The RNCM celebrates inspirational artists, the magic of dance and more with its incredible 2024/25 season

Curated in celebration of global musical diversity, unique instrumental flair and groundbreaking sonic innovation, the RNCM’s Inspirational Artists programme showcases a cohort of captivatingly skilled musicians, each with their own stories, collaborations and bold creative vision for the future, united in their ability to inspire audiences around the world.

Highlights of the series include a one-off performance from Jasdeep Singh Degun, the multi-award-winning sitarist who masterfully blends Western and Indian classical traditions while pushing beyond the boundaries of the form. On Thu 3 Oct, Jasdeep unleashes the power of raga, or raag, a form of musical storytelling in which he interprets a traditional, intergenerational melody in collaboration with renowned tabla player, Himmet Bahra.

On Thu 10 Oct, Fever Dreams demonstrates the inimitable power of string orchestra as Manchester Collective breathe new life into beloved classics while charting a bold course into the future with trailblazing sonic panoramas from ‘cyborg pianist’ Zubin Kanga.

Alongside Tchaikovsky’s timeless technicolour romance, Serenade for Strings, infused with a unique Manchester Collective twist, the programme features Bacewicz’s frenetic, muscular Concerto for String Orchestra. With each work inspired by its composer’s heritage, the orchestra joins forces with Zubin to ask what happens when a retreat into history turns violent, producing an ‘auditory hallucination’ in which the pianist reimagines the construction of the instrument itself with strange, spectral samples of hand saws and sandpaper drills.

From the percussive passion of flamenco to the celestial elegance of ballet, the ancient symbiosis of music and dance embodies humanity in its purest essence. This year, the RNCM honours this primal, universal synergy with a series of dance-inspired musical performances featuring an array of compositions either born from dance or developed alongside dancers.

On Sat 26 Oct, the RNCM Session Orchestra transforms the stage into a pulsating dancefloor with Dance Divas, as irresistible high-octane songs from Becky Hill, Beyoncé and others are reimagined as electrifying orchestral arrangements, supported by soloists in the RNCM Pop Department.

On Sun 3 Nov, renowned jazz saxophonist, flamenco singer and composer Antonio Lizana brings his illustrious quintet to Manchester for an evening of vibrant southern Spanish spirit and irrepressible optimism, following performances from the 2020 BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year, Alex Clarke, alongside decorated jazz pianist Dave Newton.

Throughout the year, the RNCM stages an eclectic assortment of free concerts featuring a wide array of original and iconic compositions, performed by exceptionally talented students from various departments during Monday and Thursday lunchtimes, with no fee required to enjoy the next generation of world-class musicians.

Highlights include ‘Exploring dance in a song’ on Thu 3 Oct, a captivating student-led musical exploration of our shared impulse to dance and sing through a soaring selection of works by Handel, Berio, Mahler and others, performed as part of the RNCM Spotlight series, in which students create and recite their own innovative programmes.

Click HERE to book a free Monday Lunchtimes concert, or HERE to book a space for Thursdays lunchtimes.

To book an RNCM Spotlights concert, click below.

Elsewhere throughout the RNCM season, audiences can enjoy a regular programme of family-friendly concerts with the Young Explorers series, ideal for introducing younger music-lovers to the unbridled wonder of orchestral performance.

On Sun 13 Oct, A Symphony of Stories invites guests into an enchanting, vibrant world of art and music with a programme of beloved orchestral favourites including Stravinsky’s Firebird, Ravel’s Mother Goose, Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and more, as the orchestra brings new dimensions to the illustrations of renowned author and animator, James Mayhew.

Kicking off the RNCM’s 2024 winter schedule, the RNCM Symphony Orchestra settles into the brooding, shadowy corners of Viennese waltzes for a masterful rendition of Ravel’s dark, tempestuous and viscerally subversive La valse on Fri 1 Nov.

Billed as an evening of surprises and riveting unpredictability, the concert also features Satie’s groundbreaking departure from escapist ballet in Parade, where traditional instruments give way to jarring, distinctly unmelodious sounds from typewriters, sirens, and even airplane propellers to create a new, audacious soundscape.

Elsewhere, Vanessa Lann’s Dancing to an Orange Drummer paints a vivid rhythmic portrait of the composer’s personal challenges in adapting to her new surroundings in The Netherlands, while Larry Goves’ hollow yellow willow weaves a tapestry of patterned melancholy, and Paul Stanhope’s Piccolo Concerto juxtaposes whimsical melody with jagged, gritty figures.

As the festive season begins in earnest, the RNCM Opera opens the door into the enchanting and eccentric realms of Chabrier’s outré opera, L’étoile on Sun 8 Dec.

Brimming with biting wit and bizarre fantasy in equal measure, the 1877 masterpiece unfolds in a rickety ride of humorous mishaps, mistaken identities and comical disguises as King Ouf I, bent on celebrating another birthday with a traditional public execution, meets his match in the dissenting peddler, Lazuli.

Described as an effervescent and sophisticated score, L’étoile promises a delightfully entertaining journey through a kingdom full of whimsy in an unforgettable night of comedy and musical majesty.