PRINCIPAL’S NEWS BULLETIN
Spring/Summer 2011
Staff
Directorate
Professor Linda Merrick gave a public masterclass (sponsored by Howarths) and a
performance of Andy Keenan’s new clarinet concerto at the BASBWE Conference in March.
A performance by Linda of Wilfred Josephs’ Clarinet Sonata no 2 was broadcast on the
Canadian radio station CKWR in its Women in Music series in May.
Linda gave the world premiere of RNCM alumnus John McCabe's Clarinet Quintet, which she
has commissioned, with the Kreutzer Quartet at the College on Wednesday 15 June, followed
by the London premiere at Wilton's Concert Hall on Sunday 19 June and a third performance
at York University on Tuesday 21 June. Linda will be recording the quintet together with three
other unrecorded McCabe chamber works on 9 and 10 July for Guild.
Linda was invited to visit the Isle of Man to adjudicate the Young Musician of Man competition
on Sunday 25 June, holding meetings with teachers and students from the Music Service,
with which the College now has a Memorandum of Understanding, and the College's recently
appointed agent, alumnus Gareth Moore who is Deputy Head of Music at King William's
School. This visit will be followed by a student chamber ensemble tour next academic year,
and a series of staff visits for masterclasses, concerts and delivery of professional
development, and student performances as part of an opera production, Directed by Stefan
Janski.
School of Academic Studies
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Simon Parkin (Senior Lecturer) received a PhD from the University of Manchester.
An AHRC funded collaborative research project between Professor Jane Ginsborg and Robert
Fulford (PhD student in Music Psychology) at the RNCM and the School of Acoustics at the
University of Liverpool has been featured in a recent RCUK report on ‘Bid Ideas for the Future’.
Robert is one of 100 students across Europe who has been selected to attend the Roche
Continents Arts and Science event in Salzburg in August.
School of Composition
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Professor Gary Carpenter (Tutor in Composition) had a new work, Dioscuri for two cellos,
premièred at the second Adelaide International Cello Festival in April, hosted at the Elder
Conservatorium of Music. His piece was performed by Australian twins and RNCM alumni Pei-Jee
and Pei-Sian Ng (2005).
Tutor in Composition and alumnus Larry Goves’ new piece, Virtual Airport, has been shortlisted for
an RPS Music Award in the category of ‘Chamber-scale Composition’ (scored for no more than 15
players, and receiving its first performance in 2010). The winners of this year’s Awards will be
announced at the Dorchester Hotel, London on Tuesday 10 May 2011. The RPS Music Awards,
presented in association with BBC Radio 3, are the highest recognition for live classical music in
the UK. www.rpsmusicawards.com
School of Keyboard Studies
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David Jones (Accompaniment Co-ordinator and Head of JRNCM) completed a PhD on the music
of Jeffrey Lewis at the University of Manchester.
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PRINCIPAL’S NEWS BULLETIN
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In Spring 2011 Graham Scott (Head of School of Keyboard Studies) undertook a
College-sponsored tour to Russia and Ukraine, giving master classes and recitals. He
subsequently returned to serve on the jury of the Vladimir Horowitz International Piano
Competition.
School of Strings
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Thomas Kemp (Tutor in Violin) recently completed a podcast for The Independent on his recent
projects with his orchestra, Chamber Domaine, a musical ensemble which explores the links
between our musical past and present and to investigate issues of style as related to changing
fashions in performance.
Craig Ogden (Tutor in Guitar), alumnus and Fellow of the RNCM, was shortlisted for the Classic
FM Album of the Year in this year’s Classical BRIT Awards, for his debut album The Guitarist.
School of Vocal Studies
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Garth Bardsley (Tutor in Communication and Performance) had his new play City Living, written
for and performed by UG2 SVS students for their Assessed Action project, premièred in the RNCM
Studio Theatre in June. Recent publications include words for choral and solo works, with music by
Ben Parry.
School of Wind, Brass and Percussion
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The International Clarinet Focus last November featured visiting Professors Eric Mandat
(University of southern Illinois), Reiner Wehle (Musik Hochshule Lübeck) and Maximiliano Martin
(Scottish Chamber Orchestra). Professor Wehle was subsequently appointed as the RNCM’s
visiting International Tutor for Clarinet, and will visit for master classes and performances twice a
year.
Professor John Miller (Director of Brass Studies) was invited to speak at an orchestral conference
held in the NRW Orchestra Centre in Dortmund in May. The event included a general rehearsal
given by the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Pierre Boulez, and the participating speakers included
German orchestral musicians, orchestra intendants, representatives from Hochschules (including
the Karajan Academy) and innovators such as members of the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and
education advisors of the Berlin Philharmonic.
Students
School of Composition
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David Curington (PG2) has been selected for the LPO Leverhulme Young Composers’ Scheme
and has also won the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Composition Prize, enrolling him on a set of
workshops with the Philharmonia, and a prize of £3000.
Daniel Kidane (PG1) had his new work, Thread for two cellos, premièred at the second Adelaide
International Cello Festival in April, hosted at the Elder Conservatorium of Music. His piece was
performed by Australian twins and RNCM alumni Pei-Jee and Pei-Sian Ng (2005)
School of Keyboard Studies
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Gintaute Gataveckaite (UG3) was a winner in the recent Park Lane Group auditions and will give
a recital as part of their series featuring 20th/21st century music at the Purcell Room in January
2012.
Tetiana Goncharuk (UG4) has received an award of £2,500 from the Musicians Benevolent Fund.
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PRINCIPAL’S NEWS BULLETIN
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Maya Irgalina (PG3) is one of 24 pianists chosen from an international field of 160 to take part in
the ‘Top of the World International Piano Competition’ in Tromso, Norway, in June. The prize
currently boasts the biggest cash prize in competitive piano playing, offering a first prize of €30,000.
Syuzanna Kaszo (UG1) recently won fourth prize in the intercollegiate Sheepdrove Piano
Competition held at the Newbury Festival.
James Redfern (UG1) recently won first prize in the EPTA (European Piano Teachers Association)
piano competition held at Steinway Hall in London, and will subsequently give a recital at the EPTA
conference held at the RWCMD in December, and at St Martin in the Fields in London.
Yasmin Rowe (UG4) has been awarded the Ian Fleming Charitable Trust Award (£4,000) by the
Musicians Benevolent Fund. Following the recent Making Music/Philip and Dorothy Green Award
of Young Concert Artists, Yasmin and Yelian He (cello, UG4) have been taken on to the scheme as
a duo. They will be offered a series of engagements in music clubs up and down the country.
School of Strings
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Tom Bayman (cello, UG4) has been invited to the summer school of Ensemble Moderne in Austria,
the only British applicant to be accepted.
David McCann (cello, PG1) has received an award of £2,750 from the Musicians Benevolent Fund.
Anna Menzies (cello, PG2) has been awarded a Park Lane Group recital for January 2012.
Svetlana Mochalova (cello, PG1) has received an award of £1000 from the Philharmonia
Orchestra/Martin Musical Scholarship Fund.
Mikhail Nemtsov (cello, UG4) has won the 2011 Pierre Fournier Award and will receive a recital in
London's Wigmore Hall, a professional CD recording of that recital, as well as other significant
orchestral and chamber music performances with affiliated organisations such as the Philharmonia
Orchestra and Oxford May Music. Mikhail has also received the Eleanor Warren Award (£4,500)
from the Musicians Benevolent Fund and an award of £1000 and a Purcell Room recital from the
Philharmonia Orchestra/Martin Musical Scholarship Fund. Mikhail, Elena Nemstova (piano, IAD)
and Sophie Rosa have been awarded (against fierce competition) the prestigious Ensemble Award
of £6000 plus a Purcell Room recital from the Philharmonia Orchestra/Martin Musical Scholarship
Fund. Mikhail and Elena have been awarded joint first prize in the Sallieri-Zinetti International
Chamber Music Competition. The prize comprises a CD recording with an Italian label, five
concerts in Italy in Summer 2012 and a total of 5000 euros.
Sophie Rosa (violin, PG1) has received an award of £1000 and a recital at the London Arts Club
from the Philharmonia Orchestra/Martin Musical Scholarship Fund.
Kay Stephen (violin, PG2) has been awarded a Dewer Award (set up in 2002 in memory of
Scotland’s First Minister, Donald Dewar).
Jessica Thomas (violin, PG2) has been awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship (full fees and
maintenance plus travel for two years) to study at McGill University.
Five students from the RNCM, all members of the Vacation Chamber Orchestras, have just
returned from Belgium with top honours after participating in one of Europe’s biggest and most
prestigious youth music festivals. Emily Blogg (violin, UG4), Dorin Tuca (violin, PG2), Liz
Salvidge (viola, UG4), Andrew Crick (cello, UG3) and Emily Farren (clarinet, UG3) took part in
the European Festival of Music for Youth in Neerpelt, Belgium at the end of April.
School of Vocal Studies
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Sean Boyes (tenor, UG3), Kirstin Graham (soprano, PG1) and Adam Player (baritone, PG1) are
performing in The Telephone and Susanna’s Secret at the Lake District Summer Music Festival,
with Roderick Barrand as MD and Stefan Janski as Stage Director
Jonathan Ainscough (bass-baritone, PG2), Hanna-Liisa Midwood Kirchin (mezzo-soprano,
PG1) and Bradley Travis (bass-baritone, PG1) are currently taking part in the Buxton Festival
Opera production of Stephen McNeff’s Tarka the Otter, directed by Robin Tebbutt, to be performed
in the Buxton Pavilion Arts Centre on 11 and 13 July.
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PRINCIPAL’S NEWS BULLETIN
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Adam Player (baritone, PG1) is covering the role of Papageno in Die Zauberflöte with British Youth
Opera.
Adam Smith (tenor, UG4) is Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Clonter Opera.
School of Wind, Brass and Percussion
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Jack Adler-McKean (tuba, UG4) has been awarded a fellowship by the Leverhulme Trust to study
abroad in Hanover next year.
The Tempest Flute Trio (Helen Wilson (UG4), Holly Melia (UG3) and Sarah Bennett (UG1))
recently won the Nonclassical "Battle of the Bands" competition resulting in an future album release
on the Nonclassical record label. The group has commissioned many new works, including pieces
by Professor Gary Carpenter (RNCM Tutor in Composition) and Professor Adam Gorb (Head of
School of Composition). They also received the coveted RNCM Chamber Ensemble of the Year
award.
The Absolution Saxophone Quartet (Anthony Brown (UG4), Jennifer Paltreyman (PG1), Spencer
Moran (UG4), Fraser Johnstone (PG1)) has been accepted on to the IAD Chamber pathway in
2011/12, the first chamber group to be accepted.
Junior RNCM
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James Coleman represented the JRNCM with great distinction in the Beethoven Junior
Intercollegiate Piano Competition in London
Joni Fuller (singer/songwriter) has given her debut performance at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club. She
also played live and was interviewed on BBC Radio Lancashire in June and performed in the
15,000-seater Olympic Athletics Stadium in Lausanne, Switzerland, as part of the finale to a major
international athletics meeting.
George Rimmer (composer) has won the Junior Category of the BBC Young Composer of the
Year Competition.
Violinist and beat-boxer Faz Shah was invited to attend a special event in May at Buckingham
Palace, hosted by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, celebrating young talent in the British
performing arts.
Junior RNCM Brass Band performed in the RNCM Brass Band Focus Day in June, to much
acclaim.
Josh Cirtina (bass trombone) won the Katie Ogden Solo Competition for Trombone on the
National Youth Brass Band Easter course and will join fellow JRNCM student Jams Coleman
(piano) in the final of the Harry Mortimer Solo Competition, to be held at the National Youth Brass
Band Summer Course.
Marissa Landy has been selected to sing with Youth Music Voices, a national choir that is being
formed to sing for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Percussionist Jess Wood has been awarded a place in the National Youth Wind Orchestra.
Singer Andrew Johnston has passed the Royal Schools of Church Music Gold Award with
honours.
Violinist Joy Becker and soprano Alex Lowe have recently been interviewed on Radio Lancashire.
Outstanding ABRSM examination results included: Joshua Cox (Grade 7 piano) 147; Anthony
Mann (Grade 8 euphonium) 143; Harry Castle (Grade 8 violin) 142; Tom Baston (Grade 8 piano)
140; Harish Chari (Grade 8 piano) 140.
The Junior RNCM academic year was rounded off in style on 2 July with a Performance Day,
featuring our six large ensembles. All the concerts were exceptionally well attended.
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PRINCIPAL’S NEWS BULLETIN
Alumni
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SVS alumni Lee Bisset (soprano) and Philip Joll (baritone) will be singing in
performances of Tosca as part of the Dorset Opera Festival this summer.
Rocio Bolanos (clarinet, 2010) is the first clarinettist from the RNCM to be accepted onto
the International Artists programme next year.
Laura Bowler (composition, 2008) has been accepted on to the LPO Leverhulme Young
Composers’ Scheme.
Sipho Fubesi (tenor, 2011) sang in the Clonter Opera Gala, and has been invited to sing
in Portugal, Finland, Germany and the USA.
Andrew Lofthouse (trumpet, 2009) was one of the RAF Central Band members playing
in the fanfare as Kate Middleton arrived at Westminster Abbey for the recent royal
wedding.
Xiaodi Liu (oboe, 2007) has been offered a one year post of Acting Associate Principal
Oboe with the Houston Symphony Orchestra.
Australian twins Pei-Jee (cello, 2005) and Pei-Sian Ng (cello, 2005) performed the
premieres of works for two cellos by RNCM Tutor in Composition, Professor Gary
Carpenter, and PG composition student Daniel Kidane, in the second Adelaide
International Cello Festival at the Elder Conservatorium of Music in April.
Lucy Rugman (clarinet, 2007) is attending the International Orchestral Academy at
Gothenburg Symphony and having lessons with the Principal.
Anna Ryberg (soprano, 1999), Fleur Bray(soprano, 2009), John Pierce (tenor, 2009)
and Alastair McCall (bass-baritone, 2004) will be performing in L’Elisir d’Amore for
Mananan Festival Opera, with Jonathan Alley (baritone, UG1) with Stefan Janski
directing and Kevin Thraves as Music Director.
Slava Sidorenko (piano, 2009) is one of 24 pianists chosen from an international field of
160 to take part in the ‘Top of the World International Piano Competition’ in Tromso,
Norway, in June. The prize currently boasts the biggest cash prize in competitive piano
playing, offering a first prize of €30,000.
Helen Sherman (mezzo-soprano, 2011), representing Australia and John Pierce (tenor,
2009), representing Wales, took part in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition in
June.
Phillippa Slack (French horn, 2010) has recently won the prestigious Dennis Brain Prize
whilst studying at the Royal Academy of Music.
Charlotte Stephenson (mezzo-soprano, 2006) played Valleto in The Coronation of
Poppea with Glyndebourne Touring Opera.
Professor Doug Spaniol (bassoon, 1993) has received a Fulbright Scholar Award to
teach and restore pedagogical bassoon works by 19th Century German bassoonist Julius
Weissenborn at York University.
William Stafford (clarinet, 2008) is currently on trial for assistant Principal at English
National Opera in addition to playing in chamber concerts at the Wigmore Hall.
Tom Verity (clarinet, 2009) has been given the position of Principal Eb clarinet with the
RLPO.
Henry Waddington (baritone, 1993) and Andrew Slater (bass-baritone, 1990) appeared
in Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg with Glyndebourne Touring Opera.
Paul Whelan (bass-baritone, 1991) played Alidoro in La Cenerentola and Lictor in The
Coronation of Poppea with Glyndebourne Touring Opera.
Luke Whitehead (bassoon, 2004) has been appointed contra bassoon player with the
Philharmonia.
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