The RNCM unveils a dazzlingly diverse concert programme as part of its summer season

On Sat 15 Jun, the RNCM presents a dazzling concert starring the next generation of artists with a captivatingly eclectic programme of their original music, accompanied by a live orchestra.

Featuring students from the Popular Music department where pioneering artists like Porij, The Larkins, and Lucy Deakin made their start, the one-off showcase casts a spotlight on the latest cohort of emerging talent including Freddy Gilmore and his brooding, cinematic, 70s-rock-infused piano ballads and the gossamer-gothic alt-pop of She’s Mine – pitched as ‘the sonic marriage of FKA Twigs, Billie Eilish, Lorde and Grimes’ – as well as May Payne’s raw, intricate R’n’B arrangements and Grete Eitmantyte’s spellbinding vocals, backed by an innovative fusion of soul, R’n’B and jazz.

The following afternoon, the RNCM’s family-friendly Young Explorers series brings the timeless enchantment of DreamWorks Animation to life as the Untold Orchestra performs music from the film series Trolls.

Billed as the perfect way to introduce children to live orchestral music, this Young Explorers performance promises a relaxed, engaging afternoon of delightful film favourites including Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop the Feeling, True Colours, and Ariana Grande’s They Don’t Know.

Winner of Best Vocalist at the 2019 British Jazz Awards, Sara Dowling joins the RNCM Big Band as one of the country’s most exciting jazz singers, bringing her established original sound which resonates both in her compositions and her unique approach to standards, shot through with the unmistakable stylistic forms of Betty Carter and Sarah Vaughan.

Featuring new work from student composer Emily Pederson and a starring performance from concerto competition winner Winnie Su, the RNCM Symphony Orchestra returns to The Bridgewater Hall for another rousing annual celebratory concert with a soaring programme which includes Beethoven’s intricate, profoundly stirring Piano Concerto No.4 in G Major, alongside Mahler’s towering Symphony No 1 in D major ‘Titan’.

Denigrated as ‘grotesque’ by audiences and critics upon its debut, Mahler’s controversial composition was altered and re-written several times on its way to becoming his completed masterwork of epic triumph and existential contemplation.

Offering an incredible opportunity to experience the power of music and activism, this must-see event is part of the RNCM’s Future is Green series. A brand new double percussion and harmonica/melodeon concerto – Silent Planet Suite – is a joint collaboration with youth-led global climate non-profit organisation, Force of Nature, and members of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and RNCM, with award-winning BBC Radio 3 Presenter Delia Stevens and three-time BBC Radio 2 Folk Musician of the Year nominee Will Pound. Together, Stevens and Pound have written an enchanting recalibration of Holst’s iconic Planets Suite in an evening that combines live performance, spoken word, and improvisation.

Stevens and Pound’s reimagined work also includes a movement for Earth – famously left out of Holst’s version for being ‘astrologically insignificant’ – unveiling new soundscapes and emphasising the need to listen to the demands of our ailing home.