HÂþ»­

 

William Mival, Head of Composition

Autumn 2021

Staff updates

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As ever, Autumn term has been busy for HÂþ»­ staff. We share some of their successes both on and off campus, as well as some changes to professorial staff and other new appointments.

Changes to HÂþ»­ staff

William Mival, Head of Composition (pictured above), will be stepping down from his post in January.

William – Bill to his colleagues and friends – graduated from the Royal College of Music, and returned to the HÂþ»­ in 1989, teaching musicianship and lecturing on music history for the then London University BMus course. In 1997, Bill became Composition Faculty Co-ordinator and Historical Studies Co-ordinator. In 2000, Bill became joint Head of Composition with Julian Anderson, and subsequently was appointed sole Head of Composition in 2004.

Bill has overseen a remarkable development of the composition faculty, and his support and leadership in the performance programme has been a major influence on the life of the College. We thank Bill most sincerely for the transformative effect his work here has had on students and on College life, and wish him well.

A number of members of the Centre for Performance Science have received new appointments. Professor Rosie Perkins HonHÂþ»­ has been appointed to a Personal Chair in Music, Health and Social Science. In addition, Dr Neta Spiro has been appointed Reader in Performance Science and Dr Christina Guillaumier Reader in Music & Cultural Practice. Read more about their work in our press release.

Dr Gerardo Gozzi has been appointed as the new Area Leader in Creative Musicianship & Improvisation, succeeding David Graham in this role. Gerardo has been an Academic Programmes professor at the HÂþ»­ since 2018, and is active as a composer of acoustic and electronic art music. His works have been recently performed at international festivals such as Gaudeamus Muziekweek (Utrecht), ManiFeste (Paris), Festival du Royaumont (Paris).

Events on campus

Curator of the HÂþ»­ Museum, Professor Gabriele Rossi Rognoni, shared this photo from the first chamber music concert in the new space. Performances have been taking place in the HÂþ»­ Museum regularly throughout the Autumn term. Congratulations to Gabriele and all the team for the hugely successful opening of the new Museum.

On 30 September, presenter Alexander Armstrong performed in front of the Opera audition panel in the Britten Theatre, all part of a Classic FM charity stunt in which he performed in 24 iconic venues in 24 hours. Huge thanks to Nick Sears, Michael Rosewell, Audrey Hyland and Ann Somerville for being great sports and helping to organise this visit.

New recordings

Artistic Director Stephen Johns produced a recording featured in Falling for Stradivari, a new documentary following violinist Janine Jansen's quest to record a unique new album. The documentary can be watched on Sky Arts.

JD Percussion Teacher and senior guest teacher Calum Huggan has released his debut album, , on award-winning record label Delphian Records. The album showcases the instrument’s full spectrum of expressive possibilities, from Michael Burritt’s sparse and open textures to the warmth of Ivan Trevino.

Saxophone professor Kyle Horch has released . The album explores a rich repertoire of original and arranged works, which share affinities beyond the geographic theme: strands of poetic storytelling, references to folk-music, and magical fairy-tale imagery.

In the community

Head of Keyboard Vanessa Latarche recently adjudicated the 21st Twaites Bach Competition at Dulwich College.

Welcoming former students

Former Masters student in Composition for Screen Kate Simko returned to the College this term – this time as a Professor.

 
 
 
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We also welcomed Thomas Blunt (former vocal postgraduate) who returned in a teaching capacity this term.


Send your updates for the next edition of Upbeat to news@rcm.ac.uk.

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