RCM Summer Season 2019: Vladimir Jurowski, Maxim Vengerov and an opera double-bill of Bernstein and Berkeley
Wednesday 3 April 2019
The Royal College of Music (RCM) is pleased to present a vibrant programme of concerts and events for its 2019 Summer Season. A double-bill of comedic operas will pair Bernstein and Lennox Berkeley (26 June, 28 June, 29 June, 1 July), whilst RCM alumnus Andrew Gourlay conducts The Planets at Southbank Centre (2 July).
Renowned international performers will visit for masterclasses, including Wayne Marshall (30 April), Marisa Robles (10 May), Mikhail Voskresensky (14 May) Maxim Vengerov, RCM's Polonsky Visiting Professor of Violin (15 May), and Gwyneth Wentink (18 June). Vladimir Jurowski, Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, leads an open rehearsal with the RCM Symphony Orchestra (4 May). The RCM will also present recitals this season including Nikola Avramovic (9 April) and Arina Lazgiian (8 May), the Benjamin Britten Piano Fellows for 2017/18 and 2018/19, supported by the Philip Loubser Foundation.
Innovative student-produced events take centre-stage at the beginning of the summer. The Great Exhibitionists series (23–29 April) brings to life collaborations with Central School of Ballet, London Contemporary Dance School, Royal College of Art and Cat’s Cradle Collective. Elsewhere, the Composition For Screen Showcase (2 May) will give concert goers the chance to experience new audio-visual works in a cinematic setting.
Following the success of Keyboard Festival: Clara’s Circle, the College’s impressive offering of weekend events continues with festivals showcasing the percussion and string faculties. Headlined by American jazz-drummer Tommy Igoe, RCM Festival of Percussion (5 May) features the BBC Symphony Orchestra Timpani and Percussion sections and the Royal Marines Band Service. The festival closes with the ever-popular RCM Big Band finale concert led by Pete Long, musical director of Ronnie Scott's Big Band. Also returning is Super String Sunday (12 May), which this year presents The Sacconi Quartet and international violinist and RCM professor Daniel Rowland. At both events, family-friendly activities will be run by RCM Sparks, the College’s learning and participation programme.
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RCM musicians will perform at prestigious venues across London. At Southbank Centre, alumnus Andrew Gourlay conducts Holst’s iconic suite The Planets as the RCM Symphony Orchestra take to the Queen Elizabeth Hall stage (2 July), and the RCM Junior Department (RCMJD) present a programme of solo and chamber music at Purcell Room (30 June). As part of RCM’s Cadogan Hall residence, the RCMJD Symphony and Chamber Orchestras will perform concert music from around the globe (7 July).
At The Great Exhibition Road Festival (28–30 June), RCM Sparks and Historic Royal Palaces will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria's birth at Kensington Palace with a unique show entitled The Brass Effect, exploring the innovation and fun of brass music. A series of talks hosted by the RCM exploring the art of science and the science of art will feature Lord Robert Winston discussing how music affects the brain with RCM Artistic Director Stephen Johns.
At the end of June, theatre director Stephen Unwin leads what will be his third opera double-bill for the RCM (26 June, 28 June, 29 June, 1 July) with set design by Nicky Shaw. Prepare to be transported to the booming fifties for Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, a kitchen sink drama that brings everything to the stage: big musical numbers, traditional opera and a little jazz. Meanwhile, in Lennox Berkeley’s A Dinner Engagement, hard times have fallen upon Lord and Lady Dunmow in a delightful comedy of manners.
Booking for the RCM’s Summer Season is on sale now for RCM Friends. General booking opens on Wednesday 10 April 2019.
For more information and to buy tickets, call the RCM Box Office on 020 7591 4314, visit the RCM in person on Prince Consort Road SW7 or visit the RCM website.
