Royal College of Music launches free online concert series featuring Bernard Haitink, John Wilson, Vladimir Ashkenazy and many more
Monday 20 April 2020
The Royal College of Music has launched a free online concert series, offering audiences a diverse programme of broadcasts featuring talented RCM students and celebrated visiting artists.
The series showcases the wide variety of music-making at the RCM, including orchestral, vocal and chamber music, masterclasses and student compositions. The College is delving into its archives to offer a mixture of online premieres and audience favourites.
As events around the world are cancelled and postponed, the RCM’s new concert series is designed to lift spirits and promote the dedication and talent of RCM students, harnessing digital technologies to give audiences access to world-class music anytime, anywhere. Curated by RCM Artistic Director Stephen Johns, the concert series will consist of a monthly programme of broadcasts with new performances available weekly. RCM Friends and Supporters will receive details of the month’s performances one week before the general public, plus exclusive access to a special series of additional video content featuring insights from the RCM's artistic team and others.
On Friday 24 April at 7pm BST, audiences are invited to tune in to YouTube or Facebook for the thrills of Mahler’s Symphony no 7 conducted by celebrated Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink. Recorded in the RCM’s Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall in June 2014, Haitink leads the talented RCM Symphony Orchestra in a rousing performance of one of the composer’s most monumental pieces with its ever-popular finale. In the meantime, a performance of Schubert’s Symphony no 9 with members of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe is available to watch now on the RCM YouTube channel.
RCM Artistic Director, Stephen Johns, comments: ‘We are thrilled to present these performances given by our talented students, past and present, working alongside some of the world’s greatest musicians. In such unusual and challenging times, we would like to share with you and all our friends and supporters around the world this rich programme of great music, reminding ourselves of the power of music to unify and inspire. We have selected a range of concerts from our archive of which we have fond memories, as I’m sure they do for many of our regular concertgoers and RCM Friends and Supporters. We hope you enjoy our online programme of world-class performances and we look forward to welcoming you all back to our home venues as soon as possible.’
The concert series is part of the RCM’s newly launched #RCMCommunity campaign, through which the College is promoting continued music-making by the RCM community and ensuring that its social media channels remain a hub of creativity during challenging times. Uplifting content, tips and support are being shared across the College’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as major Chinese social media platforms Weibo and WeChat (ID: RCMLondon). Content submissions are encouraged from fans and followers as well as those directly connected to the RCM – use the hashtag #RCMCommunity to get involved!
These are unprecedented times for the RCM and its students. Many of our young musicians rely on gigs, teaching, performances and other work to cover their living costs and student fees. As a result of Covid-19, most of this work has been cancelled. We are asking our community to support our Covid-19 Hardship Fund to support those RCM students facing significant financial hardship as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Any donation that you are able to give will support RCM students in urgent need of financial assistance at this time. Thank you for your kind support.
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Further information and monthly listings will be available on the RCM website. Follow the RCM on social media for all the latest news and updates.
