RNCM 50th Birthday Celebration at RNCM

Defining the future of music for 50 years, the RNCM attracts talented young musicians from all around the world, helping them to forge incredible careers in the industry. Concurrently the College provides Manchester with a diverse, explorative, and bold public programme of events showcasing standout students as well as musicians working on the international stage. This 50th anniversary event celebrates all that the college has done, and all that it continues to do, as this powerhouse of creativity enters its fifth decade.

The event comprises three performances, each exploring the many ways ideas, experiences and emotions can be expressed through live music in the 21st century. First up (6.30pm-7.10pm) the RNCM String Orchestra and Chamber Choir will immerse audiences in a performance that breaks the traditional barriers of the concert hall, incorporating movement, improvisation, new music and old. Bringing together the RNCM’s past and present with alumni and current students performing side-by-side, the programme ranges from four movements of Grieg’s classic Holdberg Suite to three new works by Indian-American composer and vocalist Shruthi Rajasekar, hailed by The Guardian as a composer “who will enrich your life”.

In a nod to the RNCM’s roots, the second event (8pm-9pm) will showcase the sheer power and excitement that only a symphony orchestra can deliver. Packed with joy, dance and drama, the RNCM Symphony Orchestra will perform the Three-Piece Suite from Thomas Adès’ fantastical 1995 chamber opera Powder Her Face, before we hear the joyous Andantino-Allegretto from Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement as well as Leonard Bernstein’s show-stopping aria Glitter and Be Gay from the operetta Candide. All before we’re hurled into the bloody world of an imperial Roman circus with Ottorino Respighi’s Roman Festivals.

Rounding off the evening (9.30pm-10pm) is the RNCM Session Orchestra, promising an electrifying performance that turns up the dial on some of popular music’s most iconic tunes from the College’s founding year, 1973. Expect the likes of Wings, Elvis Presley, Shirley Bassey, Diana Ross, David Bowie and Stevie Wonder in strong supply.

Priced at a mere £10 if you’re lucky enough to be under 26 or a student, and £20 if not, your ticket will admit you to all three parts of the evening (6.30pm, 8pm and 9.30pm), and there will be an interval in between each performance. Audience members will also enjoy a complimentary drink and cakes as we raise a toast to 50 years of RNCM!

Read about more concerts in the RNCM’s summer season here.

*Please note a £1 booking fee applies to most tickets.