THE RNCM CELEBRATES 40 YEARS

RNCM in the City: 40 Performances. 40 Venues. Celebrating 40 Years.

Ludwig vanfestival featuring two Beethoven symphony cycles

New Year Opera Gala

An Enchanting Evening with Sir Willard White

The very best in classical, jazz and world music

Box office: 0161 907 5555

The countdown has begun to a landmark year ahead for the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) as it prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary.

Founded in 1973 when the Northern School of Music and the Royal Manchester College of Music merged, the RNCM has, over the past four decades, nurtured over 5,500 students, many of whom are shaping the artistic world, both in the UK and internationally, as performers, composers, conductors, teachers, artistic administrators and much more besides.

Over a seventh month season of exciting events, the College will reflect on its history, and the students, staff and supporters who have made it what it is. It will also look to the future with innovative performances and special guests.

The season launchesofficially on 15 November 2012 when the RNCM Symphony Orchestra recreates the first concert ever performed by the RNCM Orchestra to celebrate the 100thbirthday of Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw, the driving force behind the creation of the RNCM. The concert in her honour features Wagner’s Overture to Die Meistersinger, Arthur Bliss’ Music for Strings and Vaughan Williams’ London Symphony.

November also sees the first concert of Ludwig van, a six-month Beethoven festival exploring how this composer transformed Western classical music forever. The festival features two Beethoven symphony cycles, plus weekends dedicated to his chamber, string and keyboard music, and a contemporary ‘festival-within-a-festival’ that re-invents his music for the 21st-century. It culminates with a performance of his Ninth Symphony at The Bridgewater Hall on 28 June 2013, 40 years after The Duchess of Kent officially opened the RNCM.

The celebrations when the College launches RNCM in the City, a series of 40 free public concerts in 40 venues throughout Manchester. The first concert will take place in the Town Hall on Thursday 29 November, and the full line-up will be announced later in the season. Special anniversary concerts and events are also set to take place throughout 2013, including an Opera Gala on 22 January, an Enchanting Evening withSir Willard White, RNCM President, at The Bridgewater Hall on 12 June, and a phenomenal summer project at an iconic site in London (full details of these events will appear in the Spring 2013 brochure).

In addition to the multiple anniversary events taking place this season, autumn at the RNCM also sees the very best in classical, jazz and world music, including:

  • Pianist Fred Hersch on Wednesday 10 October
  • Jamaican free-form jazz genius Joe Harriott and the Nu Civilisation Orchestra on Saturday 20 October
  • The magic of Kathryn Tickell on Saturday 27 October
  • A showing of the 1929 silent film Pandora’s Box featuring a new live score by Icelandic composer JóhannJóhannsson, cellist and composer HildurGuðnadóttir and turntablistPhilip Jeckon Friday 2 November
  • An opera double-bill, In the Locked Room/Ghost Patrol, by Music Theatre Wales on Wednesday 7 November
  • Legendary jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette and his quintet featuring Don Byron, Martin Sewell, George Colligan and Jerome Harris on Tuesday 13 November
  • Portuguese sensation Carminho on Wednesday 14 November
  • Norwegian ‘deathjazzambientavantrock’ ensemble Supersilentfeaturing Led Zeppelin founder member John Paul Jones on Friday 16 November

For more information, interviews and photographs contact Liz Rowley, PR and Media Relations Office, on 0161 907 5369 or email

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Notes to Editors:

  • The RNCM is a forward-thinking, internationally-acclaimed conservatoire and performance venue, located in the heart of Manchester. Our staff are renowned for their expertise and we have an excellent reputation for attracting some of the world’s most distinguished teachers, performers, conductors, composers and scholars. Over 700 students, at undergraduate and postgraduate level, currently study at the RNCM, more than 200 of which are international representing 50 different countries.
  • The College is also a thriving performance venue offering unparalleled opportunities for students to perform regularly to public audiences and work alongside professional musicians and visiting artists. Housing four major performance spaces, including a professionally-staffed, fully-equipped Theatre and Concert Hall, the RNCM presents in excess of 400 concerts each year ranging from RNCM orchestras and ensembles and large-scale opera productions, to a host of touring companies and external hires. In 2012, the RNCM was placed 7thin PRS for Music’s list of the UK’s top 100 performance venues.