UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 06 SEPTEMBER
Welcome to the first RBC This Week of the new academic year!
As we make the final preparations for the return of our students – and the arrival of many new ones – over the next couple of weeks, it feels like the summer break has passed in a flash. But there has been a great deal going on, with our building hosting an opera production, a great many concerts, summer schools and other events. Our students have been taking part in festivals and performances far and wide, including the BBC Proms.
This autumn, we are hosting an exceptionally wide range of events both here and at partner venues such as the Crescent Theatre. There will be five productions by our Acting students including Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’ and ‘Macbeth’. The new RBC Salsa Orchestra will be appearing at Hockley Social Club.
We are welcoming wonderful guests such as the new Master of the King’s Music Errollyn Wallen, pianist Peter Donohoe, cellist Abel Selaocoe and legendary folk group Fairport Convention. In November, we will be thrilled by the sounds of the new Juliet organ in our Organ Studio, built for us by William Drake in Devon.
Most excitingly of all, we are launching a nine-month long RBC French Season, which will encompass dozens of concerts by students, ensembles and guest artists. Among the anniversaries we are marking is the centenary of the death of Gabriel Fauré, and our special Fauré and his World festival in November will see students playing alongside the great French pianist Pascal Rogé, who joins us as our Artist in Residence. Future events will feature music by Chevalier de Saint-Georges and Poulenc, as well as anniversary celebrations of Maurice Ravel and Pierre Boulez.
We are pleased to say that student recruitment has held up well, at a difficult time for Higher Education in this country, and I am very much looking forward to spending more time with our student community here over the course of my second complete year in post. There is so much talent here, and as we prepare our students for their future careers, it is vital that we give them as much support and variety of experience as possible.
Your support is also vital – whether attending performances, donating to one of our programmes, or just sharing the news of what we do with your own networks – we are very grateful for whatever you can do to help us thrive.
I look forward to welcoming you to RBC in the coming term.
Stephen Maddock
Principal