In Focus: Anna Thorvaldsdottir – RNCM Brand New Orchestra at RNCM

Creative Tourist

Book now

In Focus: Anna Thorvaldsdottir - RNCM Brand New Orchestra

4 May 2022

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Anna Thorvaldsdottir
Anna Maggy
Book now

Kicking off the RNCM’s In Focus celebration of Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir, the RNCM Brand New Orchestra will perform the composer’s spellbinding Dreaming on 5 May.

Dreaming”, wrote Andrew Mello of Gramophone in 2019, “is an imposing monolith that emerges from silence and recedes back into it, speaking of natural desolation, severe beauty and precarious tectonics in between.” The piece is a shining example of Thorvaldsdottir’s nature-inspired compositional style, the music behaving like a shifting landscape that unfolds mysteriously, meditatively, in a way that pays no mind to chronological time – like a dream.

We’ll also hear new works by RNCM composers, giving us a glimpse at the compositional talent being nurtured at the college.

Image by Roscoe Rutter.

 

The event, taking place at 7.30pm on 4 May, forms part of a three-day celebration of Thorvaldsdottir’s music, which calls to mind the mighty natural forces of her native Iceland, translating the ecosystems of nature into orchestral soundscapes whose materials continuously grow in and out of each other.

Read about the full programme of events here.

Abel Selaocoe_Spring 2026_credit Phil Sharp_sq
Until
MusicManchester
Inspirational Artists at RNCM

The RNCM launches its second Inspirational Artists series, spotlighting a huge range of touring musicians and ensembles, each bringing something unique to the stage.

From £12.50

Where to go near In Focus: Anna Thorvaldsdottir – RNCM Brand New Orchestra at RNCM

Manchester
Restaurant
San Carlo Fumo

San Carlo Fumo is a sun trap on St Peter’s Square, serving up traditional Italian food at its best

Utility Gift Shop
Manchester
Shop
Utility Gift Shop

Utility Gift Shop on Oxford Road is all about products that are new, unique, quirky and cool. High street shopping at its best.

exterior of Contact Theatre building
Manchester
Theatre
Contact Theatre

Following a major redevelopment, the iconic venue on Oxford Road will be reopening its doors to welcome the public back into the building this autumn. 

The Salutation pub in Manchester
Manchester
Bar or Pub
The Salutation

This traditional boozer, surrounded by imposing flats and university buildings, was taken over by Trof (of the Deaf Institute fame). The Sally, as the regulars call it, hosts an energetic, arty crowd – and its recently expanded outside area is another good reason to visit.

What's on: Music

Legowelt Press Image
MusicManchester
Legowelt at The White Hotel

Vintage machines, sci-fi dreams and 30 years of restless invention. Legowelt plays in deepest darkest Salford this January.

From £19.90
MusicManchester
Sorry at Gorilla

Sorry return to Manchester with a new album that finally captures the full strangeness and clarity of a band who’ve spent years ducking easy categorisation.

From £23.25
MusicManchester
Bar Italia at Manchester Academy 2

One of London’s most hyped bands of the last few years, Bar Italia are playing Band on the Wall in support of their latest album, Some Like It Hot.

From £19.45

Culture Guides

A doll with makeup peeks out of a hanging wall of butter yellow fabric. Red and black threads descend and cascade around the doll.
Exhibitions in the North

This season, exhibitions across the North West feel attuned to the world beneath the world – the forces and stories shaping how we see, feel and imagine.

Music in the North

Manchester’s starting the new year with a run of gigs from some of the country’s best underground exports.

A performer in a bright red costume sits on a snowy stage set, holding a large snowball between their legs with a surprised expression. The colourful winter backdrop features snowflakes, hills, a snowman, and a traffic light with glowing lights.
Family things to do in the North

Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.

Textured portrait image of Jarman
Theatre in the North

Theatre across the North West splits between festive escape and sharp, urgent work exploring politics, power and resistance.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Cinema in the North

There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.

Food and Drink in the North

Hear ye, hear ye. Take some eating-out tips from our wintertime guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.