Student updates
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Our students have been incredibly busy since the summer, with a number of high-profile competition successes and appointments in the industry. Here is just a small selection of their achievements.
Competition successes
Huge congratulations to Alim Beisembayev (MPerf2) and Thomas Kelly (MPerf1), who were prizewinners at the Leeds International Piano Competition on 18 September. Alim won First Prize, as well as the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society Award for the best performance of contemporary music and the medici.tv Audience Prize, and Thomas took home Fifth Prize.
What a joy it has been to be back at @LeedsTownHall to witness 5 outstanding young pianists perform, but unfortunately there can only be only one Gold-medal winner!
— The Leeds (@leedspiano) September 18, 2021
First Prize | The Waterman Gold Medal
ALIM BEISEMBAYEV pic.twitter.com/r3kmU4CYYP
Fifth Prize⁰ | THOMAS KELLY pic.twitter.com/K0lckynhq2
— The Leeds (@leedspiano) September 18, 2021
Douglas and Hilda Simmonds Scholar Marie Sato won the 69th Royal Over-Seas League (ROSL) Annual Music Competition Solo Wind & Brass Section Prize on Tuesday 24 September. Marie’s success follows on from previous years, with the last four winners of the ROSL Woodwind Prize all from the RCM.
RCM Chamber Music Fellows the Echéa Quartet have also achieved success at the 29th ROSL Annual Music Competition, winning the String & Keyboard Ensemble Prize.
A huge congratulations to RCM Chamber Music Fellows the @EcheaQuartet who won last night's @ROSLARTS String & Keyboard Ensemble Prize! Bravo to all #ROSLAMC pic.twitter.com/MrqM6ZxtvH
— Royal College of Music (@RCMLondon) October 13, 2021
Jacky Zhang (BMus1) was awarded Fourth Prize of €7,000 at the Classic Piano Competition as part of the 14 Ways to Dubai International Piano Competition in September.
Tenor Dafydd Jones (MPerf1) was awarded the Thierry Mermod Prize for singers at the Verbier Festival this summer.
Artist Diploma student Philipp Scheucher won Second Prize at the 16th International Beethoven Piano Competition in October. He has also been announced as a quarter-finalist for the Honens International Piano Competition, Canada, taking place in October 2022 (postponed from 2021). He will compete alongside RCM alumni Daniel Evans, George Harliono and Danilo Mascetti.
Congratulations to first-year Composition student and former Junior Department student Chelsea Becker, who has won the Seniors category in this year's BBC Young Composer Competition.
Well done to RCM first year musician Chelsea Becker on winning the Seniors category in this year's BBC Young Composer Competition! Chelsea now receives mentoring on a @BBCRadio3 commission for the BBC Concert Orchestra ahead of a performance or broadcast. https://t.co/tfGaYC8F1K
— Royal College of Music (@RCMLondon) September 23, 2021
Pianist Antonio Morabito (MPerf2) has a achieved a number of competition successes, winning First Prize at the International Youth Music Competition in Atlanta, USA; Second Prize at the Young Musician International Competition City of Barletta; Second Prize at the Brussels International Music Competition; Third Prize at the International Moscow Music Competition, Russia; and Third Prize at the ‘San Donà di Piave’ Piano International Competition.
BBC Proms
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason performed Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement with the Chineke! Orchestra as part of the 2021 BBC Proms, in a programme that also included music by RCM alumnus Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
A lovely mention from RCM pianist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason on @BBCSounds yesterday!
— Royal College of Music (@RCMLondon) August 25, 2021
Congratulations to Jeneba and @Chineke4Change for a stunning @bbcproms concert featuring works by Florence Price & Samuel Coleridge-Taylor ��https://t.co/1c2OpOY1GC
New appointments
This season, Ondřej Soukup (MMus2) made his debut with the Czech Chamber Philharmonic at Prague's famous Rudolfinum. Later this season, he will debut with the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic, and assist Jac van Steen with the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK. He has also been appointed Music Director of King's College London Symphony Orchestra, and Resident Student Conductor with the University of London Symphony Orchestra.
John Paul Jennings (MPerf2) has been appointed Assistant Conductor with Fulham Opera, beginning with Strauss's Die Ägyptische Helena and continuing with Verdi’s La Forza del Destino and Wagner’s Ring Cycle.
Doctoral student Alex Ho has been announced as an LPO Young Composer 2021/22, and will receive a premiere of one of his works at the Southbank Centre in 2022. Alex has also been appointed Artist-in-Residence at Montpellier National Opera this season.
Meet the LPO Young Composers 21/22 �� Mentored by Composer-in-Residence @brettdeanmusic, they’ll each workshop a piece with LPO musicians across the year, before a performance of their work at @southbankcentre in Jul 2022. We can’t wait to work with them! https://t.co/0yAWD8A9kX pic.twitter.com/o2kkedbo8Q
— London Philharmonic Orchestra (@LPOrchestra) September 29, 2021
Composer Jorge Ramos (DMus) has received support from the Portuguese Ministry of Culture to develop the piece for bass clarinet and electronics. He was also selected to represent the city of Braga in this year's ‘City to City’, an initiative that encourages the creation of new pieces of art through artistic collaborations. The project is created by the UNESCO Creative Cities network, of which Braga is an integral part since 2017 as holder of the title of Creative City by UNESCO for Media Arts.
On social media
Thank you to everyone who entered our #RCMSummerSnaps competition! Congratulations to our winner Tannaz Beigi (BMus1), who gave the first harp recital at Vahdat Hall in Tehran and submitted this beautiful shot of her performance.
View this post on Instagram
We were delighted to welcome students back for Freshers’ Week in September:
What a lovely evening for some #freshersweek welcome drinks in the new RCM courtyard! Students have been enjoying the sunshine and meeting our friendly Registry team �� pic.twitter.com/Et5kRvEeYw
— Royal College of Music (@RCMLondon) September 16, 2021
Risa Michelle Sekine (MPerf2) shared her experience of performing with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe in September:
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Send your updates for the next edition of Upbeat to news@rcm.ac.uk, or tag @RCMLondon on social media.
