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Principal's Notice - Director of Research

July 2022

P/22/10

Director of Research

I am delighted to announce that Dr Wiebke Thormählen has been appointed as the RNCM’s next Director of Research, succeeding Professor Barbara Kelly who leaves the RNCM on 30 September. Dr Thormählen will commence her new role here at the College in January 2023.

An internationally renowned music historian, Dr Thormählen’s research investigates how different social groups have engaged in a variety of musical practices at home and in public: performing, teaching, collecting, arranging, discussing and patronising music. With a focus on arrangements of large-scale works, domestic devotional music and the engagement with opera in the home, she investigates music through its practices, its material objects and its narratives of emotion and well-being.

Rooted in her work with conservatoire students, and a professional violinist who has performed with leading early music ensembles in the UK and across Europe, Dr Thormählen is currently investigating the early stages of our modern conservatoire system as a way of understanding how our cultural and ideological heritage shapes teaching and training today.

Joining Dr Thormählen, Professor Jane Ginsborg, Dr Mark Pullinger and Dr Sarah Fitzgerald in the RNCM’s Research Team in new fractional roles will be:

Dr Larry Goves (Head of Practice Research]

Dr Michelle Phillips (Head of Enterprise- Academic).

I am sure you would wish to join me in thanking Professor Kelly for her outstanding leadership of research at the College in her time with us and extend a warm welcome to Dr Thormählen and her new team.

Professor Linda Merrick

Principal

Principal's Notice - Gold Medal Winners 2022

P2209

GOLD MEDAL COMPETITION 2022

I am delighted to announce the results of the RNCM Gold Medal Competitions 2022 for students on the Classical and Popular Music programmes.

The Gold Medal winners from the Classical programme are:

Henry Lewis (piano)

Philip Rousiamanis (composer)

Congratulations to our winners, and to our other six finalists:

Cameron Chin-See (trumpet)

Chris Cook (composer)

Xin He (viola)

Emyr Lloyd Jones (baritone)

Daniel Jacob-Ormson (flute)

Xia-Leon Sloane (composer)

I would like to thank the many excellent musicians who contributed to this event, including accompanists Harvey Davies, Ben Powell and Robin Humphreys and violinist Samuel Staples, cellist Nathan Jackson-Turner and pianist Philip Leslie who put in many hours of rehearsal to deliver committed and persuasive performances of the new works written by our student composers.

Finally, thanks are due to the panel members this year:

Manus Carey – Deputy Principal (Performance and Programmes), RNCM

Philip Grange – Composer

Sandra Parr - Artistic Planning Director, RLPO

James Thomas – Creative Director, Manchester Camerata

This year we were delighted to launch a new parallel Gold Medal Competition for students on our Popular Music programme.

The Gold Medal winner from the Popular Music programme is:

Ruby Joyce

Congratulations also to the other finalists:

Nadeem Shakir

Nyah Grace

OMA

Thanks are due to the panel members:

Manus Carey – Deputy Principal (Performance and Programmes), RNCM

Jane Beese (Director of Music at Manchester International Festival)

Tim Kellett (producer and former member of Simply Red)

Thanks are also due to the band members and many other musicians who were involved in the final showcase directed by Andy Stott, academic colleagues who played such an important role supporting the competitors for both Gold Medal events and the professional staff who worked so hard behind the scenes to ensure the events were delivered to a high professional standard.

Professor Linda Merrick

Principal

Cafe Refurbishment - Closed from 18th July

The Catering Department will be closed from Monday 18 July as work commences for the Café refurbishment.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused. It will reopen on Saturday 10 September for Junior RNCM.

RNCM Conference and Catering

Principal's Notice - Professorial Titles

P/22/08

July 2022

Grant of Title: Professor

It gives me great pleasure to announce that subsequent to the consideration of applications to the Committee for the Award of Professorial Titles, the title of Professor (Personal Chair) has been granted as follows:

Dr Cheryll Duncan (Senior Lecturer in Music and Senior Tutor (Learning Support)

Dr Karin Greenhead (Teacher of Dalcroze Eurhythmics; PhD Supervisor)

Dr Jennie Henley (Director of Programmes)

The decision of the Committee for the Award of Professorial Titles was ratified by Academic Board on 12 July 2022.

I am sure you will all wish to join me in offering congratulations to Professor Duncan, Professor Greenhead and Professor Jennie Henley, in recognition of the significant contribution they have made within the Royal Northern College of Music and externally across the wider Higher education sector in the UK and internationally.

Professor Linda Merrick

Principal

Summer 2022 opening hours - Monday 25th July to Sunday 28th August

Monday to Friday

College will be open from 7.00am to 7.00pm

Saturday/Sunday

College Closed

August Bank Holiday – Monday 29th August

College closed

Normal opening hours resume on Tuesday 30th August

Principal's Notice - Ellis Thompson

June 2022

P/22/07

Ellis Thompson

It is with deep sadness that I report that Ellis Thompson, recent alumnus of the RNCM, passed away on Tuesday 17th May 2022.

Ellis Thompson was a Postgraduate violin student at the RNCM between 2016 and 2017. He had developed a busy professional life playing and teaching violin, viola and piano. His was a marvellous example of a modern ‘portfolio’ career. A superb all-round musician with an approach that was always positive and generous spirited, Ellis will be sorely missed and fondly remembered.

A memorial service for Ellis followed by a musical tribute that will be taking place on Wednesday 29th June at St Michael’s church, Macclesfield. RNCM staff/students who knew him will be welcome to attend.

Professor Linda Merrick

Principal

Principal's Notice - Honorary Awards 2022

20June 2022

P/20/06

Honorary Awards 2022

The Board of Governors and the Academic Board of the RNCM are pleased to announce that awards will be conferred, honoris causa, by the President of the College, Sir John Tomlinson, on the occasion of the Congregation of Awards, to be held in the Concert Hall on Wednesday 14^th December 2022:

Fellows of the College (FRNCM)

Don Airey

Alice Coote OBE

Rhys Owens (posthumous)

Errollyn Wallen

Benjamin Wallfisch

Honorary Members of the College (HonRNCM)

Diana Kealey-Edwards

Simon Kirkbride

Professor Malcolm Press CBE

Professor Linda Merrick

Principal

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Ichiko Aoba presented by Grey Lantern

Tuesday 30 August 2022

Ichiko Aoba presented by Grey Lantern
Tuesday 30 August 2022
RNCM Concert Hall

On Sale Friday 3 June at 10AM

Raised in Kyoto, Japan, Ichiko Aoba learnt to play classical guitar aged 17. She found inspiration from Disney and Studio Ghilbi soundtracks and was mentored by Japanese singer songwriter Anmi Yamada.

Ichiko released her first album, Kamisori Otome (Razor Girl), in 2010,aged only 19, and went on to receive much acclaim for her folksy,jazz-influenced songs written for nylon-strung classical guitar and voice –including her 2013 album “0” and on 2018’s “qp”.

She has collaborated with Japanese legend Ryuichi Sakamoto and American sound artist Taylor Deupree; with Sakamoto’s Yellow Magic Orchestra colleague Haruomi Hosono; with Canadian singer-songwriter Mac DeMarco (they duetted on a song for a whisky advert); and with Japanese producer and multi-instrumentalist Cornelius (“she’s such a genius,” he says, “she brings such focus and intensity to what she does, and she’s an incredibly talented guitarist – even though she’d only been playing for two years when I met her!”). There have been collaborations with Japanese hip hop producer Sweet William and with Japanese indie band MahiToThePeople. Canadian violinist Owen Pallett has cited her as an inspiration, comparing her compositions to those of Burt Bacharach (“I’ve never been so blindsided by a musician as I was by Ichiko Aoba”).

Ichiko has also worked on several stage productions: 9 Days Queen by Go Aoki, a production of Cocoon written and directed by Takahiro Fujita, and a revival of Lemming by Shuji Terayama.

Her latest album “Windswept Adan” co-written and produced by Taro Umebayashi, is a singer-songwriter album, a concept album, a piece of chamber music, and a contemporary orchestral work. It is heavily influenced by jazz, by folk and by impressionistic classical music. It is a soundtrack to an imaginary film; it is an album that tells a story; it is a piece of fantasy science fiction set to music; it is a sonic voyage through the East China Sea.

The release of Windswept Adan (on her own label hermine) was a gamechanger for Ichiko, triggering her popularity that snowballed among music fans around the world and attracting critical acclaim from some of the world’s leading media.

Photo credit: Kodai Kobayashi

Details

ia_tour2022_l_by Kodai Kobayashi_website

C2C Presents Sara Evans

Wednesday 31 August 2022

C2C Presents Sara Evans
Wednesday 31 August 2022
RNCM Concert Hall

On Sale at 10AM on Friday 4 March, 2022

Multi-platinum entertainer Sara Evans is at the top of her game. As the fifth most-played female artist at country radio in nearly the last two decades — her five No. 1 singles include “No Place That Far,” “Suds In The Bucket,” “A Real Fine Place To Start,” “Born to Fly,” and “A Little Bit Stronger,” which spent 2 weeks in the top spot and was certified platinum by the R.I.A.A. Sara’s ‘stunning, country voice’ (Rolling Stone) has earned her the prestigious Academy of Country Music Top Female vocalist accolade as well as numerous American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, Country Music Association, CMT and Grammy Awards nominations. In addition, the CMA awarded Video of the Year honours for her hit chart-topping single, “Born to Fly” from her landmark double-platinum album of the same name. Evans’ discography also includes the platinum-selling studio albums Real Fine Place and Restless as well as the gold-certified projects Stronger and No Place That Far.

Sara has continued to forge her bold, creative path with Copy That, which opened at #1 on the iTunes Country chart, released on her own Born To Fly Records on May 15, 2020. The 13-song collection, spanning six decades, showcased Evans’ distinctive creative stamp on some of the most iconic songs in country and pop music, songs that have inspired her life and career, as well as shining a spotlight on some little-known gems. Copy That follows her critically acclaimed Words, which debuted at #2 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums Chart in 2017. Last year brought album and touring collaborations with her children, Avery and Olivia Barker, for The Barker Family Band.

For information on how we are safely managing audiences at the RNCM, please see our FAQ page here.

Details

C2C Presents Brandy Clark

Thursday 1 September 2022

C2C Presents Brandy Clark
Thursday 1 September 2022
RNCM Concert Hall

On Sale Thursday 31 March at 9am

Brandy Clark has been nominated for two awards at the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards: Song of the Year (“A Beautiful Noise” performed by Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile) and Best American Roots Performance (“Same Devil” featuring Carlile).

A ten-time GRAMMY nominee and CMA Awards “Song of the Year” recipient, Clark is one of her generation’s most respected and celebrated songwriters and musicians. Her songs include Kacey Musgraves’ “Follow Your Arrow,” Miranda Lambert’s “Mama’s Broken Heart,” The Band Perry’s “Better Dig Two” and Hailey Whitter’s “Ten Year Town.” Her past two solo albums—2013’s 12 Stories and 2016’s Big Day in a Small Town—each garnered immense critical acclaim landing on “Best of the Year” lists at New York Magazine, Billboard, NPR Music, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, Stereogum, etc. NPR Music’s Ann Powers calls her, “a storyteller of the highest caliber,” while Rolling Stone’s Will Hermes declares, “a country visionary…the consolation of a beautiful voice delivering a well-built song, cold truth rising from it like fog off dry ice.”

Details

Manchester Psych Fest 2022

Saturday 3 September 2022

Manchester Psych Fest 2022
Saturday 3 September 2022
RNCM Theatre

Where

Multi-venue festival at Albert Hall, o2 Ritz, RNCM, Gorilla, YES, Deaf Institute.

Ticket gains access to all venues. ***

When

Saturday 3rd September 2022.

Live music line-up

Click here to visit line-up A-Z page

Art

Exhibitions, murals and visuals to be announced.

Click here to visit Art page.

*line-up subject to change

**each venue is first come, first serve

For information on how we are safely managing audiences at the RNCM, please see our FAQ page here

Details

BNBF Northern Qualifier 2022

Sunday 4 September 2022

BNBF Northern Qualifier 2022
Sunday 4 September 2022
RNCM Concert Hall

The BNBF Northern Qualifier returns to the RNCM. Natural Bodybuilders and Figure competitors battle it out for a place at the National Finals in Oct.

The BNBF Northern championships is an exciting event with some of the best natural bodybuilders and figure competitors in the North of England battling it out to win the opportunity to represent the North at the National Finals. Athletes aged from 16 to 70 take part showcasing their physiques on stage performing routines to music with incredible lighting. Come and make some noise, shout and support who you think is the best and should represent the North in October at the BNBF British Finals.

Prejudging at 1pm

Evening show at 4pm

Tickets:

Tickets covers both prejudging and main show

Adult: £26.00

Child(Under 16): £16.00

Child(Under 5): Free

Details

BNBF Northern 2022 theatre image_website