From Indiana to Kensington

Monday 26 March 2012

This March, we were delighted to welcome three vocal students from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University for a week’s immersion in Handel studies.  The visit was made possible by a very generous gift from The Georgina Joshi Foundation.

Jessica Beebe, Olivia Savage and Michael Porter observed rehearsals for the RCM/London Handel Festival production of Riccardo Primo conducted by Laurence Cummings, received coaching from RCM professors Eiddwen Harrhy and Jonathan Kenny, and sat in on rehearsals with the Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir, conducted by RCM Head of Historical Performance Ashley Solomon.

Michael Porter wrote of his visit: “It is hard to find an institution that contains as much history and musical prowess as the Royal College of Music. Every step I took in the halls of this fine college brought more and more amazement to my eyes and my ears. The professional levels of teaching and performing I was able to see while visiting the RCM will forever be a treasured memory.”

A native of Indiana, Georgina Joshi received her Bachelor of Music from the Royal College of Music, London, where she studied with Eiddwen Harrhy, before returning to Indiana to pursue her Master of Music in Voice at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. The Georgina Joshi Foundation has made a generous donation to enable a student of the Jacobs School of Music to attend the RCM International Opera School; the current recipient of the International Fellowship is Abigail Mitchell, La Contessa in this summer’s production of Le Nozze di Figaro.

(pictured: Michael Porter, Jessica Beebe, Laurence Cummings and Olivia Savage.)