Welcome to the latest edition of Purcell’s Weekly Highlights!
Chelsea Becker
Year 12 student Chelsea Becker has been invited into the National Youth Orchestra (NYO) as a Composer, and has got through to the second round of the BBC Young Musician 2020 category auditions in early December.
Alexis Ffrench
Alumnus, pianist and contemporary composer Alexis Ffrench has announced that he will go on a six date tour of the UK and Ireland, starting on 25th October 2020. The tour follows his debut album, Evolution, reaching number 1 in the UK Official Classical Artist Album Charts, and news that a new album, Dreamland, is due to be released on 27th March 2020. Tickets will be on sale from today (Friday 15th November) at LiveNation.co.uk.
Jacob Collier
Alumnus Jacob Collier has announced his UK spring shows. The Grammy award-winning jazz artist will play at Manchester’s Albert Hall and London’s Roundhouse on 7th and 8th April, respectively. Tickets go on sale here at 10am today (15th November).
Piano Masterclass with Mirjana Rajić
On Monday, award-winning pianist Mirjana Rajić visited the School for a piano masterclass. Students from the Keyboard department were delighted to have the opportunity to play and be instructed by the internationally renowned artist.
Rush Hour Recital
On Tuesday evening, pianist and accompanist Deborah Shah, and viola player Sarah-Jane Bradley, both Purcell teachers, were joined by guest singer Rozanna Madylus to perform a superb programme of Romantic and contemporary music.
Sarah Upjohn
November is proving a busy month for Purcell physiotherapist Sarah Upjohn who has been out and about promoting Musician Health and Wellbeing. In early November Sarah presented her research at the UK Physiotherapy National Conference in Birmingham, and gave a Healthy Performers talk for the British Association of Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM) and Help Musicians UK (HMUK) at The Royal Society of Musicians in Central London. She also found time to work with Nicola Benedetti on the first ever Benedetti Sessions for young string players and their teachers, as well as giving a talk to the East Anglia branch of the European String Teacher Association about musculoskeletal health and issues. Sarah also worked with the Opera Orchestra at the Royal Northern College of Music and, today (15th November), attended a meeting of the Healthy Conservatoires Network, at Imperial College London. Over the coming weekend, she will attend a BAPAM training day, and in the coming week will return to the Royal Northern College of Music for more teaching.
