features Beethoven’s Sonata
no 2 for violin and piano and Ernst’s
Variations on the Irish Air, ‘The last rose of
summer’.
Violinist Olivia Scheepers has
performed Dvořák’s Violin Concerto
at Chester Cathedral with the Chester
Philharmonic Orchestra.
Bass baritone Bradley Travis has made
his debut with Opera North as Figaro
in Mozart’s comic opera, conducted by
Alexander Shelley and directed by Jo
Davies.
Soprano Susanna Hurrell and
countertenor James Laing have
performed in Kasper Holten’s production
of Cavalli’s L’Ormindo. The production
was a collaboration between the Royal
Opera House and the Sam Wanamaker
Playhouse at Shakespeare’s Globe.
Gregory Batsleer has been awarded
the first ever Arts Foundation Award for
Choral Conducting, receiving a prize
of £10,000. Gregory has also been
appointed Chorus Director of the Royal
Scottish National Orchestra.
Ruth Rogers
Violinist Ruth Rogers has been
appointed as joint Leader of the London
Mozart Players. Taking up the position
in March 2015, her first performance in
the role saw her direct the ensemble in
a concert to launch the new album of
fellow RCM alumna Claire Jones.
Luke Whitlock has released his debut
CD as a composer, on the Divine Art
label. Artists recording Luke’s work
include RCM alumni: flautist Anna
Stokes, clarinettist James Meldrum,
bassoonist Vicky Crowell and pianist
Wai-Yin Lee.
Bassoonist Amy Harman has performed
at the Bath International Music Festival,
accompanied on the piano by Jonathan
Ware. Her concert at the Guildhall
included Saint-Saëns’ Bassoon Sonata,
Elgar’s Romance in D minor and J S Bach’s
Viola da Gamba Sonata no 1 in G major.
Alumni James Lisney, Graham Fitch,
Lauretta Bloomer and Karl Lutchmayer
and RCMJD teacher Christine Stevenson
will give masterclasses, recitals and
presentations at this year’s Summer
School for Pianists, held at the University
of Wolverhampton’s All Steinway
Performance Hub from 16 to 22 August.
Pianist Marta Menezes has released
her debut CD. The recording features
Beethoven’s Sonata no 32 op 111 with
which Marta won First Prize at the RCM
Beethoven Competition in 2013. Trombonist Matthew Gee has released
his first solo trombone album in June.
Paradiso e inferno pairs music by
composers seldom associated with one
another, including works by Brahms,
Carter, Mahler, Schubert and Xenakis.
Baritone Edward Grint has won the
Concours Lyrique International Singing
Competition of Clermont-Ferrand. Part
of his prize includes the opportunity to
perform the role of Polyphemus in a tour
of Acis and Galatea during the 2015/16
season. Edward also recently sang Achille
in Giulio Cesare at the Concertgebouw.
Cellist Noreen Silver has performed
Schubert’s Piano Trio in B flat major in a
series of free concerts presented by the
Ellsworth Community Music Institute
(ECMI) in Maine. She was joined by
violinist Richard Hsu and her husband,
pianist Phillip Silver, for the recital in
April.
20
The Foyle-Štšura Duo – violinist
Michael Foyle and current doctoral
student pianist Maksim Štšura – has
won the Beethoven Chamber Music
Competition (the Gwyneth George
Award) held at Steinway Hall in April.
Their prize includes the opportunity to
perform in the Beethoven Piano Society
of Europe’s 2015/16 season.
Pianist Katherine Tinker has given her
Wigmore Hall debut as a Park Lane
Group Young Artist, alongside her duo
partner Max Welford. They have also
been accepted as Concordia Young
Artists.
Tenor William Morgan has recently
made his English National Opera debut
in the role of Younger Man in the world
premiere of Tansy Davies’ Between
Worlds.
Violinist Levon Chilingirian has joined
other leading Armenian artists for
the Genocide Centennial Concert in
Washington, DC, in May. Performed
at the Strathmore arts centre, the
concert included a range of music from
traditional melodies to contemporary
works composed for the Genocide
Centennial.
Peter Brathwaite recently sang with ETO
Baritone Peter Brathwaite’s Degenerate
Music show has received its premiere
at the London Song Festival, and was
performed at the Alderney Performing
Arts Festival, with pianist Nigel Foster.
A song-based programme that explores
music suppressed by the Nazis in 1938,
the show will also be performed at the
Manchester Jewish Museum next year.
The Piatti String Quartet, formed
by violinist Michael Trainor, violist
David Wigram and cellist Jessie Ann
Richardson during their time at the
RCM, has been awarded Second Prize
at the 2015 Wigmore Hall International
String Quartet Competition. The quartet,
which includes violinist Nathaniel
Anderson-Frank, also received the Sidney
Griller Award for the best performance of
the set piece – Mark-Anthony Turnage’s
Contusion – and the St Lawrence String
Quartet Prize.
Piatti String Quartet
BBC NOW’s Resident Composer Mark
Bowden’s A Violence of Gifts has received
its premiere at St David’s Hall, Cardiff, in
April. Conducted by Martyn Brabbins,
the work has a libretto written by poet
Owen Sheers.
Pianist Maria Marchant has been
announced as pianist-in-residence at
the Shipley Arts Festival in Sussex for
2015. She will also perform Mozart’s
Piano Concerto K 414 with the European
Union Chamber Orchestra on 13 July.
Harpist Elizabeth-Jane Baldry has
given a St Peter’s Music Society recital at
Temple Methodist Church in Budleigh
Salterton. The repertoire spanned five
centuries, and included Spanish dances,
Baroque Flamenco and Victorian fairy
music.
Harpist Claire Jones has performed
in the Bramley & Little London Music
Festival in June. Claire has also released
her new album Journey which features
music reflecting her personal journey
of recovery from ME Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome. The RCM Library has recently
received a new donation relating to
RCM alumnus and British conductor
Leopold Stokowski.
An album containing messages
and good wishes for Stokowski’s
90th birthday has been generously
donated by Edward Johnson of the
Stokowski Society.
Messages contained within the
album are from such musical
luminaries as Samuel Barber, John
Cage, Lou Harrison, Yehudi Menuhin,
Leonard Bernstein, George Crumb
and Dmitri Shostakovich, who wrote
‘On this auspicious day of your
90th birthday I am happy to salute
you and to express once again my
admiration of your enormous talent.’
Pianists Andrei Korobeinikov and
Alexei Petrov have performed at the XV
International Tchaikovsky Competition
in Moscow.
The album is currently on display in
the Donaldson Room in the RCM
Library.
The Françoise-Green Piano Duo
has been awarded Third Prize at the
International Schubert Competition
for piano duos in the Czech Republic.
Antoine Françoise and Robin Green
were invited to perform Mozart’s
Concerto for two pianos K 365 in the
prize-winners’ concert with the chamber
orchestra of Moravia.
Pianist Kausikan Rajeshkumar has
been selected to take part in the 17th
International Fryderyk Chopin Piano
Competition final in Warsaw in October.
Soprano Sarah-Jane Brandon has
reached the final of the Francisco Viñas
Competition at the Gran Teatre del Liceu
in Barcelona.
Simon Halsey has been elected an
Honorary Fellow of the Royal Welsh
College of Music and Drama. He has also
been appointed Conductor Laureate of
the Berlin Radio Choir following 14 years
as Chief Conductor.
Kim Shippey has been appointed
Director of Development and Donor
Relations at the Kitchener-Waterloo
Symphony in Canada.
Pianist Alan Chu, current principal
keyboard of Hong Kong Sinfonietta, has
performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto
no 3 with the Hong Kong Polytechnic
University Students’ Union Orchestra
under the baton of Stanley Yeung.
Spotlight on…
Françoise-Green Piano Duo
Tatty Theo and Rachel Harris will
perform with The Brook Street Band and
Matthew Brook and Carina Cosgrave at
Wigmore Hall on 2 July. The concert will
include works by J S Bach and Handel.
21
Obituaries and births
and Harvey Phillips. She then won a
scholarship to work with Paul Tortelier
at the Paris Conservatoire. Throughout
her career she performed with a great
number of ensembles, including the
Pierrot Players, Salomon String Quartet,
London Sinfonietta, Monteverdi
Orchestra, London Classical Players,
Taverner Players, Orchestra of the Age of
Enlightenment, Philharmonia Orchestra,
English Chamber Orchestra, Steinitz
Bach Players and the Music Party. In the
1980s she started teaching at the Royal
Academy of Music as well as privately.
She is survived by her husband, the
author Mike Foss, and by their daughter.
HRH The Prince of Wales and Dr Christopher Wynn Parry
Dr Christopher Wynn Parry MBE
HonRCM died on 24 February. He was
a Consultant in Rheumatology and
Rehabilitation and was made MBE
in 1954 for his work for the Royal Air
Force in the medical rehabilitation
units (1950-1977). He later worked
at the Royal National Orthopaedic
Hospital as Director of Rehabilitation
and Rheumatology and King Edward
VII Hospital at Midhurst as Director
of Rheumatology (1989-1994). After
retiring, he became honorary Senior
Consultant for the British Association
for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM),
which he helped to develop. He also
played a large role in the development
of the RCM’s Centre for Performance
Science, lecturing to students on the
causes and treatment, and particularly
prevention, of injuries resulting from
performance. He published widely on
rehabilitation, rheumatology, peripheral
nerve damage, back pain, rehabilitation
services and musicians’ problems,
and was awarded a number of prizes
throughout his career. He was an RCM
Friend and, in 2011, was made an
Honorary Member of the RCM. Last year,
the College marked his retirement from
clinical service at BAPAM (aged 89) with
a gathering of friends and colleagues in
the RCM’s Parry Rooms.
Conductor, composer and former
Royal College of Music professor Denys
Darlow died aged 93, on 24 February.
Denys was a professor of organ, theory,
aural and history, working at the RCM
from the mid-60s until his retirement in
1996. Born 13 May 1921 in Barnet, north
London, Denys studied with H A Bate at
St James’s, Muswell Hill, and later with
Dr Arthur Pritchard, for a time working
as assistant organist at Southwark
Cathedral. In 1952 he founded the
Tilford Bach Festival and went on to
give many concerts and broadcasts of
22
Baroque music as well as commissioning
a great deal of new music. In the 1960s
he toured Europe with his choir and
orchestra and was a guest conductor for
the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Swedish
Radio Orchestra, Berlin Symphony
Orchestra and others. He was organist
at St George’s, Hanover Square, from
1972 to 2000, and succeeded Cuthbert
Bates as director of the Bath Bach
Choir in 1980. He founded the London
Handel Festival in 1978, and continued
conducting annual Handel opera
productions in the RCM’s Britten Theatre
as part of the Festival until ill-health
forced him to retire fully in 2002. He was
awarded the FRCM in 1984.
Emily Phelps, formerly Grimes, died
aged 104, on 15 March. Emily grew up
in Ledbury, later moving to London to
work in the catering team at the Royal
College of Music where she met many
of the great musicians who studied
and taught at the College, including Sir
Thomas Beecham and Benjamin Britten.
It was at the RCM that she also met her
first husband, librarian Reginald Grimes,
and the couple were married in 1934. At
the outbreak of WWII, Emily returned
to Ledbury, and ran a local cinema for
many years. Following the death of her
husband, she remarried later in life,
to Percy Phelps. Mother to three and
grandmother to five, Emily was known
for her sense of humour and love of life.
RCM alumna Jennifer Ward Clarke
died aged 79, on 1 March. One of the
first British cellists to play on a period
instrument, she made a name for herself
as one of the most adaptable orchestral
and chamber musicians in the country.
Born in Yateley, Hampshire, on 20 June
1935, she was educated at Benenden
School, in Kent, where she was drawn
to the cello, before studying at the
Royal College of Music with Ivor James
RCM alumna Vivian Tan died aged
53, on 5 April. Vivian studied clarinet
at the Royal College of Music and at
the Philadelphia College of Performing
Arts, before she shifted career focus
to work with children in need. In
1998 she founded One Accord Inc,
which runs Kids Alley, a programme
providing tutoring and support to at
risk youngsters. Vivian earned a number
of awards for her work with children,
including Camden County’s Martin
Luther King Freedom Medal.
RCM alumnus Stephen Cooper died
aged 63, on 26 April. Stephen studied
bassoon at the Royal College of Music
from 1970 to 1974, and it was during
this time that he discovered and became
interested in Alexander Technique.
He qualified as an Alexander Technique
teacher in 1979 and taught the practice
for over 30 years. He was married to RCM
alumna Maureen (Wray).
Births
Assistant Librarian Maira Canzonieri
and her husband Paul Hirons welcomed
daughter Veronica Grace Hirons on
28 February 2015 at 2.25am, weighing
9lbs 7oz. Royal College of Music
Prince Consort Road
London SW7 2BS
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