PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
SUMMER AT THE RNCM
The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) brings its 40th anniversary to a close this
season with a summer full of jazz, classical and world music featuring an array of
international artists and RNCM students.
Turning first to jazz, we welcome The Printmakers on 4 May to celebrate Nikki Iles’ 50th
birthday with a line-up that also includes Norma Winstone and Mike Walker. We are also
pleased to welcome ex-RNCM student and Supertramp sax player John Helliwell who joins
the RNCM Big Band on 29 June for an evening of Supertramp hits. In addition, there’s a
first-time visit from Get the Blessing on 24 April, and we have a phenomenal triple-bill of
collaborations with Manchester Jazz Festival: Take Five: Europe Live! on 29 July; the
Pharoah Sanders Quartet on 31 July; and a unique UK/France collaboration The Dors
featuring Christophe de Bezenac, Chris Sharkey, and Donkey Monkey’s Eve Risser and
Yuko Oshima on 2 August.
Our folk music strand goes from strength to strength this Summer with an intimate show
from Quebec trio Genticorum on 6 June. From the US, we have two very different offerings.
New Orleans band The Soul Rebels, who the Village Voice labelled ‘the missing link
between Louis Armstrong and Public Enemy’, bring their funk and hip-hop tinged take on
brass music on 10 May and a few days later, on 13 May, Minneapolis’ avant-garde jazz trio
The Bad Plus demonstrate their awesome improvisational powers. Following his triumphant
show with the RNCM Symphony Orchestra at The Bridgewater Hall in 2010, Icelandic
innovator Ólafur Arnalds will perform alongside his regular band plus a string quartet on 4
June. And at the beginning of the season, on 26 April, we have Michelangelo Drawing
Blood, an event that uses music, physical theatre, film and photography to delve into the
forces that drove the artist’s genius.
Forming a major part of our celebrations is our Ludwig van festival, which continues this
season with days dedicated to his seventh, eighth and ninth symphonies (the latter of which
will be performed by the RNCM Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Mark
Shanahan at The Bridgewater Hall on 28 June). The festival also includes the RNCM
Keyboard Weekend (22-23 June), which focusses on a complete cycle of Beethoven’s 32
piano sonatas, headlined by François-Frédéric Guy and RNCM alumni Martin Roscoe, Peter
Donohoe, Ronan O’Hara and Graham Scott. And, between 24-27 June, we have 21st
Century Beethoven; an intricate look at how Beethoven has been reinvented by the
composers of our time. More information about Ludwig van can be found here:
http://www.rncm.ac.uk/ludwigvan
RNCM in the City also continues this season, starting with two free concerts at Manchester
Art Gallery on 4 April. The series, our gift to Manchester of 40 free concerts at 40 different
venues throughout the city, runs until 16 June and includes events at the National Football
Museum (9 April), Salford Lads Club (18 May), and Castlefield Ampitheatre (1 June). Again,
more information about RNCM in the City can be found here: http://www.rncm.ac.uk/inthecity
This year’s RNCM Day of Song Celebrating Britten’s Legacy (April 28) marks the
composer’s centenary year and features the full breadth of his vocal music, including song
cycles, folksong arrangements, opera excerpts and music for chamber choir.
Finally, two special events that form an important part of our 40th anniversary take place this
summer: An Enchanted Evening of Song with Sir Willard White (recommended by
Classic FM) at The Bridgewater Hall on 12 June and, a little further afield, Sound Histories
at the British Museum, London on 5 July. Sir Willard White, RNCM President, is one of
Britain’s much-loved opera singers. During this special concert, in aid of the RNCM, he will
perform a selection of his favourite arias and music theatre songs, joined by RNCM alumnae
Kathryn Rudge, Helen Sherman, Elizabeth Karani and Jennifer Rust. Sound Histories is
the latest in our series of large-scale musical installations for public spaces and bring alive
the stories of the Museum collection through music performed by over 200 RNCM students.
For further information or to request interviews please contact Liz Rowley, PR and
Media Relations Officer, on 0161 907 5369 or email liz.rowley@rncm.ac.uk.To learn
more about the RNCM visit www.rncm.ac.uk or to downloaded our brochure visit
www.rncm.ac.uk/brochure
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Notes to Editors:
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In addition to being one of the world’s leading conservatoires, the RNCM is
recognised as one of the North West’s most prominent performing venues offering a
large Concert Hall, Theatre, a smaller Studio Theatre and the Carole Nash Recital
Room.
Throughout the year the College is host to over 400 concerts and events ranging
from classical music to world music and jazz.
It is both a platform for RNCM students to develop their incredible talent, and a stage
for world-class performers to showcase their work.
The RNCM is also a touring venue and to date, some of the biggest names in
popular music have also appeared here, including Adele, Jarvis Cocker, Supergrass,
James Blake and the late Amy Winehouse.