From radical reinterpretations of musical history to genre-collapsing performances that fuse electronics, movement and improvisation, the RNCM’s upcoming programme showcases the vanguard of cutting-edge live performance with a thrillingly eclectic array of concerts spanning contemporary classical, experimental theatre and breathtaking improvisation.
Written and directed by award winning contemporary performer, composer, producer, lyricist, and multimedia narrative author Liza Bec, The End Times offers an apocalyptic coming-of-age tale that sits somewhere between science, myth and speculative fiction.
Featuring a magical musical blackboard and a theatrical sounscape, this mesmerising hour-long staged performance combines live electroacoustic music, movement and spoken word with three large blackboards transformed into an audio-visual modular synthesiser at the centre, alongside wind, percussion and organ.
The RNCM’s Make-it-up-as-we-go-along Ensemble places improvisation at the heart of contemporary music-making, creating spontaneous arrangements born of the collective instincts and imagination of RNCM composers and performers.
Led by Head of Jazz and Improvisation Steve Berry, the ensemble delivers a peerlessly unique musical experience with no two performances ever the same.
Blurring the boundaries between classical music and other artforms, Manchester Collective joins forces with renowned dance-theatre company Thick & Tight to present a compelling live performance that draws on queer culture, oscillating between ballet and cabaret, the surreal and the beguilingly poignant.
The programme’s centrepiece, Kaija Saariaho’s Sept Papillons, comprises seven darkly exquisite and devilishly challenging miniatures for solo cello, performed by acclaimed cellist Laura van der Heijden. Completing the impressive line-up, Manchester-based multimedia artist CHAINES presents a new, world-premiere work, synthesising cutting-edge technology with classical training to create uncanny, glitching digital textures.
- Words:
- Wolf McFarlane
- Published on:
- Fri 19 Dec 2025
Making their RNCM debut, the multiple GRAMMY award-winning ARC Ensemble brings a powerful and quietly radical programme dedicated to the revival of music that was suppressed and marginalised under repressive regimes during the 20th century.
Featuring chamber works by Ernest Kanitz, Szymon Laks and Robert Müller-Hartmann among others, the evening offers both artistic discovery and welcome historical correction with a technically assured and deeply compelling reintroduction to the classical canon.