Academy students work alongside leading conductors on orchestral and chamber music projects this autumn. Jonathon Heyward, Academy alum and Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, makes his first appearance with the Academy Symphony Orchestra performing Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, with opera student Erin O’Rourke taking the solo soprano role (11 Oct). Trevor Pinnock, Principal Conductor of the Academy Chamber Orchestra, leads the ensemble in Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Haydn and Mendelssohn’s Third Symphony (25 Oct). Sir Mark Elder makes a welcome return to conduct the Academy Symphony Orchestra in tone poems by Richard Strauss: Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche and Also sprach Zarathustra (29 Nov).
This term’s composer-in-residence is Academy alum Augusta Read Thomas, one of the most performed composers of her generation. Two concerts at the Academy explore the extraordinary range and vitality of her music, alongside new works and compositions from the Academy’s 200 PIECES collection (10/11 Oct).
Continuing our Resounding Shores series, regular collaborator Eamonn Dougan conducts the Academy Baroque Soloists in a programme of sumptuous symphony anthems (29 Sep); Jonathan Manson and Nicholas Mulroy lead a performance with the Academy Viol Consort (27 Oct); and the Academy’s first SIDE-BY-SIDE project with the Dunedin Consort sees our students travel to Edinburgh to perform Purcell’s Hail! Bright Cecilia with conductor John Butt before returning for a concert of this programme in the Duke’s Hall (22/24 Nov).
Further SIDE-BY-SIDE concerts this term include a concert with Septura Brass celebrating the cultural richness of 20th-century America through the music of Price, Copland and Gershwin (8 Nov), and a performance of Feldman’s For Samuel Beckett alongside longstanding partner London Sinfonietta at the Southbank Centre (29 Nov).
For their autumn production, Royal Academy Opera’s rising stars present Humperdinck’s fairytale opera Hansel und Grëtel (19-22 Nov), directed by Jack Furness and conducted by Johann Stuckenbruck. Also on the Susie Sainsbury stage, the Academy’s Musical Theatre Company celebrate the best and brightest songs of the century so far in a show devised and directed by Matt Ryan (3 Dec).
The Academy Piano Series at Wigmore Hall continues to provide our pianists with the opportunity to showcase their talent and virtuosity on one of London’s most famous stages. We look forward to recitals from Emanuil Ivanov (9 Oct), Tom Zalmanov (13 Nov) and Kasparas Mikužis (4 Dec).
There are opportunities to see students from the Jazz Department performing at the Academy and beyond this autumn term. The Academy Jazz Orchestra is joined by NEA Jazz Hall Of Fame inductee, bassist Dave Holland, for a concert of his original works (4 Oct). In November, the department collaborates once again with Spice Jazz and the EFG London Jazz Festival to celebrate 85 years of Blue Note Records.
Finally, the Academy looks forward to a range of public masterclasses, where audiences can see great artists sharing their musical expertise and knowledge with our students. Notable masterclasses include Joanna MacGregor (24 Sep), guitar sensation and Academy alum Miloš Karadaglić (26 Sep) and Grammy award-winning baritone Christopher Maltman (8 Oct).
View the full diary of events here.
Online booking opens to the public at 10am on Thursday 18 July, when all events will be available to book on our what's on page.