Duncan WardRNCM composer meets Ravi Shankar

Spring 2011

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News 3 AdamGorb’slatestcompositionhonours

RoyalMarineheroes

4 AsparklinglaunchfortheCaroleNashRecitalRoom

5 Topprizesforfinestyounginternationalpianists

7 RNCMstagesaspectaculareveningofmusicandfinedining

8 “Inspirational”RebelloreturnsasnewDirectorofPercussion

Features

10 DuncanWard,RaviShankarandasprinklingofmagicdust…

13 EduardoPortal’s“incomparable”yearattheOAE…

14 FocusonResearch

Alumninews

16 NadineLivingston:stirringheartsinScotland

17 RNCMgraduatestocomposeforLondon2012

18 BenchosenforprestigiousTakeFivescheme

RNCMFriends

19 ThefirstRNCMFriendsDay

JMIPC page 5

Eternal Voices page 3

Simone Rebello page 8 Duncan Ward page 10

Nadine Livingston page 16

RNCM Gala Dinner page 12

For large print copies of RNCM News, or if you’d prefer to receive it electronically, contact: development@rncm.ac.uk 0161 907 5338

You can also download it from www.rncm.ac.uk/rncmnewsRNCM, 124 Oxford Road, Manchester. M13 9RD

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The composition, which explores the shattered lives behind the headlines, was commissioned by the Royal Marines Charitable Trust to celebrate the Commandos’ return from Afghanistan and to honour those killed in action. The words that accompanied Adam’s music were inspired by troops’ real-life experiences and tell the story of a marine killed in action and the impact on his family back home. Each of the 30-minute composition’s five movements were introduced by a ‘headline’ read by newsreader Sir Trevor McDonald OBE at the concert.

Adam said: ‘It is music which is very relevant, which will hopefully communicates something different to that which you see on the news. I didn’t want it to be obviously anti-war but something that reflected the time and that was more intimate’ www.adamgorb.co.uk

AdAm Gorb’s lAtest composition honours royAl mArine heroes

Head of Composition, Professor Adam Gorb, has written a moving ‘living memorial’ to the Royal Marines who have fought and died in Afghanistan. Eternal Voices received its world première by The Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines and an 80-strong choir at Exeter Cathedral at a gala concert to raise money for injured troops on 20 November.

The RNCM has appointed its first ‘Alumni Ambassadors’ in a new initiative which is set to expand internationally. The College hopes to create closer links with former students and young musicians in all its target countries.

First in the new role is former student Gareth Moore (organ, 2007), who will develop links between the RNCM and the Isle of Man.

Gareth now teaches music at the island’s King William’s College. He will liaise with young people and local Manx alumni, working closely with the Island Music Service and RNCM staff to organise concerts and masterclasses, as well as regular reunions.

Maggie Richardson, Head of the Isle of Man Music Service, welcomed the intiative.

‘ It’s the beginning of a new relationship and it has already started to reap benefits for young musicians on the island and the alumni of RNCM,’ she said.

‘ Music is very important here and has always been of a very high standard. We already send a steady trickle of students to Manchester every year…this will help them enormously.’

Gareth has already organised one highly successful reunion bringing together around 25 former RNCM students who live on the Isle of Man.

He is the first of three Ambassadors officially appointed.

Bassoonist Berke Hitay becomes Ambassador for Turkey while pianist Slava Sidorenko will represent the Ukraine.

The 10th RNCM Saxophone Day in November, was one of the most successful to date. Over 250 saxophonists from the length and breadth of the UK attended, and the Concert Hall and Theatre almost sold out for the concerts. Artists included Johan Van Der Linden (Dutch classical soloist), Fiona Asbury (saxophone, 2004), SaxAssault which featured

Rob Buckland (saxophone, 1989), Andy Scott (saxophone, 1989), Mike Hall (saxophone, 1994), and Carl Raven (saxophone, 2004), and the Carlama Orkestar (a Balkan jazz/folk sax quartet and percussion ensemble), which was brought to the UK for the first time for the finale of this amazing event. The event was sponsored by Selmer Paris and RICO.

internAtionAl roles For GrAduAtes

success For sAxophone dAy 2010

Eternal Voices world première at Exeter Cathedral

Saxophone Day 2010

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Music lover Carole’s gift has enabled a stunning transformation of the former Lord Rhodes Room into an outstanding performance space which will include a state- of-the-art recording studio.

She and her family were guests of honour when the stylish renovations were formally unveiled at a champagne reception attended by Manchester’s Lord Mayor.

Chairman of the Board of Governors, Michael Oglesby CBE, said Carole had been ‘scattering stardust’ around the city ever since she sold her thriving North

West insurance firm, and for that the RNCM was hugely grateful.Carole said she was proud to have been involved in what had been an ‘immensely enjoyable’ project and that it had been worth every penny.

‘ I firmly believe that giving the College these extra facilities may enable students to achieve beyond their expectations,’ she said.

‘ The work the College does in recognising and developing talent for students worldwide is phenomenal and I’m delighted to be able to support it in some way.’

‘ Music can cut across all walks of life. It’s a common denominator and everyone should have the opportunity to be involved in it. I want it to be more widely accessible,’ she said.

There is a lot of music in my own family and I felt this was a way of putting something back into something I love very much.’

College Principal, Professor Jonty Stockdale, described the refurbishment as ‘amazing and inspiring.’

He added: ‘This has enabled us to transform our public recital room in a way that will inspire performers and enhance the experience of our audiences.

The room was designed by architects BDP and incorporates an external mezzanine and a glass gallery.

The reception included music from harpist Rosanna Moore; Junior RNCM cellist, Tom Bertolotti, Junior RNCM pianist, Grace Yan and postgraduate pianist Maya Irgalina.

Flautist, Holly Melia, opened the concert having been the last musician to play in the room before building work began.

A spArKlinG lAunch For the cArole nAsh recitAl room

The College’s new £1m Recital Room has been opened officially by local businesswoman and sponsor of the project, Carole Nash.

Carole Nash and Principal Jonty Stockdale

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Accompanied by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra on Saturday 4 December, Kiryl Keduk performed Chopin’s Concerto No 1 in E minor Op. 11 and took the first prize of £8,000. He will also be rewarded by a series of recitals at prestigious venues across the country and a further concerto appearance with the RLPO.

Second prize in the Senior Category was awarded to Zoltán Fejérvári from Budapest and third prize to Brazilian pianist Ronaldo Rolim.

Also accompanied by the RLPO, Junior Category winner Yuanfan Yang was awarded first prize performing Chopin’s Concerto No 1 in E minor Op 11 in the Final Concerto Round on Friday 3 December. He won £4000 and will make a concerto appearance with the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra in the year ahead.

Second prize in the Junior Category was awarded to Eligiusz Skoczylas from Poland and third prize to Xinzhe Jiang from China.

Students from the School of Keyboard Studies and participants in the competition who didn’t reach the finals enjoyed masterclasses from all members of the distinguished jury comprising of Dimitry Bashkirov, Boris Berman, Andrzej Jasinski, Leslie Howard, John O’Conor, Jerome Rose and Arie Vardi.

Graham Scott, Head of Keyboard Studies and Chair of the jury said: ‘ During the course of the week we enjoyed an exceptionally high level of performance from young pianists currently studying at some of the most prestigious institutions throughout the world. The competition was greatly enhanced this year through a collaboration with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the winner in the senior section will get to enjoy the support of a management contract.’

Twenty-three-year-old Kiryl Keduk began lessons at the age of seven with Natalia Łatyszewa, and is currently studying at Accademia Pianistica Inconti Col Maestro, Italy with Boris Petrshansky. He has won numerous prizes and awards, including first prizes in the Minsk National Piano Competition and Antonin International Chopin Competition for Young Pianists and he has performed in New York, Milan, Poland and the Ukraine.

Yuanfan Yang won first prize at the 2009 Manchester International Piano Competition for Young Pianists and was the youngest finalist at the 2010 BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition. He studies with Murray McLachlan at Chetham’s School of Music and is also a prolific composer.

Thirty pianists were selected from 65 entrants to take part in the second RNCM James Mottram International Piano Competition which took place at the Royal Northern College of Music from Monday 29 November – Saturday 4 December 2010.

top prizes For Finest younG internAtionAl piAnists

Outstanding Belarusian pianist Kiryl Keduk was awarded first prize in the Senior Category of the RNCM’s second James Mottram International Piano Competition and 13-year-old Yuanfan Yang, one of the UK’s finest young talents, won first prize in the Junior Category.

Kiryl Keduk, Senior Category first prize winner Yuanfan Yang Junior Category first prize winner and Graham Scott

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Acclaimed pianist and alumnus Peter Donohoe CBE (1976) featured on BBC Radio discussing Sergei Rachmaninov’s famously large hands.

Peter, Fellow of the RNCM, joined Professor Robert Winston to examine evidence that a medical condition might have been responsible for the composer’s giant span, demonstrating, on air, the difficulties this provided would-be performers of his music.

The show, part of Professor Winston’s Musical Analysis series, was broadcast on Radio 4 in July. Peter explained: ‘We explored the theory that Rachmaninov may have suffered from Marfan’s Syndrome, which seems to be vaguely related to autism, although it must have been extremely mild

given that Rachmaninov was a great communicator.‘ Marfan’s Syndrome sufferers are tall and long and thin in every direction… Rachmaninov was a really interesting example – around 6 foot 6 inches tall with very large hands and very long, slim fingers.

‘ While we can’t know these things, his music constantly shouts out his physicality.

‘ It made for an unusual combination of someone who could play very fiddly things yet whose hands could also stretch great distances and that affected the way he wrote his music.

‘ Not many people have hands like his so it can be very difficult for a pianist to cope with.’

‘ In fact Robert came to the conclusion that there was insufficient evidence that Rachmaninov did have the condition, and could simply have been a tall man with long thin fingers and big hands.

‘ We did decide that it was an interesting theory, but no more than that.’

Manchester-born, Peter spent his early school years at Chetham’s School of Music before joining the RNCM, where he studied with Derek Wyndham.

After sterling success as joint winner of the 1982 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, he has developed a distinguished career in Europe, the USA, the Far East and Australasia and last year was awarded the CBE in the New Year Honours.

peter donohoe meets proFessor robert Winston

Undergraduate tenor, Elgan Llyr Thomas, has been awarded first prize in the Urdd National Eisteddfod- Bryn Terfel Scholarship – a prize worth £4,000.

‘ It was a really rewarding experience’, said Elgan ‘and I hope to learn and grow from the advice and support I have

been given and will be forever grateful for the support toward my studies. It was a true honour to win the scholarship.’

Elgan, who studies with David Maxwell Anderson, won the Elsie Thurston Prize in his first year at the College and came third in the Junior Kathleen Ferrier Bursary Award in October 2009.

elGAn Wins bryn terFel scholArship

A third volume of Edward Gregson’s concertos has been released on the Chandos label. This latest release features two previous winners of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition: Guy Johnston (Cello Concerto) and Peter Moore (Trombone Concerto). Bramwell Tovey conducts the BBC Concert Orchestra. The Trombone Concerto was commissioned for Michael Hext, the winner of the first BBC competition in 1978.

There is an important RNCM connection with the other concerto on the disc: A Song for Chris, a concerto for cello and chamber orchestra, is dedicated to the memory of Christopher Rowland, the former inspirational Director of Chamber Music at the College, who sadly died of cancer in

2007. It was premièred at the RNCM Manchester International Cello Festival that year, at which Chris was present, showing incredible willpower despite being in the final two months of his life.

The new CD (pictured) has been made possible through generous sponsorship, not least by the RNCM, who also provided funding for the two previous CDs which received great critical acclaim: the first volume was selected by Gramophone magazine as one of the Editor’s choices for the month, a rare occurrence for a recording of music by a living composer.

neW cd releAse by Former principAl edWArd GreGson

Peter Donohoe CBE

Professor Robert Winston

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FundrAisinG event delivers A spectAculAr eveninG oF music And Fine dininG

Kathryn Rudge as Carmen

Bradley Travis as Escamillo Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw

Sipho Fubesi as Don José

As a fitting finale to 2010, the College celebrated in style with a unique Gala Dinner raising more than £28,000 for scholarships and bursaries. The funds raised will help support talented students and future students, including the pioneering work they are undertaking in hospitals and hospices in the region.

The event took place during the run of our sell-out production of Carmen and placed guests as part of the action, dining on stage, against the backdrop of sultry Seville.

Insurance entrepreneur Carole Nash who has lent her support to the College’s new recital room (see page 4) was our chief sponsor of the evening. It was also generously supported by events stylist Liz Taylor of TLC, as well as Manchester PR Company RMS.

Among the companies who attended were Bruntwood, DLA Piper, Finnair, Marlowe Holdings, RBS Coutts and Rathbone Investment Management.

Freeman of the City of Manchester and former Lord Mayor Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw, now 98, recalled that the College had staged a similar event 24 years ago in her honour. In 1986 Dame Kathleen, one of the prime movers in the foundation of RNCM, stepped down as Chair of the College Court and was given a surprise ‘thank you’ party. ‘For me that was an unforgettable night,’ she said, ‘and tonight has been absolutely brilliant too.’

Kate Seeckts, Director of Development at the RNCM, said: ‘We are delighted that the evening was such a success and we would like to say a big thank you to all those who supported us.’

A prize draw on the night raised £10,000. Prizes included a holiday at the Bab Al Shams Desert Resort and Spa in Dubai, with flights provided by Etihad Airways.

The college hopes to build on the success of this event in 2011. If you would like to get involved please get in touch with Elizabeth Blanckenberg, Development Events Officer at development@rncm.ac.uk or 0161 907 5394.

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The virtuoso percussionist Simone Rebello (percussion, 1991) has come back to her roots as RNCM’S new Director of Percussion.

Simone, a former student who graduated with distinction, has had a remarkable solo career since leaving the College – recording, touring and broadcasting worldwide.

She took up her role at the beginning of the Autumn term taking over from her former tutor, Ian Wright.

‘ I am delighted to have been offered this prestigious position at the RNCM and I am very pleased to have returned to the College where I studied,’ she said.

‘ I am enjoying working with all staff and students in this vibrant and flourishing department and being involved in future concerts and events at the RNCM.’

Dr Paul Goodey, Head of Wind, Brass and Percussion, described her as ‘an inspirational performer, communicator and educator’.

He said: ‘Simone has maintained strong links with the RNCM over the years. We are delighted that she has now come fully on board so that our students can benefit even more from her presence.’

Simone, a founder member of the award-winning BackBeat Percussion Quartet, works internationally as a solo recitalist and a concerto soloist with wind orchestras and brass bands.

She regularly appears as a guest performer with a number of ensembles including The Equivox Trio, Ex Cathedra, The Young Voices Band and in a duo with her cousin, outstanding jazz pianist Jason Rebello.

She has wide experience as a competition adjudicator and judges at events such as the BBC Young Musician of the Year.

In 1998 she was awarded Cosmopolitan/House of Fraser’s Woman of the Year in the Performing Arts.

Simone will be supported in her new role by Elizabeth Gilliver (percussion, 1986), who becomes Senior Tutor of Percussion.

Elizabeth, another RNCM graduate, is already a member of the RNCM Percussion staff.

The College has also appointed cellist Christopher Hoyle as Deputy Head of the School of Strings.

Christopher has worked with many of the UK’s finest orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic, of which he was a member for many years.

He is already on the staff of the Junior RNCM as a tutor, and has also taught at Chetham’s School of Music and The University of Manchester for a number of years.

“ inspirAtionAl” rebello returns As neW director oF percussion

The RNCM’s relationship with Yamaha continues to thrive with the appointment of Le Yu and Ivan Hovorun as the 2010/11 Yamaha scholars.

Percussion undergraduate Le Yu recently participated in the Yamaha-sponsored Keiko

Abe International Marimba Academy in Tokyo where he met some of the Japanese Yamaha representatives as well as performing in Yamaha Hall. He was also a soloist on this autumn’s recent RNCM String Orchestra tour of China. Ivan Hovorun, a postgraduate

pianist, has performed at Yamaha’s flagship UK store, Chappell’s of Bond Street.

Newly-appointed Director of Percussion Simone Rebello is a Yamaha-endorsed artist and is Artistic Director of the Day of Percussion on 13 February 2011.

yAmAhA scholArs For 2010/11 Announced

neWs in brieFVice-Principal Professor Linda Merrick and Dean of Performance Studies Professor Malcolm Layfield travelled to East Asia in September, giving masterclasses, holding auditions and meeting alumni, and visited the Shanghai Expo as guests of the University of Liverpool.

Leverhulme Junior Fellow Gergely Madaras and composition and conducting student Duncan Ward were the only two conductors selected to participate in the Lucerne conducting class with Pierre Boulez in August 2010.

Professor Linda Merrick and Dr Paul Goodey, Head of School of Wind, Brass and Percussion, recorded Professor Gary Carpenter’s Doubles (concerto for oboe, clarinet and wind orchestra) with the RNCM Wind Orchestra on 3 October, conducted by Clark Rundell. The recording was released by Polyphonic at the MidWest Conference in Chicago, December 2010. This recording forms part of a larger scale practice-as-research project led by Professor Merrick, which was presented at an RNCM Research Forum in November, and has subsequently been submitted as an abstract for a major conference at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama next Spring.

Professor Merrick has also recently performed Martin Ellerby’s Clarinet Concerto in Brussels and Antwerp, and performed the work again with a professional wind orchestra in Bilbao, in early December.

Professor Gary Carpenter’s piece Closing Time was performed by Ensemble 10/10 both in Liverpool and at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.

Postgraduate pianist Maya Irgalina got through to the semi-finals of the BNDES Competition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in October.

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perFormAnce on 3 FeAtures the rncmAn exciting collaboration with the BBC gave Performance on 3 listeners a unique insight into the life of the College in the Autumn, following months of recording behind the scenes.

BBC Radio 3 broadcast a series of four programmes in the Autumn focusing on four performance projects that took place during the 2009/10 season: Sing Ariel, a festival of music by Alexander Goehr; the RNCM Violin Weekend; the end of year concert at The Bridgewater Hall; and the Spring Opera, La Clemenza di Tito. The programmes featured interviews with RNCM students including postgraduate composer

Rachel Lockwood, violinist Eva Thorarinsdottir and percussionists Toby Kearney and Daniel Jones, whose performance of Avner Dorman’s Spices, Perfumes, Toxins! at The Bridgewater Hall was broadcast in its entirety. The final programme traced the development of the production of La Clemenza di Tito and also included excerpts of music from the RNCM Day of Song and a concert given by the RNCM Gospel Choir.

BBC producer Leslie Pratt said: “ It was thoroughly enjoyable to spend so much time working at the RNCM this year, to be among the students and staff as they prepared for a number of really

exciting projects together. Radio 3 has been featuring the work of the UK’s music colleges in its Performance on 3 strand, so it was great to be able to showcase the RNCM in this way. It was particularly beneficial for me to see so many diverse musical activities from fully-staged opera productions to contemporary music workshops, and from chamber music weekends to gospel choir concerts. I really hope we’ll be able to come back again to work with more students again in the near future.”

A promotional film shot by the BBC following the production of La Clemenza di Tito can be seen at www.rncm.ac.uk/vocalstudies

Elizabeth Llewellyn (soprano, 1996) has made her English National Opera début as Mimi in Jonathan Miller’s production of La Bohème. As winner of the inaugural Voice of Black Opera competition in 2009, Elizabeth has swiftly risen from small venues to the Coliseum.

enGlish nAtionAl operA debut For elizAbeth lleWellyn

Some of the college’s outstanding young musicians set out on an exciting whirlwind concert tour of China, at the invitation of some of the country’s leading conservatories, in the Autumn.

The RNCM String Ensemble and RNCM percussionist Le Yu, performed to audiences at conservatories in Shanghai, Wuhan and Chengdu, before travelling to Beijing on 29 October.

During their fleeting visit to each conservatoire RNCM students performed alongside Chinese conservatory students.

‘ This was a really wonderful opportunity,” said violinist Sophie Rosa.

”We didn’t speak the same language, but we communicated through our music…it’s a great way of collaborating, and it’s thanks to the College and sponsors who made this tour possible.’

This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for RNCM students was made possible by the generous support of Manchester Airports Group and Finnair who co-sponsored the visit.

chinA tour For strinG ensembleSponsored by

Elizabeth Llewellyn

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DuNCaN WaRD, Ravi ShaNkaR aND a SpRiNkliNg of MagiC DuSt…

‘ It was like he sprinkled magic dust on me,’ said Duncan. ‘After I met him, 2010 went like a dream.’

Duncan, aged 21, met Ravi Shankar for the first time at a prestigious dinner in London in November 2009.

‘ I nervously went over to the great man and it turned out he already knew all about me from his friend Sir Rob Young, Chairman of our World Appreciation of Music (WAM) Advisory Board and former High Commissioner to India!

‘ It was then that I let it be known that I would be coming to India in January, and so when we met again at his home in Delhi, in conversation, he just invited me to spend the summer with him,’ said Duncan.

But the fact that he was in Delhi at all owes more to hard work, determination and enterprise than any dreaming.

He was just 17 when his piano tutor came back from a school in Kerala in Southern India ‘raving’ about her experiences there.

Her enthusiasm was so infectious that Duncan and his then girlfriend dropped everything and went out for a month to teach.

‘ There were lots of people there studying Western classical music but they were excessively focused on exams,’ he explained.

‘ They learned three pieces a year. There was no enjoyment, no passion and nobody was doing it for love…

‘T o go there and bring it to life by getting the youngsters to sing, improvise, play in ensembles and perform in their first concerts, was a huge thrill.

‘ When we left, everybody said how fantastic it had been and that we must come back or send our friends…’

That wasn’t so easy. Duncan had a busy few years ahead.

If his background was ordinary – he came from a non-musical family in Kent – there was something extraordinary about his burgeoning new talent.

Having taken up piano reluctantly after reaching Grade 5 on keyboard, (‘I thought it would be boring – just one sound,’ he laughs), he embraced music full on.

At the age of 12 a visiting New Orleans band overheard him practising on the school piano and invited him to play at local jazz clubs; an inspirational head of music fed his enthusiasm; and by 16 he had won the BBC Young Composer of the Year Competition and joined the National Youth Orchestra.

He flew back from Kerala, completed his International Baccalaureate and moved

A surprise invitation to spend the summer with Indian guru Ravi Shankar set the scene for a sensational year for young composer and conductor Duncan Ward.

The fourth year RNCM postgraduate composition student later triumphed in three prestigious competitions.

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DuNCaN WaRD, Ravi ShaNkaR aND a SpRiNkliNg of MagiC DuSt…

to Manchester to start the joint course in composition and conducting at the University of Manchester and the RNCM.

But India was never far from Duncan’s thoughts and he seized his moment after the NYO selected a handful of its finest to play at a pre-dinner recital for sponsors Coutts Bank.

‘ We were allowed one non-alcoholic drink at the cocktail bar before we were packed off to bed,’ he remembered.

‘ I decided this wasn’t fair so I asked everyone if they wanted to listen to more music…They would name a tune and I would play it. We went on till 3 or 4 in the morning…’

With course fees to pay, Duncan admits he was hoping for some financial reward; instead he was showered with something even better – business cards.

A few weeks later he bit the bullet and rang one, banker Michael Maslinksi.

Over lunch the pair discovered a mutual love of India. Duncan told Maslinksi about Kerala and the WAM – World Appreciation of Music – Foundation was born.

In 2009 WAM sent seven students to music schools across India, the number increased to 12 in 2010.

As Duncan himself prepared to go back for a fourth time, RNCM Tutor in Conducting Mark Heron, encouraged him to apply for some of the world’s major masterclasses and competitions.

Duncan knew his chances were slim – most applicants were older and much more experienced – but he decided to give it a shot and by the time he arrived in Delhi all his applications were in.

The ‘out of the blue’ invitation to Ravi Shankar’s California home at their first-ever meeting surprised him, but not as much as what followed.

Against all the odds he was selected for a masterclass with the Russian pianist Valery Gergiev, conducting the prestigious London Symphony Orchestra.

‘ It was amazing. It meant the first orchestra I ever conducted was the LSO,’ he said. ‘I’ve never driven a Ferrari but that must be the perfect analogy – it was amazing.

They respond to every gesture. You speak the music with your body and they lap it up. It’s wonderful.’ ☞

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When he was also chosen as the youngest of twenty musicians to take part in the Sir George Solti International Conducting Competition in Frankfurt, he began to feel he’d been truly blessed.

With help from the College to boost funding, including grants from the Lady Groves Travel Award, the Philip Geiger Travel Award and the Derek Hill Foundation, he met all the challenges head on.

‘ It was a whirlwind,’ he said. ‘How did I fit it all in? I just slept less.’

Meanwhile, he had also taken up his ‘summer school’ offer with the 90 year-old Ravi Shankar – a man he now describes as ‘part God, part guru and part grandfather…’

While the Indian virtuoso played his famous sitar, Duncan copied on piano.

‘ We developed an amazing relationship and it was an immense privilege to stay with the greatest Indian musician ever,’ he said.

‘ It was a fascinating, partly spiritual experience. Indian classical music goes back thousands of years and I learned a lot about ragas, the Indian scales and keys but also the very embodiment of musical expression. There’s a belief ragas can make it rain or even bring about the birth of a child.

‘The experience has probably informed my music but it’s also altered my view of life.’

It may also have had an effect on Ravi Shankar. Every morning one of his men went to collect Duncan from his hotel.

One day Ravi Shankar’s wife called the young musician to one side: ‘What have you done to my husband? She demanded, ‘This morning I heard him say, ’ok, so who’s collecting my baby today?’‘He only uses that word to describe his daughters – or his sitar.’

“ The experience has probably informed my music but it’s also altered my view of life.” Duncan Ward

“ It meant the first orchestra I ever conducted was the LSO …I’ve never driven a Ferrari but that must be the perfect analogy – it was amazing”

Duncan conducts the LSO observed by Valery Gergiev

Duncan and Ravi Shankar

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Eduardo was chosen from 60 musicians to win the coveted post, only the second apprentice ever at the OAE. Working on a range of different projects with world-class conductors like Sir Simon Rattle, was, he says ‘an incomparable experience’. But he also learned from the musicians themselves.

‘ It was quite different from working with a modern orchestra. I had never worked with period instruments before, so that was incredibly informative.

‘ All the players are very knowledgeable about performance practice and how to approach classical or baroque repertoire and I made sure that I had a very long chat with almost every principal, so I could find out as much as possible about the instruments.

‘ But the other element of learning was from the conductors who came to the orchestra from surprisingly different backgrounds. Many of them are used to working regularly with romantic repertoire and modern orchestras.

‘ They arrive with a strong concept about a piece and it is the orchestra which translates that concept into the sound they can produce. The combination tends to be explosive.’ He added: ‘The role of the apprentice is to some extent as an observer, but as the year went by I was asked to do more and more – including rehearsals, workshops and children’s concerts.

‘ I was also asked to conduct my own concert in May at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in the Southbank Centre which was a wonderful opportunity for me.

‘ Because the apprentice programme was so new it was still in development; very fluid and open to

new ideas. In a sense I was involved in shaping it, which was great.’

Eduardo, 31, completed degrees in computing and violin in his native Spain and studied in London and Berlin before joining the RNCM as a postgraduate student in conducting in 2008.

He says he can think of no better place for a young conductor to learn his art – for the standard of lessons and the number of visiting conductors, but particularly for the amount of podium time it provided.

‘ The invaluable thing for me was that you gain experience without risking your career,’ he says.

‘ At the beginning, the scope for making mistakes is extremely high and your career could easily be destroyed if you are lucky enough to get the chance to work with professional orchestras straight away.

‘ The RNCM gives you the chance to get better without that huge risk.’

Since leaving the OAE, Eduardo has not stopped. He has already had professional engagements across Spain and the UK and there are more to come; he has débuted with the Hallé and has several concerts planned with the Manchester Camerata and the London Philharmonic. He has also been asked to work with the Symphony Orchestra of Sao Paolo in Brazil and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra in Switzerland.

Following in Eduardo’s footsteps, RNCM graduate Kevin Griffiths now takes to the podium at the OAE and the College looks forward to reporting on his progress.

eduArdo portAl’s “incompArAble” yeAr At the oAe…

Former RNCM Leverhulme Junior Fellow in Conducting Eduardo Portal (2008) has spent the last year as an apprentice at the world-renowned Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. As one of his best friends from the RNCM, Kevin Griffiths (2009), prepares to take his place, Eduardo offers him a word of advice. ‘Don’t miss a single opportunity to chat to all the players,’ he says. ‘They are like an open book. It’s fantastic.’

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Dr Byron Dueck joined the rncm in September as Assistant Course Leader of the BMus Honours

programme and its first full-time ethnomusicologist. He studied piano at the University of Toronto and

Wilfred Laurier University in his native Canada before pursuing postgraduate studies in the US.

His doctorate is from the University of Chicago. He taught at Columbia College Chicago for three years

before coming to the UK to take up the job of University Fellow in Music at the Open University. His

research currently focuses on Canadian indigenous music, Cameroonian popular music and jazz in the UK.

Ethnomusicology is the study of music both in, and as, culture.

It combines elements of musicology and anthropology, investigating music’s cultural significance; how music becomes the site for argument, discussion and controversy and why this is so.

Ethnomusicologists are often interested in areas of tension, debate and transformation within cultures where music plays an essential role.

In my case, that has meant investigating such diverse topics as the drum song and pow-wow dancing of Canada’s First Nations (North American indigenous people), the popular Cameroonian genre called bikutsi, and the lives and music of black jazz musicians working in the UK.

I first heard bikutsi at a music festival in Montreal and became fascinated by its rhythmic complexity but, as I came to learn more I realised it was fascinating as well, for social and political reasons.

There were numerous good reasons to investigate it – for its unique musical characteristics but also for its significance for Cameroonians.

On the one hand it reflects how African traditions modernised, in the sense it is a folk genre performed in large part on contemporary Western instruments, and on the other the music is the centre of social and political debate.

Cameroon is an incredibly diverse country – there are around 250 languages spoken there – but bikutsi is based upon the music of only a few of these groups.

For some Cameroonians its prominent place on radio and television is problematic, as is its close association with the family of President Paul Biya. For these listeners, the prominence of the style seems out of proportion to the number of people in the country who actually speak the languages in which it is sung.

That’s one element of its controversiality; another would be the scandalous nature of some of the lyrics and the sexual flamboyance of some performers like K-Tino.

It might seem his freedom points to a society in which there are few restrictions on sexual behaviour. But that’s not necessarily so.

Music is often a means for exploring and expressing taboo subjects that are still problematic culturally.

After all, if we see a murder in a movie we don’t say ha! We’re finally getting rid of our old hang-ups about murder.

When the ideals of a society don’t match up with its actuality, that’s often a factor in the creation of music, drama and other forms of art.

introducinG dr byron duecK

Focus on reseArchDr Dueck teaches a wide range of subjects across musical theory, music history, and musics of the world. Here he talks about his own research in ethnomusicology – what it is, why it’s important and how it can help students better understand world music and celebrate its diversity and range.

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My hope is that ethnomusicology will be valuable to students in many ways.

It can open their ears to a wide variety of musical processes, certainly, but it can additionally give them a sense of the cultural significance of music styles from far away.

Often these styles and the practices associated with them can seem odd or strange. One goal is to help students understand something about the context of that music and move beyond just seeing it as exotic.

They are already exposed to more world music because of its increased circulation.

Our students are already playing or listening to the likes of György Ligeti and George Crumb, composers who were inspired by various folk and classical traditions from around the world.

So if they are already encountering it, albeit filtered through Western composers, there’s a sense in which they might also try to understand a little more about it and the new global context in which music moves ever faster.

The exciting challenge here is the unique opportunity the College gives us for integrating ethnomusicology in an institution where performance is the key focus.

Academic studies here ideally inform the way students play and the kinds of work they move into as musicians.

Ultimately performers are all curators of, and carers for, music. The question is how to develop a keen awareness of that and I think it’s in that area that ethnomusicology will be contributing – both to the students’ lives and to their careers as musicians.

The Macdonald Townhouse Hotel on Manchester’s Princess Street has sponsored two of the RNCM’s most high profile events in the 2010/11 season: the RNCM Chamber Music Festival 2011 and the visit of the Venezuelan Brass Ensemble. Their support marks an important new phase for the Hotel which has recently undergone an extensive programme of refurbishment, transforming it into a four star boutique hotel which will be enjoyed by the RNCM’s visiting performers. The hotel was formerly known as The Princess on Portland. To find out more visit www.macdonaldhotels.com/townhouse or to make a booking call 0161 236 5122.

the mAcdonAld toWnhouse hotel becomes rncm pArtner

A tribute to sir idWAl puGh

Sir Idwal Pugh, who died earlier this year aged 92, was best known as one of the country’s most respected civil servants.

But the former Ombudsman was also a one-time chair of the RNCM and in his private life, music was one of his greatest joys.

An accomplished pianist, he kept a Steinway at his Oxford flat and was still taking lessons in piano and composing in the months leading up to his death.He was also a Bach aficianado and all the music played at his funeral was by the great master.

Sir Idwal joined the College in 1988 and served for five years until 1992.

Born in Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales in 1918, he studied at Oxford University before joining the Army where he served at El Alamein, Sicily and Italy and was promoted to the rank of Major.

He joined the Civil Service in 1946, becoming the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman in 1976. He was made a CBE in 1967 and knighted in 1972.

His beloved wife Mair died in 1985 and he leaves behind a son and a daughter.

“ Ultimately performers are all curators of, and carers for, music. The question is how to develop a keen awareness of that…” Dr Byron Dueck

The Macdonald Townhouse

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Award-winning soprano Nadine Livingston (2008) has been stirring hearts in Scotland where she was voted the country’s 16th ‘most eligible woman’.

In fact she is already in a much-publicised love affair – with Scottish Opera.

The 25 year-old alumna has been making a raft of headlines as she begins her second year as an emerging artist with the company.

She won rave reviews for her outrageous Musetta in her main stage début, Puccini’s La Bohème.

She set the stage alight again last year as Susanna in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, directed by internationally-renowned opera star Sir Thomas Allen. In 2011 she’s taking on the part of Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto.

‘ I can’t quite believe that I’ve been cast in two such amazing roles,’ says Nadine, who studied with Barbara Robotham.

‘ They’re really big roles, especially for someone my age. It’s a fantastic opportunity I’ve been given.’

Glasgow-born Nadine took singing lessons as a young girl after schoolteachers picked up on her remarkable voice. She fell in love with opera when her uncle took her to see Puccini’s Tosca at the age of 14.

She won a scholarship to the RNCM and left with a first class BMus Honours and a Postgraduate Diploma with distinction.

On the way she collected several prizes and awards, including the Joyce and Michael Kennedy Prize for the Singing of Strauss, an Eva Turner Award, the Frederic Cox Award, the 2008 Clonter Opera Prize and a Sybill Tutton scholarship.

In concert she has sung with the National Youth String Orchestra of Scotland as part of the Edinburgh Festival and performed Britten’s Les Illuminations with the RNCM String Orchestra.

But while she was delighted to be reprising Susanna – a role she first played at the RNCM – Nadine says her ultimate ambition is to sing Mimi in La Bohème.

And the stage she would most like to grace is one which she has only seen so far from the front steps – The New York Met.

nAdine livinGston: stirrinG heArts in scotlAnd

Nadine Livingston Nadine as Rosalinda in the RNCM production of Die FledermausSimon Keenlyside (baritone, 1987) has been named Vocalist of the Year by Musical America Worldwide. Simon Keenlyside’s passion for singing and theatre ‘makes even the most timeworn operas seem unpredictable’ according to US critics. The British baritone has brought uncommon ardour to the sublime characters of Mozart and Verdi, Britten’s Billy Budd, and Debussy’s Pelléas, among others. Metropolitan Opera goers recently experienced his striking commitment in a new production of Verdi’s Don Carlo, in which he sings the role of the Marquis of Posa.

Liverpool’s Long Night 2010 culture festival took place on 18 November and culminated in its Sound Relay. The Sound Relay, inspired by the Tate Liverpool Touched exhibition, took composer Jennifer Watson’s (saxophone, 2009) Reflections as its focus.

The evening saw musicians take participants on a musical journey across Liverpool from Hope Street to the Albert Dock. A complete performance of Jennifer’s piece was given in the Wolfson Room at Tate Liverpool as the climax of the relay.

simon Keenlyside nAmed vocAlist oF the yeAr

JenniFer WAtson instrumentAl in liverpool’s lonG niGht 2010

Simon Keenlyside

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The project is a UK-wide programme consisting of twenty outstanding new works, each lasting 12 minutes, which have been commissioned for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

The commissions provide an incredible opportunity to create musical works for a truly global celebration, capturing the energy, hope and excitement of the Olympic Games. In addition, they will be played on BBC Radio 3 and tour the UK.

Since graduating from the RNCM Sally Beamish has developed a reputation as one of the foremost British composers of her generation. Her music has been programmed worldwide by the likes of the Melbourne Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra and Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie.

Emily, currently teaching composition at the RNCM, was a featured composer in Liverpool’s Capital of Culture celebrations in 2008 and her UBS commission, Solar, was premiered by the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Hall in November.

Gavin, meanwhile, became the first music fellow to the Rambert Dance Company and has since developed new pieces for Manchester Camerata. His work Dancing at the Edge of Hell was recently performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Their commissions for this innovative project explore a broad range of themes. Sally’s piece, Spinal Chords references Paralympians and others who display life-affirming attitudes in the face of adversity.

Emily’s chamber opera, in collaboration with young UK opera company Second Movement, is inspired by legendary Czech Olympian, long distance runner, statesman, communist and dissenter Emil Zatopek.

Gavin’s commission will be a new score for Rambert Dance Company’s music and dance piece What Wild Ecstasy, which celebrates a centenary of Nijinsky’s ballet, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune. His score will form a response to Debussy’s masterpiece and, in his words ‘be a testosterone-fuelled work exploring a darker side of the faun’s sensual character.’www.newmusic20x12.org

rncm GrAduAtes to compose For london 2012

Eduard Kunz’s (piano, 2005) remarkable performance at the 22nd New Orleans International Piano Competition last July earned him the prestigious gold medal. The prize included a cash sum, invitations to perform with three orchestras across Louisiana and a recital date at Wigmore Hall in London.

Eduard’s programme in the final included words by Beethoven, Albéniz, Prokofiev and Liszt and brought the crowd to its feet.

A nationwide search to find an opera star of the future resulted in RNCM alumni sharing the limelight in the finals of BBC Radio 2’s Kiri Prize. Following regional auditions 40 out of 630 singers were invited to attend masterclasses with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and 3 RNCM graduates were among 15 selected to go through to the semi-final stages.

Alexander Grove (tenor, 2003), and Laurie Ashworth (soprano, 2006), who won an RNCM Gold Medal in her final year, were selected as finalists last September, alongside soprano Hannah Bradbury who attended Junior RNCM (2001-2005).

Current RNCM Opera Studio scholar and mezzo soprano Kathryn Rudge, who performed the title role in December’s production of Carmen, and RNCM alumna Carolyn MacPhie (soprano 2006) also made it to the semi-finals of the competition.

Gold medAl success in neW orleAns For eduArd Kunz

rncm Alumni in Kiri prize FinAls

Sally Beamish Gavin Higgins

Emily Howard

RNCM alumni Sally Beamish (viola, 1974), Emily Howard (composition, 2004) and Gavin Higgins (horn, 2005) have been selected for the New Music 20x12 project.

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Saxophonist Ben Cottrell’s career has gone from strength to strength since graduating in 2009. Nominated by Steve Mead, Artistic Director of the Manchester Jazz Festival, he has been chosen as one of eight emerging jazz musicians for the Jerwood/PRS for Music Foundation Take Five initiative, a professional development scheme run by international music producers Serious. Ben is also conductor and arranger for the Beats and Pieces Big Band which took part in this summer’s RNCM Symphony Orchestra concert at The Bridgewater Hall playing their Radiohead arrangements during one of the intervals. They have received rave

reviews and The Jazz Breakfast claimed that ‘…if ever there was a big band that sounded perfect for the 21st [century] young person, Beats & Pieces is it’.

In November the band embarked on a national tour which included a gig as part of the London

Jazz Festival and they released their début self-titled EP on Efpj Records, an independent label run by three of the band members, who include RNCM alumnus and former Students’ Union president Sam Andreae (saxophone, 2008).www.beatsnpieces.net

David Angus (conducting 1988) was appointed Music Director for Boston Lyric Opera in September. David’s long association with operatic repertoire includes positions at Opera North, Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Aldeburgh Festival.

Philippe Bach (conducting 2006) moved on 1 December from his post as First Kapellmeister in Lubeck to become general music director of the opera house in Meiningen. This makes him one of the youngest general music directors in Germany.

Lancelot Fuhry (conducting 2004) has recently been appointed as First Kapellmeister in Dortmund, working as second in command to Jac van Steen.

Philip Higham (cello, 2010) received a rave review in the Glasgow Herald for his appearance in the new Lammermuir Festival for his performances of the complete suites of Bach, a remarkable achievement for a player of his age.

Jennifer Palfreyman (saxophone, 2010) won the Clarinet & Saxophone Society’s Young Soloist Competition in October. The Competition was held at the Royal Military School of Music in Twickenham. Jennifer wins £1000 and a concerto performance with the Trinity College Orchestra at the British Saxophone Congress in February 2011 in London.

After over 35 years’ experience as a violinist in the BBC Philharmonic, Pamela Jay (1970) has added a literary string to her bow by publishing a book, Maestro Matters, which explores some of the difficulties faced on both sides of the conductor’s podium, with contributions from many conductors with whom she has worked over the years.

At the Royal Manchester College of Music, Pamela studied violin with Clifford Knowles, Rudolf Botta and Yossi Zivoni, and piano with Kathleen McGrath. After graduating she took up a place in the first violin section of the BBC Philharmonic (formerly the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra).

In the late 1990s Pamela was offered the chance to study

for an MA in Music Education (Trinity College of Music), choosing the training of conductors

as the subject for one of her modules. After graduating in 2000, Pamela filed away her written material until years later, when she realised that her interviews with the conductors might be of interest to others. With these, and her personal account of life as a member of a professional orchestra, Pamela’s book gives the reader a fascinating insight into the relationships between conductors, orchestral musicians and their audiences.

ben chosen For prestiGious tAKe Five scheme

mAestro mAtters by Pamela Jay

Ben Cottrell conducts the Beats and Pieces Big Band

Benjamin Powell (piano, 2006) was announced as first prize winner in the prestigious British Contemporary Piano competition, held at the University of Surrey in October. The prize included a University of Hertfordshire Recording prize, a CD recording and a festival engagement at the Guildford International Music Festival in March 2011.

Philip Mead, Artistic Director and member of the jury, said of the winner ‘Benjamin Powell has shown himself as a consummate musician with a transcendent pianistic technique in the service of a refined musicality. Some of his performances were truly breathtaking. He was a worthy first prize winner.’

benJAmin poWell secures First prize At the british contemporAry piAno competition

Alumni neWs in brieF

Philip Higham

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Friends DayThursday 10 February 2011 11amBy popular demand, we are running a second Friends Day on Thursday 10 February to coincide with the Lunchtime Concert featuring the RNCM Chamber Ensemble performing the beautiful Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune by Debussy.

The day includes• Legacy talk by Stephen McCann,

George Davies LLP• A two-course waiter-served lunch • Reserved seating for the Lunchtime Concert• Tea, coffee and biscuits

Tickets are £15.00 per head, from the box office.

Opera Dress Rehearsal, VanessaTuesday 22 March 2011 7.30pmFor the Spring 2011 season, we are proud to present Samuel Barber’s rarely performed Vanessa. Full of music that is at once elegant yet fraught with tension, this new RNCM Opera production brings Barber’s poignant tale to dramatic life.

Friends and Performance Club members are invited to join RNCM staff at the Dress Rehearsal on Tuesday 22 March and are offered up to two tickets each at £12.50 per ticket. The performance starts at 7.30pm and tickets are available from the Box Office.

The Brodsky pre-concert dining package will be available. To book, please call Heather Wade on 0161 907 5353.

We are keen to encourage more people to join as RNCM Friends. Membership starts at £20 a year for which you could enjoy:• Invitations to exclusive events• Tickets for the opera dress

rehearsals• Invitations to meet students

and staff• Advance notice of the most

popular RNCM events• RNCM News and Events Guide

delivered to your door• Discounts on selected

RNCM-promoted events

Bronze Performance Club members are invited to the Annual Benefactors’ Evening private recital, non-public student masterclasses and to the end-of-year Bridgewater Hall Symphony Concert. Membership starts at £120 a year. Silver Performance Club members make an annual donation of £300 and are included in all the above plus an invitation-only opera event. If you would like to become an RNCM Friend, join the Performance Club or 200 Club please contact the Friends’ Administrator, Lindsey Hampton

Name a Seat Do you have a favourite place in the RNCM Theatre or Concert Hall? You can name your chosen seat in memory of a loved one, for yourself or as a gift. Contact the Friends’ Administrator for further information.

Contact the Friends’ AdministratorLindsey Hampton 0161 907 5338lindsey.hampton@rncm.ac.uk or visit us online at www.rncm.ac.uk

These are just some of the comments from the first Friends Day held on 4 November.

‘A most enjoyable day’ – ‘When are we having the next one?’

‘ Our lunch and concert with you all were so enjoyable. Interesting to meet other friends over lunch and lovely to see the students in the orchestra…’

‘ We thoroughly enjoyed the event. Excellent meal, good company and great music with a very enthusiastic audience. We were also very well looked after by friendly staff – thank you.’

‘ The combination of the gastric delights, the gripping, so well-known loud music, the enthusiastic crowds, the tour to view the latest new rooms with the fantastic acoustic additions, the “afternoon tea” with delicious small cakes, made it for us a wonderful day.’

the fiRSt RNCM fRieNDS Day

RNCM fRieNDS

foRthCoMiNg fRieNDS’ eveNtS

hoW to become An rncm Friend

Booking soon: Musical Castaway with Alec Crowe. Thursday 19 May.

Thursday 24 March - Saturday 2 April

Samuel Barber’s

VANESSA

RNCM OperaGareth Jones, Gergely Madaras conductors

Stefan Janski director Francisco Rodriguez-Weil set & costume designer

Tickets from £18

Box Office 0161 907 5555www.rncm.ac.uk

Thursday 24 March – Saturday 2 April