Staff updates
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News, stories and updates from the RCM staff, plus posts from the鈥�#RCMCommunity on 鈥痵ocial media, which brought together our community’s music-making during lockdown.
#RCMCommunity
RCM staff have continued to keep connected throughout lockdown, posting videos of their performances, rehearsals and personal projects across social media. Here are a few highlights.
Adrian Bending
Adrian Bending, who teaches baroque timpani, has been helping to organise street music events with his neighbours during lockdown. has spawned a YouTube channel, marquislanemusic, and their performances have been featured on
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Christina Guillaumier
Head of Undergraduate Programmes Christina Guillaumier has released a new book entitled The Operas of Sergei Prokofiev. She appeared on BBC Radio 3 to discuss the tome in March. Christina is also joint editor of another recent release, Rethinking Prokofiev.
Russell Hepplewhite
Musicianship and composition teacher Russell Hepplewhite's opera Laïka le chien d'espace ran for 10 performances at the Nouvel Opera in Fribourg Switzerland at the end of 2019. This was the first time the opera (commissioned by ETO in 2013) has been performed in a French translation.
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Julian Jacobson
Piano professor Julian Jacobson has spent lockdown performing a ‘Daily Coffee Piano Moment’ on Twitter Livestream and Periscope. He played a short piece for listeners at home every day at 11am.
Konstantin Lapshin
Junior Department piano teacher Konstantin Lapshin was Head of the Jury at the international festival Stars of the Albion Grand Prix 2020 in London in March. He also gave a series of masterclasses and recitals at Conservatorio Superior de Musica Astor Piazzolla in Buenos Aires in December 2019.
Christina Lawrie
Staff accompanist Christina Lawrie has been filmed performing as part of BBC Bitesize lessons for children at home. She appears in clips discussing Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata and Ravel’s Jeux d’eau, to help children learning about and music.
Simon Lepper
Collaborative Piano Coordinator Simon Lepper has been running an InstaLive series called ‘Conversations with Collaborative Pianists’. Here he talks to Lydia Brown.
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Mark Messenger
Head of Strings Mark Messenger ran a marathon over four days in his local community to raise money for the RCM Covid-19 Hardship Fund.
Happy Birthday to RCM Head of Strings Mark Messenger! Mark has begun his 4-day marathon today, in aid of the RCM Covid-19 Hardship Appeal, and made some great early morning progress 鈽�锔�
— 麻豆视频 (@RCMLondon)
Federica Nardacci
Assistant Librarian Federica Nardacci has released a new book about one of the special collections held at the RCM Library. The collection contains correspondence sent to Italian composer Giuseppe Martucci (1856-1909) and includes letters from Hubert Parry and Albert Visetti, who was an instructor at the RCM. The volume is called Pagine Sparse. Il carteggio di Giuseppe Martucci nei documenti d’archivio del 麻豆视频 (Scattered papers. The correspondence of Giuseppe Martucci in the archival documents of the 麻豆视频) and came out in December 2019.
Jools Osborne
Costume Supervisor Jools Osborne focused her efforts during lockdown on making scrubs, masks, hats and washbags for medical staff.
RCM Costume Supervisor Jools Osborne has joined other talented designers & costumiers in making scrubs for the NHS. Jools works at home with her sewing machine and lots of donated material to create scrubs, hats and wash bags for medical staff 锟斤拷 Great work, Jools!
— 麻豆视频 (@RCMLondon)
Toby Purser
Head of Conducting Toby Purser has launched a Zoom discussion group for conductors. Conductors in Isolation is designed to provide a space for those missing live performance and interaction with other musicians, and now boasts over 770 members from all over the world.
Clara Rodriguez
Junior Department piano teacher Clara Rodriguez performed two concerts in the autumn with RCM alumni. The first, in Caracas, Venezuela, saw Clara play Ravel’s G major Concerto with the Simon Bolívar Orchestra, conducted by Luis Miguel González-Fuentes. In London, Clara performed at St James' Piccadilly with BBC Concertmaster Stephen Bryant at a recital in aid of young Venezuelan musicians. Clara and Stephen appeared together on the BBC Radio 3's In Tune before the recital.
Gabriele Rossi Rognoni
Professor Gabriele Rossi Rognoni, Curator of the RCM Museum, shared a photo of a virtual meet-up with his PhD students.
Greatly enjoyed the first digital coffee with PhD students in and . Inspiring to hear how everyone is finding ways to reinvent and continue their research while . The keeps thriving!
— Gabriele Rossi Rognoni (@RossiRognoni)
Peter Stark
Postgraduate professor of conducting Peter Stark shared a photo from a special Zoom class for conducting students with the renowned conductor Bernard Haitink.
Great to see our talented conducting students working hard in this recent Zoom class with Bernard Haitink and Postgraduate professor of Conducting 锟斤拷
— 麻豆视频 (@RCMLondon)
Ashley Solomon
Head of Historical Performance Ashley Solomon performed to an invited virtual audience.
We're looking to the RCM profs for some ! Here's Head of Historial Performance Professor Ashley Solomon performing to an invited virtual audience last week, bringing more excellent live music to the
— 麻豆视频 (@RCMLondon)
Bushra El-Turk
Junior Department Composition teacher Bushra El-Turk has been commissioned to write a new piece for the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris. Her piece Création will be performed under the direction of Alphonse Cemin at the Théâtre du Châtelet in March 2021. She has also been selected as the featured guest at the All Arias Music Theatre Biennial 2021, where she will discuss her project Woman at Point Zero, in which she focuses on the oppression of women in the Arab world.
Roger Vignoles
Prince Consort Professor of Collaborative Piano and Vocal Repertoire Coach Roger Vignoles has devised a series of long-distance performances. Working with notable singers including Louise Alder, Johannes Kammler and Nicky Spence, they have performed works from Schubert to Strauss. Here he is with baritone Roderick Williams.
Today I launch my new series, Long-Distance Lieder, and am thrilled to have Roddy Williams on board for the first instalment. Watch now on
— Roger Vignoles (@roger_vignoles)
#ConcertFromOurLivingRoom
Christina Lawrie
Christina Lawrie, pianist and RCM staff accompanist, started a fortnightly concert with her husband, Marcus Barcham Stevens, who is Principal Second Violin at the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and co-leader of the Britten Sinfonia. The series is called #ConcertFromOurLivingRoom.
Christina says of the series: 'Our aim is to give solace and joy through live music, and to bring a sense of community and connectedness.' Christina and Marcus appear in the July edition of BBC Music Magazine.
