The Magazine for the Royal College of MusicI Autumn 2009 Reaching out! How the RCM is connecting with the wider world What’s inside... Welcome to upbeat... The cover of this issue shows an image from our summer opera production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. For the second year running we put on a special abridged Contents matinée performance for schools – needless to say, the mischievous Puck was the childrens’ favourite! 4 In the news Updating you on recent College The opera matinées provide just one example of how the RCM is reaching out to the activities, including museum developments and competition wider community. You can read in this issue about some of the other ways that we’re successes connecting with the wider world. On pages 10 and 11 you’ll discover that our research and teaching can either involve flying halfway round the world or sitting in front of 8 New Arrivals a TV camera right here in Prince Consort Road. Then on pages 12 and 13 you’ll find The RCM welcomes a host of new out that the Woodhouse Professional Development Centre is celebrating a decade of faces to the College working with schools, concert promoters and community organisations, and offering its services to musicians from across the country. 9 Tristram Cary Upbeat remembers this pioneer Of course the rest of the magazine is full, as usual, of the many ways in which RCM of electronic music students, alumni and staff are out and about, entertaining the world through performances and recordings – and even a blockbuster computer game! 10 Improving performance The Centre for Performance As always, we are keen to hear from students and staff past and present, so if you Science travels to New Zealand for its second international have anything you’d like us to feature in the next issue of Upbeat, send your news and symposium pictures in to [email protected] by 11 January 2010. 11 Classical meets modern NB: Please note that we cannot guarantee to include everything we receive and that we Upbeat investigates the new reserve the right to edit submissions. technology connecting the RCM with the rest of the world 12 If you go down to the Woodhouse today… A celebration of the Woodhouse Centre’s achievements during the Photograph: Sheila Burnett Sheila Photograph: last 10 years 14 Meeting the supporters… Upbeat meets RCM Friend Sue Pudifoot-Stephens 15 With thanks to… The College expresses its gratitude to recent supporters 16 Student notes… Current student success stories 18 Staff notes… News from professorial, academic RCM Sparks Summer Music and admin staff Front cover – Image from the summer production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream 20 Alumni notes… Inside front cover – Images from the recent visit by Finnish maestro Esa-Pekka Salonen, who was Updates from RCM graduates making his first appearance with the RCM Symphony Orchestra. Inside back cover – A selection of images from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, performed to 22 Births, marriages and obituaries much acclaim by the RCM’s International Opera School 3 In the news... Graduation Ceremony 2009 Some 200 undergraduate and addresses and gave out the prizes in postgraduate students and their the Britten Theatre. A highlight of the families attended the RCM Graduation day was the world première of a new Ceremony in July. RCM Chairman fanfare, written by distinguished RCM Lord Winston and RCM Director composition professor Joseph Horovitz Professor Colin Lawson both made specially for the occasion. RCM Chairman Lord Winston (above) and RCM Director Professor Colin Lawson (left) both made addresses and gave out the prizes in the Britten Theatre (top right) A successful Museum String Catalogue summer season developments success Three Museum instruments have The RCM Museum’s recently This year the RCM opened its doors benefited from conservation work this published Catalogue Part III: European for the busiest summer of activity term. The Dolmetsch clavichord, which Stringed Instruments has been ever in Prince Consort Road. More has been played by RCM students since highly praised by the Journal of than 11,000 visitors attended 63 it was bought by Sir George Grove in the American Musical Instrument Proms Plus events in the Amaryllis 1894, is having an overhaul. The ‘Elgar’ Society. Their reviewer said of the Fleming Concert Hall. They ranged and ‘Holst’ trombones have both had publication: “This is truly a Rolls-Royce from literary events featuring Andrew minor adjustments to improve their of catalogs – organologists, performers, Motion, Philip Pullman and A. N. playability and will shortly be used by luthiers, and instrument enthusiasts Wilson, through to interviews with RCM professor Sue Addison for a series will all appreciate its loveliness and leading conductors such as Sir David of recordings. Willcocks, Sir Roger Norrington and thoroughness… For anyone who enjoys Vladimir Jurowski, and composer talks The Museum has also recently acquired studying or looking at instruments, this and portraits with Sir Peter Maxwell of a silver medal, awarded to piano book is a treasure trove, and one that Davies, Louis Andriessen and Augusta maker Robert Grosvenor by employers will likely be appreciated even after its Read Thomas. Collard and Collard in recognition of contents are available electronically”. 50 years service. The Collard brothers Copies of the catalogue can be Alongside this, the RCM was running were important in the development purchased from the Museum and its own Summer Music season of of the piano during the first half of the cost £35 plus postage. participatory events, offering 288 nineteenth century and are represented See www.cph.rcm.ac.uk for by a square piano children aged between 6 and 18 the further details. chance to make music and learn in the Museum more about pieces being performed collection. during the Proms season. The events were described by participants as “wonderful”, “amazing” and “imaginative and inspiring”. Summer Music was so successful that we have added a new similar series of events for Easter next year, and are already making plans for summer 2010 - watch upbeat for more details. The RCM Museum’s recently published catalogue Photograph: Chris Christodoulou 4 Furthermore, many visitors to the RCM’s stunning RCM have remarked how friendly and RCM Friends success at Leeds supportive the students are towards each other. There is no doubt that the Summer Party International Piano entire keyboard faculty contributed to this success by inspiring and driving each 2009 Competition other on. The complete list of RCM prize-winners On 24 June we once again welcomed In August, Head of Keyboard Vanessa Friends to the annual RCM Friends Latarche accompanied seven students is as follows: Summer Party. Joined by the College’s from the keyboard faculty of the RCM as Director, Professor Colin Lawson, they headed to Yorkshire for the Leeds First Prize International Piano Competition 2009. Friends enjoyed a drinks reception Princess Mary Gold Medal and in the elegant Parry Rooms before Sixty-eight competitors from 45 £15,000 making their way to the newly countries were accepted for the The Audrey and Stanley Burton refurbished Amaryllis Fleming competition from DVD performances Charitable Trust Concert Hall for performances by of 200 applicants, and the RCM was some of the College’s finest students. delighted to have such a large group – by Sofya Gulyak far the largest number of students from (incoming RCM student) Outstanding Russian pianist and any conservatoire. RCM Concerto Competition winner Incoming RCM Russian scholar Sofya Sixth Prize Konstantin Lapshin performed the Gulyak was awarded First Prize, £3,500 Concert Suite from Tchaikovsky’s when she played Brahms’s D minor Sleeping Beauty to rapturous The Robert Tebb Trust Concerto. Already a prize-winner at applause, while soprano Natasha many international competitions, she Jianing Kong (MMus Year 2) Day and baritone Andrew Boushell, was auditioned by Vanessa Latarche in accompanied by Alisdair Kitchen, Moscow earlier this year and will study Semi-final Prize delighted the Friends with a selection with her at the RCM. of operatic extracts. £1,750 Second year postgraduate Chinese The Tabor Foundation Friends then enjoyed a delicious student Jianing Kong, a student of sit-down buffet dinner and some Gordon Fergus-Thompson and Dmitri Alexey Chernov (PGDip Year 2) Alexeev at the RCM, was awarded Sixth were lucky enough to meet the star performers of the evening. Prize for his performance of Beethoven’s 2nd Round Prizes ‘Emperor’ Concerto. Jianing has already As every year, this special event was undertaken undergraduate study at £800 each the RCM, having previously been at the The Edward Boyle Memorial Trust also an opportunity for the RCM to Purcell School. thank all of our Friends for their loyal Emanuel Despax (RCM alumnus) and kind support. The exceptionally strong RCM cohort Meng Yang Pan (Artist Diploma) was widely commented upon by the Alexei Petrov (Artist Diploma) 15-strong international jury. This success represents an enormous achievement for the RCM and its keyboard faculty, whose Henry Rudolf Meisels Bursaries: world-class status owes much to the flair Irakli Chumburidze (PGDip Advanced) and dedication of Vanessa Latarche and Aliaksandr Muzykantau (MMus Year 2) her colleagues. The annual RCM Friends Summer Party featured performances by some of the Jianing Kong performing with Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé Orchestra College’s finest students 5 In the news... During their stay the students kept Lorin Maazel up a busy schedule of rehearsals and masterclasses, as well as the odd spot of welcomes back sightseeing in the Blue Mountains. RCM performers Their performances, conducted by Maazel, attracted a series of excellent This summer twelve RCM performers reviews. The Washington Times said: made a return visit to Washington “A sparkling production of Benjamin DC to play for one of the world’s Britten’s comic opera Albert Herring… Maestro Lorin Maazel leading conductors at the Chateauville The orchestral accompaniment, provided Foundation Castleton Festival.