Running Head
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Annual Report 2012/13
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Guildhall School of Music & Drama • Annual Report 2012/13
To find out more visit www.gsmd.ac.uk
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Contents Vision, Mission and Strategic Aims
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Chairman’s Message
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Principal’s Introduction
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Student Successes
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Alumni Successes
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Fellowships and Graduation
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Performance Highlights
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What They Say
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Teaching & Learning
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Partnerships
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Milton Court
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Staff Successes
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Research and Knowledge Exchange
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Creative Learning
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Development
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Student Profile
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Financials
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External cover photos: May ’08 (May 2013) Inside cover: La Navarraise (November 2012) Inside back cover: Guildhall Symphony Orchestra in rehearsal
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Guildhall School of Music & Drama • Annual Report 2012/13
The Guildhall School is provided by the City of London as part of its contribution to the cultural life of London and the nation
Patron The Right Hon. The Lord Mayor
The Board of Governors 2012/13 The Board of Governors for the Guildhall School contains elected members from the City of London, elected independent members drawn from relevant professions, elected members from the Guildhall School staff and the Student Union president.
Common Council Members Chairman Alderman David Graves
Angela Starling (from April 2013)
Advisory Members
Alderman Fiona Woolf CBE
Catherine McGuinness as Chairman of the Barbican Centre Board
Alderman Sir David Wootton (until April 2013)
Nicy Roberts representing Centre for Young Musicians
Deputy John Chapman
Ex Officio Members
Independent Members
Deputy Stella Currie (until March 2013)
Daisy Evans as President of the Students’ Union
Sir Andrew Burns
Marianne Fredericks (from April 2013)
Professor Barry Ife CBE as Principal of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Neil Constable (Technical Theatre 1985)
Staff Members
Daniel Evans (Acting 1994)
Deputy Chairman Deputy John Bennett Deputy John Barker OBE
Jeremy Mayhew Wendy Mead (until June 2013) Ann Pembroke (from April 2013) Deputy Richard Regan (until April 2013) John Scott Jeremy Simons
Gareth Higgins elected by the Administrative Staff (from February 2013)
Christina Coker OBE
Paul Hughes Kathryn McDowell CBE DL
Katharine Lewis elected by the Administrative Staff (until November 2012) Pamela Lidiard elected by the Academic Staff
Senior Leadership Principal Professor Barry Ife CBE
Director of Technical Theatre Ben Sumner
Director of Centre for Young Musicians Stephen Dagg
Director of Music Jonathan Vaughan
Assistant Principal (Research and Academic Development) Professor Helena Gaunt
Director of Finance, Resources and Infrastructure Sandeep Dwesar
Director of Creative Learning Sean Gregory
Director of Strategic Projects Clive Russell
Director of Drama Christian Burgess Director of Acting Wyn Jones
Head of Junior Guildhall Derek Rodgers
Photos: Simon Annand, Clive Barda, Company Pictures & ALL3MEDIA, Mark Douet, André Flemmings, Nick James, Nina Large, Alexander Newton, Richard Olivier, Johan Persson, Hannah Taylor, Clive Totman, Morley Von Sternberg.
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Vision, Mission and Strategic Aims
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Vision An international centre of excellence and global leader of creative and professional practice in the performing arts
Mission Train and educate musicians, actors and theatre technicians to the highest international standards; support creativity, innovation and risk; lead cultural change; excite and inspire as many people as we can reach
Strategic Aims 1
Exceptional Teaching Engage world-class staff to deliver innovative teaching, research and knowledge exchange, encourage experiment and lead ground-breaking creative and professional practice
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Exceptional Students Recruit the most outstanding aspiring young musicians, actors and theatre technicians from around the world, train and educate them to the highest international standards, support them with continually improved services and facilities, and prepare them for successful careers in the performing arts
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Exceptional Opportunities Work with partners to create an international arts and learning centre without rival; encourage staff and students to find their voice, develop their craft and artistry, draw inspiration from practitioners across the art forms and engage with the audiences of the future
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A Sustainable, World-Class
Institution Deliver the transformational investment needed to sustain a world-class centre of excellence for training and performance
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Guildhall School of Music & Drama • Annual Report 2012/13
Chairman’s Message The Guildhall School of Music & Drama continues to excel, and last year’s successes by students and alumni alike make very impressive reading. Amongst a range of outstanding performances and showcases, it was particularly exciting to see the launch of the Technical Theatre Arts Graduate Exhibition, a long overdue presentation of the first-class work created by those students specialising in the backstage skills that allow the performances to happen. The high relevance of the course is borne out by the fact that it boasts an employment rate of almost 100%. 2012/13 saw the consolidation of the School’s partnerships with the Barbican, the LSO and the BBC Symphony Orchestra as well as entering new and potentially very fruitful relationships. The collaboration with the Royal Opera House, one of the world’s most prestigious opera companies, has already resulted in two new courses for students who wish to specialise in composing contemporary operatic work. Formalising the School’s work with the Academy of Ancient Music, now resident in the remarkable new Milton Court Concert Hall, is promising news indeed for historical performance students. Last year also demonstrated the School’s continued commitment to the training of young people aged 18 and under in the Guildhall Young Artists’ division. The new developments for Junior Guildhall at Felsted School, and the roll out of the CYM model in Norwich and Taunton, are vital responses to the continuing need to reach out across the country and improve musical training opportunities for children. None of this would be possible without strong support from the Principal and his staff, and the School is also indebted to its many benefactors, especially those who have supported the capital-raising campaign for Milton Court. The ‘Take Your Seat’ appeal has had a particularly inspiring response. The School is also very grateful to all those who meet the continual need for funds to support scholarships, ensuring that a significant proportion of Guildhall students receive help with tuition fees and living costs. Our governors and trustees, the Principal, the teaching and support staff, the City of London Corporation, our other partners and supporters, are warmly thanked for their continuing commitment, enthusiasm, and generosity. It is greatly appreciated.
Alderman David Graves Chairman of the Board of Governors
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Chairman’s Message / Principal’s Introduction
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Principal’s Introduction 2012/13 was another successful year for the Guildhall School, culminating in the opening of Milton Court on 26 September. As the opening fell officially in 2013/14 it will have to wait for next year’s report, but it’s worth saying that Milton Court has been a terrific success: almost universally admired for the quality of the spaces, the acoustics, the kit and the standard of the finishes. It’s already put the School, literally and figuratively, in a completely different place. I am so relieved! One of the pleasures of writing for the annual report is the chance to look back on all the wonderful achievements of our students and staff and the many pleasurable hours spent in the theatres and concert halls. Sadly, we said goodbye to the Bridewell Theatre with our final season of productions prior to the opening of Milton Court. The Bridewell was hardly purpose-built and it needed a lot of care and attention. But it became a favourite space – almost infinitely flexible, and always welcoming. When you went into the Bridewell you knew you were going to see something new and exciting. Now, of course, we have a new studio theatre and we can invite the public to see our opera scenes as they should be seen. They’re the perfect blend of craft and creativity that characterises the Guildhall way. Last year was a very good year for singers, with Magdalena Molendowska winning the Gold Medal and Martin Häßler the Wigmore Recital Prize. And the excellent opera programme was topped off (for me) by a quite wonderful production of Britten’s Owen Wingrave. We also helped to celebrate the Britten centenary year by sending 16 of our singers to Aldeburgh for their epoch-making production of Peter Grimes, indoors and on the beach. I was doubly proud to be one of the sponsors for that production and to see our singers doing so well. There’s a CD and a DVD if you missed it. Of the many other highlights (Noseda and the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra, Peer Gynt with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Rags) there was one production I will never forget: The Laramie Project was, as they said on Twitter, ‘shattering, uplifting and very, very beautiful’. Thank you so much to everyone who made this such a memorable year.
Professor Barry Ife Principal
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Guildhall School of Music & Drama • Annual Report 2012/13
Student Successes This academic year saw Guildhall School students triumph in prestigious award ceremonies, competitions and auditions across the globe. Here are some of the highlights: Raphaela Papadakis (Opera Course) won 1st Prize and the Audience Prize at the Clonter Opera Prize, while Joshua Owen Mills (Opera Course) won 2nd Prize at the National Mozart Singing Competition. Adam Sullivan (MMus Vocal Studies) won Best Male Performer in the Buxton International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, and Bethan Langford (MMus Vocal Studies) won the John Fussell Trust Award. Duo Alessandro Fisher (MMus Vocal Studies) and Ricardo Gosalbo (MPerf Accompaniment) were winners at the Oxford Lieder Young Artist Platform. Over in the Keyboard Department, Minjung Baek (Artist Diploma Piano) won 1st Prize in the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe Intercollegiate Piano Competition and also 1st Prize in the Premio Salieri International Piano Competition in Italy. Sophie Dee (BMus Piano) also had a successful year, winning the Piano Section of the prestigious Royal Over-Seas League Competition and 1st Prize in the Christopher Duke Piano Recital Competition at the Watford Festival, where fellow Guildhall pianist Mihai Ritivoiu (MMus Piano) was awarded 2nd Prize. Jonathan Morris (BMus
Sophie Dee
Piano) took two prizes in Ireland – the Hamilton Harty Cup and the Anthony Glavin Trophy and Award. Meanwhile, Guildhall pianists swept the board for the second year in a row at the Oxford Music Festival, where BMus pianists Misako Osada, Kristiina Rokashevich and Drew Steanson took 1st, 2nd and 3rd Prizes respectively. Last year’s Gold Medal winner Ashley Fripp (MPerf Piano) won the Prince’s Prize from the Worshipful Company of Musicians, and doctoral student Richard Rovirosa (DMus Piano) won 1st Prize at the Emanuel Trophy Piano Competition. Antonina Suhanova (BMus Piano) triumphed at the Jurmala International Piano Competition in Latvia. As part of the increasingly successful Busch Ensemble, Jonathan Bloxham (MPerf Cello) won the Tunnell Trust
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Award, the Philharmonia MMSF Ensemble Award, the Kirckman Concert Society Award and 2nd Prize in the Schumann International Chamber Music Competition. Classical guitarist Francesco Scelzo (MPerf Guitar) won the Maisie Lewis Young Artists Award and will perform a Wigmore Hall recital next year as a result. Jenny Lewisohn (MMus Viola) was awarded joint 1st Sophie Creaner
Prize in the Kenneth Page Foundation Competition, and Mara Lobo (BMus Cello) won 1st Prize at the Marília Rocha Cello Competition in Portugal. Guildhall ensemble Trio Isimsiz (Pablo Hernan, Michael Petrov and Erdem Misirlioglu) won second prize at the Cavatina Piano Trio competition at the Royal Academy of Music and were selected for management by YCAT. The trio’s cellist Michael Petrov was also successful at the YCAT auditions as a soloist, and was additionally selected as an ECHO Rising Star this year. Guildhall School harpists celebrated successes this year with Rita Schindler (MMus Harp) winning 1st Prize at the Central England Ensemble Concerto Competition, and Solenn Grand (BMus Harp) winning 2nd Prize in the
Student Successes
Camac Harp Competition. Zuzanna Olbrys (MMus Harp) won 1st Prize in the Polish National Competition for Duos with her fellow Erasmus student and duo partner Anna Caban (MMus Violin). The Wind, Brass and Percussion Department toasted Sophie Creaner (BMus Recorder), who triumphed at the Senior RTÉ Lyric FM bursary competition, winning the wind section and then going on to win the overall prize. Daniel Harding Israelsen (BMus Percussion) won the Jazz Prize of the Anjool Maldé Memorial Trust. This summer the School also has a strong representation of students on courses with highly competitive entry, including eight at this year’s London Sinfonietta Academy, and three at the LSO Percussion Academy. Six-piece a cappella group Vive, including jazz students Ben Cox, Lewis Daniel, Emily Dankworth, James Rose and Martynas Vilpisauskas, won the UK A Cappella Voice Competition and were presented with the Ward Swingle Award for outstanding originality, outstanding musicality and also best arrangement. They subsequently performed live on The One Show on BBC One. In Composition, Raymond Yiu (DMus Composition) was shortlisted in the Chamber Works category of the British Composer Award for his piece Les Etoiles au Front. Over in the Drama department, three finalyear actors left early to take
up professional roles: Ben Schnetzer took the part of Max in the forthcoming Fox movie adaptation of Markus Zusak’s bestselling novel The Book Thief, while Jordan Metcalfe won the role of Les Dennis in an upcoming Tommy Cooper biopic for ITV. Celina Sinden joined the cast of Reign, a period drama series for CBS in the United States. Their classmates Stefan Adegbola and Alex Large were cast in A Midsummer Night’s Dream for The Michael Grandage Company opposite Sheridan Smith and David Walliams, while Gold Medal winner Eva Feiler was cast as Emilia/ Dorcas in The Winter’s Tale for the Sheffield Crucible. Jamie Satterthwaite and Rob Callender have gone on to roles for the National Theatre and Chichester Festival Theatre respectively. In Junior Guildhall, it was success for one happy family at the Croydon
Eva Feiler
Music Festival when 13-year-old harpist Felix von Spreckelsen won 1st Prize in the Advanced Solo Class and the David Watkins Trophy while sister Rosie won 1st Prize in the Advanced Recital Prize and the London Mozart Players Prize. Felix also won the Bromley Music Festival Star Performer Prize this year. In other local competitions,
Johann Clubb won the Kingston Young Musician of the Year competition, the youngest competitor in the finals, Chris Brewster won the Woking Youth Music Trust competition and oboist Francesca Cox won Best Woodwind Player in the Farnham Music Festival Young Musician Award. Five of the ten performers in the Young Musician Competition at the Stratford Festival were Junior Guildhall students, and April Goss was the overall winner.
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Walker, Fien BarnettNeefs, Octavia Bovey, Francesca Cox, Kieran Enticknap, Emma Edwards, Matilda Lloyd, Gregory Huff, Christopher Brewster and Christopher Karwacinski. Patrick Bevan was awarded the Vivian Price Prize for the best overall audition for entry into the National Children’s Orchestra, and Naomi Rogers was offered a place on the Glyndebourne Academy residential
Vive
Meanwhile, Junior Guildhall Composition department celebrated 11-year old Lilly Vadaneaux becoming the youngest ever winner of the National Centre for Early Music’s annual Composers Competition. Her piece was played by Florilegium at the Bath International Festival in June and was broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show, including an interview with Lilly. Fellow composer Jay Richardson was a winner in the Royal Opera House Fanfare Composition competition.
programme for singers. In CYM, Purav Menon was chosen to sing in ENO’s production of Berg’s Wozzeck, and 9-year-old Sophia Kiely who plays the lead part of Matilda in the West End show of the same name received a Tony Award along with the other three Matildas for best actress. Kaidi Akinnibi (saxophone) and Isha Crichlow (clarinet) both won first place at the Rotary Young Musicians Competition.
13 Junior Guildhall musicians were selected for the National Youth Orchestra: Jo Cousins, Hugo Chambre, Georgina Lloyd-Owen, Harriet
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Guildhall School of Music & Drama • Annual Report 2012/13
Alumni Successes Guildhall School alumni achieved extraordinary things during 2012/13. Here are just some of the highlights: Mark Simpson (Composition 2012), a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist for 20122014, was commissioned by the BBC to write a new orchestral piece, sparks, which was premiered at the world-famous Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. Edmund Finnis (Composition 2007) was awarded one of the 2012 Paul Hamlyn Foundation Awards for Artists, the most generous support of its kind in the UK. The Awards are made to support artists at timely points in their careers, providing them with the freedom to develop their creative ideas and contributing to their personal and professional growth. Ben Gernon (Tuba 2011, Conducting 2012) won the prestigious Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award. He was awarded €15,000 and the opportunity to conduct a concert with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra in Salzburg’s famous Felsenreitschule music hall during the Festival.
Ben Gernon
Tenor Luis Gomes (Opera 2012) was accepted onto the Royal Opera’s renowned Jette Parker Young Artists programme, and baritone Duncan Rock (Opera 2010) was awarded the first Chilcott Award for young British opera singers. Bartholomew LaFollette (Cello 2011) was chosen as ‘the most exciting young classical talent in Britain’ as winner of the first Arts Club and Decca Records Classical Music Competition. His prize was £5000 and an opportunity to perform for the popular Yellow Lounge classical club series.
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James Burke (Clarinet 2010) was appointed CoPrincipal Clarinet at the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Zhiying Wei (Trombone 2011) was appointed Second Trombone in the Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts Symphony Orchestra. Shelly Ezra (Clarinet 2010) was appointed Principal Clarinet of the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon and Sarah Bennington (Flute 2007) became Second Flute and Piccolo for Scottish Opera.
Guildhall School alumni occupied the top two places in the Official Classical Music Charts for the week beginning 3 August 2013: Alison Balsom (Trumpet 2001) reached No. 1 with Sound the Trumpet – Royal Music of Purcell and Handel, while Dobrinka Tabakova (Composition 2003) was No. 2 with her album String Paths.
Three Guildhall alumni singers were selected to represent their countries in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition 2013: Katherine Broderick (Opera 2007) for England, Susana Gaspar (Vocal Studies 2009) for Portugal, and Gary Griffiths (Opera 2011) for Wales. At the Kathleen Ferrier Awards, pianist Peter Foggitt (Piano 2012) won the Accompanist’s Prize.
Alumni Successes
Simon Russell Beale (Acting 1983) won the Best Supporting Actor 2013 Television BAFTA for Henry IV Part 2 (Hollow Crown) and Sarah Lancashire (Acting 1986) was nominated as Best Supporting Actress for Last Tango in Halifax. Michaela Coel (Acting 2012) won the Alfred Fagon Award for Best Black Playwright for her onewoman play Chewing Gum Dreams, which was staged at both The Yard Theatre and The Bush Theatre.
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Among many major castings for Guildhall acting alumni, 2013 saw George Blagden (Acting 2011) star as Grantaire in the Hollywood film adaptation of Les Misérables, while Max Irons (Acting 2008) took the role of Edward IV in BBC One’s new series The White Queen. Charles Edwards (Acting 1992) played Princess Diana’s private secretary Patrick Jephson in the film Diana and newspaper editor Michael Gregson in Downton Abbey.
Ashley Zhangazha
Drama alumni also had a remarkable year during 2012/13. Ewan McGregor (Acting 1992) was awarded an OBE in the 2013 New Year Honours List, and became the youngest actor to be given the Donostia Lifetime Achievement Award at Spain’s 60th San Sebastian International Film Festival. Damian Lewis (Acting 1993) received a Best Actor Golden Globe and Best Actor Emmy Award for his performance in Homeland.
Ashley Zhangazha (Acting 2010) received the Ian Charleson Award for an outstanding performance in a classical role by an actor under the age of 30 for his role as Ross in Macbeth at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre. He was also named ‘One to Watch’ in The Independent. Max Irons
Three alumni won awards at the 2013 Offies (The Off West End Theatre Awards): Richard Howell (SMTT 2006) won the Best Lighting award for The Hairy Ape at Southwark Playhouse, Dame Eileen Atkins (Speech & Drama 1953) won the Best Female Performance award for All That Fall at Jermyn Street Theatre, and Nell Catchpole (PCS 1996, and Leadership programme leader) who wrote the score for Brand New Ancients at BAC which won Best Production.
Dame Eileen Atkins
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Guildhall School of Music & Drama • Annual Report 2012/13
Fellowships and Graduation Each year the Board of Governors confer Fellowships on a small number of professionals from the arts industries in recognition of services to the School, services to their industry or for extraordinary achievements in their chosen career. In 2012, alumni Alison Balsom (Trumpet 2001), Neil Constable (Technical Theatre 1985), Sara Lee (Clarinet 1985), Dominic West (Acting 1995) and Michelle Wright (Violin 1999) were made Fellows of the Guildhall School (FGS). They were presented with their fellowships by the Lord Mayor, Alderman David Wootton. Other recipients of Fellowships included staff members James Alexander, Julian Anderson, Martin Auger and Yvonne Kenny, with an Honorary Fellowship given to Dean of Validation of City University, Professor Steve Stanton. Graduation Day took place in the Great Hall of the Guildhall on 9 November with over 170 graduands in attendance to receive their awards in front of a record number of family and friends. The ceremony featured music from the Guildhall Brass Ensemble conducted by Richard Benjafield. Alison Balsom and Dominic West made acceptance speeches on behalf of all the Honorands.
Alison Balsom & Dominic West
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Fellowships and Graduation / Performance Highlights
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Performance Highlights During the 2012/13 season the School mounted an outstanding programme of drama and opera productions on the stage of the Silk Street Theatre, including Blood Wedding by Federico García Lorca in a version by Ted Hughes, La Navarraise and Le Portrait de Manon by Massenet, Comedy on the Bridge by Martinů , Nicholas Nickleby Part 2 by Charles Dickens adapted for the stage by David Edgar, Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart, The
Le Nozze di Figaro
Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman and the members of Tectonic Theater Project, Owen Wingrave by Benjamin Britten, and Rags with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and book by Joseph Stein.
Toast
The School’s orchestral programme continued its consolidation following the establishment of Centre for Orchestra with the support of the HEFCE SDF grant. Performances by the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra included Orff’s Carmina Burana conducted by Takuo Yuasa, a Dvořák and Humperdinck programme conducted by Andrew Gourlay in the Barbican Hall and a Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev programme conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. The School continued its association with the BBC Symphony Orchestra with two landmark collaborations: in December, the full forces of the Guildhall School’s Vocal Department were invited to join the BBCSO under
Jiří Bělohlávek to form the chorus for Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony, and in the same month, six final year actors from the School joined the BBCSO to perform Grieg’s complete Peer Gynt, with Alain Perroux’s script from Ibsen’s play of the same name. The School also participated once again in the BBC’s Total Immersion series, which this year featured music by Oliver Knussen and a theme based on sounds of Japan featuring music by Dai Fujikura, Toru Takemitsu and Jo Kondo. In other external collaborations, Guildhall musicians once again contributed twelve lunchtime concerts to the City of London Festival and took part in the London Jazz Festival. In June, orchestral musicians from the School joined the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Academy of Music in two tribute concerts to the late Sir Colin Davis. Also that month, singers from the School formed a Chorus alongside the Chorus of Opera North for Aldeburgh Festival’s critically-acclaimed outdoor staging of Peter Grimes, which was performed on Aldeburgh beach where the opera is set.
Rags
The School also presented its final year of productions at the Bridewell Theatre in Fleet Street before the move to Milton Court, staging Toast by Richard Bean, A Respectable Wedding by Bertolt Brecht and a devised piece directed by Richard Wilson and Dinah Stabb, May ’08.
Peter Grimes
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Guildhall School of Music & Drama • Annual Report 2012/13
Closer to home, the School staged ten further concerts in the series Guildhall Artists at the Barbican in which senior Guildhall musicians perform rush-hour concerts on the Barbican stage of repertoire related to an LSO concert later that evening. Programmes included music by Britten, Beethoven, Mozart, Schoenberg, Strauss, Mahler, Schumann, Chopin, Szymanowski, Elgar, Brahms, Copland, Schubert and Shostakovich. In the School’s Music Hall, Professors of Piano Paul Roberts and Noriko Ogawa led a project which celebrated the 150th anniversary of Debussy’s birth which included a lecture recital by Paul Roberts, two student recitals and a performance by Noriko Ogawa. There was also a celebration of the alto voice of the string family, the viola, with a masterclass, viola day, Max and Peggy Morgan prize and an evening of performances. The autumn song festival focused on the songs of Felix Mendelssohn, directed by Eugene Asti. The 2013 Gold Medal was won by mezzo soprano Magdalena Molendowska with an exciting programme including Duparc, Dvořák, Puccini and Barber. The Piano
Acting Gold Medal to Eva Feiler, and the Technical Theatre Gold Medal to Charlie Smith. In addition to an exceptional year of performances, the School hosted its very first Technical Theatre Arts Graduate Exhibition in July 2013. Held in the Barbican Art Gallery, the exhibition showcased the range of work produced by the first class to graduate from the newly structured BA (Hons) Technical Theatre Arts programme, and attracted industry professionals, alumni, donors and public audiences, resulting in several offers of work placements and employment. The School presented over 300 public performances during the year, with average audience attendance at ticketed events increasing to 81% capacity (up from 74% in 2011/12). Gross ticket income was £92k, down from £120k the previous year; this was mainly due to the spring opera returning to the Silk Street Theatre, a venue with a significantly smaller capacity than the Barbican Theatre, which was used by the opera department in spring 2012.
Recent Visitors The School was delighted to welcome a wide range of acclaimed artists and industry figures as visitors this year, giving students the opportunity to work with and hear from some of the most exciting names in the business.
Magdalena Molendowska
Accompanist Prize was awarded to Anna Cardona. The Guildhall Wigmore Recital Prize, a competition run jointly by the School and the Wigmore Hall, with a Wigmore recital as the prize, was won by baritone Martin Häßler and the Junior Guildhall Lutine Prize was won by trumpet player Matilda Lloyd. The Drama department awarded the
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Orchestral musicians performed under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda for the first time, and other visiting conductors included Takuo Yuasa, Peter Robinson, David Syrus, Andrew Gourlay (who stepped in to replace Sir Colin Davis at short notice), and Candida Thompson, who directed from the leader’s chair. Opera directors included Stephen Barlow and Kelly Robinson, the latter directing Owen Wingrave as a co-production with The Banff Centre, Canada. Alumnus Benjamin Luxon, for whom the role of Owen Wingrave
Benjamin Luxon
was written by Benjamin Britten, spent a full week at the School working with the opera’s cast, and returned to see the finished production. Masterclasses were given by a host of high-profile performers including Ian Bostridge, Katya Apekisheva, Angela Hewitt, Richard Goode, Leonidas Kavakos, Dawn Upshaw, Nobuko Imai, Malcolm Martineau and the Takács Quartet. Centre for Orchestra provided a number of fascinating artist conversations for students to attend – composers John Adams, Mark-Anthony Turnage and Colin Matthews all featured, alongside renowned conductors Kristjan Järvi and Michael Tilson Thomas. As part of their role as Barbican International Associates, players from the LA Philharmonic also gave a day of masterclasses at the School. The jazz department worked with a number of choice performers, including Zoe Rahman, Tom Challenger, Iain Ballamy, Ian Shaw, Nikki Iles and Marcus Roberts, who joined forces with the Guildhall Jazz Ensemble to perform at Kings Place as part of the London Jazz Festival. Alumnus Harry Gregson-Williams gave a sold-out Screen Talk to students, staff and public at the Barbican Cinema on his career as an award-winning film composer. Earlier in the year he invited a group of Electronic Music and Composition students to his studio at Stowe School for a talk on the processes he uses to build a score.
Performance Highlights
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Damian Lewis talking to Guildhall actors
In the Drama department, visiting directors included Jo McInnes, Joseph Blatchley, Owen Lewis and Richard Wilson, who co-directed the devised piece May ’08 with acting tutor Dinah Stabb. Guildhall School actors were thrilled to meet alumnus Damian Lewis, star of Channel 4’s Homeland, who visited the School to give a masterclass on TV acting and a talk to the actors. He returned the following month to receive the Freedom of the City of London at the City’s Guildhall, and hosted a Q&A chaired by Head of Acting Studies Martin Connor. Other visiting acting alumni included Adrian Noble, who gave a masterclass, and Simon Russell Beale, who worked with acting students in a Parkinson programme for Sky Arts. And in a last-minute coup for the School, Oscar-winning movie star Al Pacino popped in for a Q&A session with Guildhall actors while he was in London for a sell-out evening at the London Palladium.
Al Pacino with Christian Burgess (Director of Drama) and Acting students
Technical Theatre worked with an exciting array of designers, including Nicky Shaw, Dick Bird and Morgan Large, and lighting and sound designers including Ben Harrison, Mark Jonathan and Colin Grenfell.
Technical Theatre Graduate Exhibition
Junior Guildhall Junior Guildhall arranges over 80 concerts annually ranging from weekly internal Open House Concerts and String Training Programme concerts to formal Public Concerts. Highlights of the external concert programme in 2012/13 included: • Lunchtime concerts at Charlton House, Regent Hall and St. Martinin-the-Fields, featuring Junior Guildhall String Ensemble, Brass Band, String Chamber groups, and Chamber Choir • Junior Guildhall Symphony Orchestra appeared twice at St John’s Smith Square, with conductors Matthew Andrews and Julian Clayton. This second concert included a performance of the Glazunov Saxophone Concerto given by last year’s winner of the Lutine Competition, Stephanie Lai. • Junior Guildhall Brass Band, conducted by Spencer Down, were invited to perform on the freestage at the Barbican in December as part of the Queen’s Medal Concert. The Brass Band entertained the audience before the Queen arrived and then performed for the Queen as she was escorted to a reception and presentation in the Fountain Room. • Junior Guildhall trumpeters appeared in a concert as part of the Brandenburg Choral Festival, held at St Martin-in-the-Fields and
conducted by Jeremy Jackman. Benjamin Hale and Matilda Lloyd featured as soloists. • Darragh Morgan conducted the Junior Guildhall String Ensemble on the Barbican freestage as part of the Philip Glass weekend. The ensemble performed music by Glass including Company and Music in Fifths. • The School’s Jazz Festival included a performance by Junior Guildhall’s newly formed Big Band in the Lecture Recital Room. • Another freestage performance at the Barbican was given by the Junior Guildhall Percussion Ensemble, directed by Alex Duggan as part of the Barbican’s A Scream and an Outrage. The ensemble performed In C by Terry Riley and Clapping Music by Steve Reich. Over 50 students attended Junior Guildhall’s String Day held in October. This was open to the general public as well as students at Junior Guildhall and CYM. The event included a Healthy Musician workshop, mini masterclasses and a Brain Gym, a concert given by Junior Guildhall students and the opportunity to receive consultation lessons from a Junior Guildhall teacher. All participants also played in a string ensemble conducted by Hugh Molloy. There were rehearsals throughout the day with a performance to close the event.
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Guildhall School of Music & Drama • Annual Report 2012/13
Discover Dudamel
Lutine Prize 2013 winner Matilda Lloyd (centre) with Lucy Parham (l) and Jo Hensel (r)
In February, Junior Guildhall wind and brass students took part in a London Philharmonic Orchestra side-by-side event at the Henry Wood Hall. The students also had the opportunity to meet some of the wind players in a Q&A session and take part in a creative workshop with Patrick Bailey, LPO Education & Community Director. Three Junior Guildhall students participated in the East London Creative Jazz Orchestra event at the Barbican Centre. The Barbican/ Guildhall Creative Learning Big Band project (Im)Possibilities also involved a Junior Guildhall student. The project was led by London-based musicians Afla Sackey and Guy Wood and Guildhall School Leadership students, and brought musicians and artists together to explore new rhythmic and collaborative directions. Junior Guildhall composition students had a busy year, working with members of the London Sinfonietta on a puppetry project, a Song Class delivered by Susie Self and Nick Buxton, a film music workshop by Michael Omer, and a variety of other visitors including the Bergersen Quartet, Ben Wallfisch, Tim Watts, Barrington Pheloung and Guildhall School composition Fellow, Helgi Ingvarsson. Conducting is offered as a Musical Awareness Class option for older students and as one-to-one study. During the year two guests were invited to work with the students:
To find out more visit www.gsmd.ac.uk
Andrew Gourlay on 10 November 2012 and William Carslake on 2 February 2013. Adrian Spillett gave a talk to the Percussion Ensemble, Alexander Boyd gave a piano recital, Carlos Lopez-Real gave a Jazz Presentation, trombonist Matt Gee performed to the brass students and York2 gave a lecture recital on Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring..
Centre for Young Musicians CYM’s 2012/13 academic year started on the back of a hugely successful summer tour to the Czech Republic by the London Schools Symphony Orchestra. Jamie Barton, who went on to win BBC Cardiff Singer of the Year, was the guest artist in the Orchestra’s September Barbican concert, her UK debut. An invitation from the Mayor of London to provide a choir for his thank you event in Trafalgar Square for the Olympic Volunteers led to a large number of students appearing with soloists Jonathan and Charlotte from Britain’s Got Talent. Also during the run up to Christmas, CYM brass players took part in a UNICEF charity concert at St John’s Smith Square and the gamelan group performed in the Clore Ballroom at the Royal Festival Hall’s Christmas Chimes. In February, the CYM Theodora Trio performed alongside groups from both Junior Guildhall and the main Guildhall School at the event to mark
the founding of the Hestercombe CYM near Taunton. The Guildhall parentage also led to a number of CYM students taking part in the immensely inspiring Discover Dudamel event at the Barbican in March. CYM ensembles were again invited to take part in the South Bank Centre Nucleo Weekend. Those involved in foyer space performances included the Chamber Choir, Folk Ensembles, Dance Band, Brass Quintet and a number of piano and string chamber ensembles. Members of the Chamber Orchestra played side by side with members of the LPO on the Saturday evening in the Royal Festival Hall in a performance of Holst’s The Planets. Other performances included Dance Band at the Rotary Youth Makes Music Concert in the RFH, Intermediate Brass in the Hemihelp Concert at Cadogan Hall, and string and jazz groups at the Clapham Festival. In addition to high profile concerts given by the LSSO both here and abroad, the London Youth Wind Band, the Junior/Intermediate Holiday Course Ensembles and the CYM Annual showcase concerts, students gave weekly lunchtime and late afternoon recitals on both the CYM Morley College and Notre Dame sites every Saturday. In addition, students hear visiting artists and tutors performing in a range of recitals, concerts and masterclasses given throughout the year.
Performance Highlights / What They Say
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What They Say “Two Massenets and a Martinuº make for a beguiling triptych up Silk Street. Performed by students (very, very advanced students) from the Guildhall, these three opera shorts are as delightful as they are insubstantial… The sets – in case you thought student meant low-rent – are great.”
“The most powerful sense I had throughout the evening was of the strength and infectiousness and verve of the pulse of the music, that beat in the room… At some time between now and the start of the Guildhall’s seventh festival next March, the secret of how good it is needs to get out.”
Evening Standard, November 2012, on the Massenet/Martinů opera triple bill
LondonJazz, March 2013, on the closing night of the Guildhall Jazz Festival (Guildhall Jazz Singers and Ensemble with Ian Shaw)
“Triple bills make handy programming for music colleges on account of the number of singers that can be cast in principal roles. Here, two short operas by Massenet and one by Martinuº provide opportunities for some 20 impressive students from the Guildhall’s current crop…. [In Massenet’s La Navarraise] Magdalena Molendowska smoulders with passion as Anita, who assassinates the rebel leader but is rejected as unfaithful on her return by her dying fiancé… Adam Smith’s attractive lyric tenor gives him amorous credibility as Araquil, while James Platt radiates martial authority as Garrido.” The Guardian, November 2012, on the Massenet/Martinů opera triple bill
“The real stars, though, were the Guildhall students, above all Patrick Walshe McBride as Peer – witty, charming and wonderfully touching, notably in the scene in which he tells his mother fantastic tales as she dies. Fusing speech and sound into an indivisible unit, it ranks among the greatest passages in all music theatre, and proved extraordinarily moving.” The Guardian, December 2012, on the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Grieg’s Peer Gynt conducted by Marc Minkowski and featuring Guildhall School actors
“Quite frankly there was never anything to suggest that this was a ‘student orchestra’; the innocent ear would have easily been led to thinking that this was the LSO itself.” Classical Source, March 2013, on the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gianandrea Noseda
“Being a student at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama is a very prestigious thing indeed. The seemingly endless roll-call of talent that has graduated from Silk Street and gone on to make their mark on theatre, film or television is testament enough for this. After witnessing the Guildhall’s latest batch perform The Laramie Project, it is clear that they are still churning out talent.” A Younger Theatre, April 2013, on The Laramie Project
“[The] Guildhall Opera Department continues to mount excellent productions which can hold their own with any British opera house.” Classical Source, June 2013, on Owen Wingrave
“It’s good to see that most of these students already have some professional experience in addition to working on Guildhall School shows and several of them have jobs lined up ready to go.” The Stage, July 2013, on the Technical Theatre Arts Graduate Exhibition
“The production brilliantly directed by Martin Connor for the Guildhall School of Music & Drama is a triumph that must surely be close to what the original creators were striving for… Beautifully sung and played… Rags is a powerful, moving and constantly engaging show with a gorgeous score. Guildhall School and the creative team are to be congratulated for giving us the chance to experience its pleasures.” Classical Source, July 2013, on Rags
“One has come to expect full-scale productions from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and this one fulfilled all expectations – a solid, adaptable set designed by Susannah Henry, a 23-piece orchestra, plus an onstage Klezmer band and great ensemble work from a large cast. And of course with direction by Martin Connor and choreography by Bill Deamer, a great polished show can be taken as read…. Lois Meleri-Jones took on the central role of Rebecca and gave a performance of great quality – she ably reflected the many facets of this character and her singing was powerful as well as beautiful.” Musical Theatre Review, July 2013, on Rags
“…the chorus, recruited from Opera North and the Guildhall School and combining their unmiked live voices with pre-recordings, was hard to fault.” The Guardian, June 2013, on Peter Grimes on the beach at Aldeburgh Festival
To find out more visit www.gsmd.ac.uk
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Guildhall School of Music & Drama • Annual Report 2012/13
On Twitter
#Backstage at the Royal Opera House yesterday another great part of this #Tech theatre degree course @guildhallschool Great opera triple bill @guildhallschool. Always good to hear new pieces – and some wonderful young voices too. I always leave excited.
Powerfully moved by #TheLaramieProject @guildhallschool. The heartfelt emotional performances from your amazing students left me in tears The @guildhallschool production of #thelaramieproject is a shattering, uplifting and very, very beautiful experience – go see it!!!
Massive congrats to all the @guildhallschool 3rd years on a truly fantastic final musical!! Stars in the making. #vintageyear....? Toe tapping music @guildhallschool end of year “Rags” musical last night! Congratulations to all the performers, actors and musicians!
Amazing to see @lewis_damian going back to @guildhallschool to teach. Wish I had been in that class!
Brilliant vintage jazz night @guildhallschool so worth the trip for such an authentic sound!
Thoroughly enjoyed ‘Rags’ @guildhallschool. Congratulations to the music, acting and technical theatre students on a great collaboration.
May ’08 @guildhallschool was brilliant! Very funny and the talent was outstanding! Well done!
What an amazing concert @guildhallschool. That rep was so powerful! And cellist in first half blew my mind. 100% inspired.
One of the signature joys of @GuildhallSchool’s musicals is the fine orchestral playing – musicals seldom sound better than they do here!
Congratulations to 3rd Year @guildhallschool #graduates for an excellent #showcase this week!
Britten’s Owen Wingrave at the @guildhallschool is overwhelming – right up there with the best performances I have heard in opera houses...
Open-hearted, rapturous performances win Polish soprano Magdalena Molendowska the @guildhallschool #GoldMedal at the Barbican. Deserved. @guildhallschool’s The Laramie Project punched me in the gut and made me question myself tonight #whyIlovetheatre
Great first day at the @guildhallschool Summer School! I’ve learnt so much already, it’s going to be a very fun and exciting 3 weeks! Well done final year acting students @guildhallschool RAGS was sublime!
Pretty special to be coached by the original Owen Wingrave Britten wrote the part for, Ben Luxon, @guildhallschool #somanygreatstories
Rags (July 2013)
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What They Say / Teaching & Learning
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Teaching & Learning In May 2013, for the second year running, the Guildhall School was rated top of the specialist institutions league table in The Guardian’s University Guide. The School achieved a perfect 100 ‘average teaching score’ according to The Guardian’s rating formula, putting it at the top of the 2014 league table above all other UK conservatoires. In the subject league tables, the School came highest in music – again for the second year in a row – with a Guardian rating of 100, and placed third in drama (combined with dance in the tables), with a score of 90.4.
Programmes At the start of the academic year, the School enrolled 848 students (headcount) on to the following programmes:
Drama BA (Hons) in Technical Theatre Arts programme
This year saw the first cohort on the new post-Masters Artist Diploma programme and the first graduating cohort of the BA in Technical Theatre Arts programme.
new MA in Opera Making & Writing which was developed during the year. The new MA will include formative learning experiences in the professional context of the Opera House.
MA in Acting
Programme developments
MA in Training Actors (voice) or (movement)
As part of a larger educational collaboration with the Royal Opera House, the School’s doctoral programme was expanded to make special provision for a Doctoral Composer-in-Residence at the Royal Opera House for entry September 2013 (see page 22). Another strand of the collaboration links to the School’s
The BMus and Guildhall Artist programmes were successfully revalidated by City University for five years without condition.
BA (Hons) in Acting
Music BMus (Hons) Guildhall Artist Masters programmes MA in Music Therapy Artist Diploma Advanced Certificate
Research MPhil/DMus
To find out more visit www.gsmd.ac.uk
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Guildhall School of Music & Drama • Annual Report 2012/13
Student feedback on teaching & learning • National Student Survey (NSS) 2013: participation of final year undergraduate students increased slightly to 81% (compared with 80% in 2012) and was significantly above the sector average (69%). Overall satisfaction with the quality of the programmes remained very high for acting and technical theatre (100% and 87% respectively) but slipped to 74% for music.
• Whole School Survey: 2013 was the fourth year of the survey, combining programme and module evaluations for all programmes and years with a general survey of student satisfaction with facilities and services. Participation decreased slightly to 45% of the student body but satisfaction with the quality of the teaching was overall higher than the School’s NSS results.
Whole School Survey 2012: Overall I was satisfied with the quality of teaching on this programme Programme
% satisfied
BMus
88
BA/MA in Acting
100
BA in Technical Theatre Arts
92.7
Guildhall Artist Masters Programme
92.2
MA in Music Therapy
91.7
Advanced Certificate
100
MPhil/DMus
100
High levels of student satisfaction were also recorded for student support functions: Whole School Survey 2012: Overall I was satisfied with the... % satisfied Library Registry
... quality of the Library Services ... Library enquiries handled by staff
90.3
... opening hours and availability
83.4
... quality of advice and service ... helpfulness and efficiency of staff
Finance
Facilities Student Affairs Audio Visual IT
To find out more visit www.gsmd.ac.uk
91.4
82 74.4
... clarity of information regarding fees & other payments
72
... courtesy & efficiency of front desk staff when room booking
82.8
... service provided by the Cafe Bar
84.5
…range of services
81.1
…quality of the AV provision
65.2
…AV support issues handled by staff
57.3
... quality of the IT provision
69.1
... IT support issues handled by staff
66.1
Teaching & Learning
Junior Guildhall In 2013, Junior Guildhall entered into a partnership with the independent school Felsted. This partnership includes Felsted providing a number of scholarships worth up to £5,000 each for suitable Felsted students to study at Junior Guildhall. Junior Guildhall will also be setting up a satellite version of its String Training Programme for beginners at Felsted School on Saturdays from September 2014. For many years this highly successful and unique programme has been oversubscribed. The new Music Department facilities at Felsted enable Junior Guildhall to expand the programme. A new Jazz Programme was organised to start in September 2013. The course includes jazz and classical studies on a student’s main instrument, plus classes, small ensembles and a Big Band. In anticipation of this new programme a Big Band was launched and gave a highly successful performance as part of the School’s Jazz Festival in March 2013. Junior Guildhall composer and Musical Awareness teacher, Michael Christie was the writer and compiler of a major Musical Awareness resource which supports all elements of the Junior Guildhall Musical Awareness syllabus including detailed information on musical history and stylistic analysis, theory, listening extracts and student worksheets. The resource was placed on Moodle for staff access. Michael has now successfully submitted an application under the School’s Curriculum Initiative fund to extend the benefits of the MA Resource project to all Musical Awareness students and to create additional new resources which will help them in their studies.
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Centre for Young Musicians In November 2012, Principal Barry Ife, Director of Music Jonathan Vaughan and the Guildhall School Board of Governors invited the Director of CYM to explore opportunities to roll out the CYM model in Norwich and in Taunton. This was in relation to the National Music Plan’s requirement to develop affordable progression routes for all children, and also to demonstrate the School’s intention and vision to develop its work outside the square mile. Stephen Dagg, Director of CYM, accepted an initial ten-month secondment to lead this work, and secured contracts with Norfolk Music Service, City of Norwich School, Somerset Music HUB and Hestercombe House.
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Guildhall School of Music & Drama • Annual Report 2012/13
Partnerships In 2013 the Guildhall School launched major new partnerships with the Royal Opera House and the Academy of Ancient Music, and strengthened opportunities for students through its ongoing partnerships with the London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Barbican. The Royal Opera House collaboration is one of the first examples of an opera company and conservatoire joining forces to offer a Composer-in-Residence studentship which leads to a doctoral degree. Announced in February 2013 to begin in September 2013, this unique, fully-funded role forms part of the School’s existing doctoral programme, and offers one composer every two years the opportunity to be Doctoral Composer-inResidence at the Royal Opera House over a three-year period. During this time, the composer will research and write a major work for the Linbury Studio Theatre, and have the opportunity to shadow the development and production of contemporary opera at the Royal Opera House. The first composer-in-residence was announced in July as Philip Venables.
The School also continued working closely with long-established partners the London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra and Barbican. Preparations were underway for Orchestral Artistry, a new Masters-level performance specialism in association with the LSO commencing in September 2013. Open to string, wind, brass and percussion students, Orchestral Artistry is a highly distinctive and ground-breaking specialism that places students alongside LSO players, international artists/ conductors and Guildhall School professors in a context akin to a professional environment. Meanwhile the Guildhall Artists at the Barbican series continued, with senior Guildhall musicians performing ten early evening programmes in the Barbican Hall before LSO concerts.
The School also plans to launch a new MA in Opera Making & Writing in collaboration with the Royal Opera House, to commence in September 2014 (subject to validation), which will allow composers and writers to focus exclusively on how new opera is created, developed and performed.
Guildhall musicians collaborated with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in four landmark events. In December 2012, the full forces of the School’s Vocal Department were invited to join the Orchestra under Jiří Bělohlávek to form the chorus for Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony, and a few weeks later six of the School’s final year actors gave a critically-acclaimed performance of Alain Perroux’s script from Ibsen’s Peer Gynt as the Orchestra performed the Grieg score. The Orchestra’s renowned Total Immersion series which celebrates the work of living composers in a day of music, talks and films, saw Guildhall musicians perform music by Oliver Knussen and Japanese composers Tōru Takemitsu, Dai Fujikura and Jo Kondo.
The Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) partnership, launched in summer 2013, creates a centre of excellence in historical performance at the School with one of the world’s leading period instrument ensembles at its heart. The AAM is an Associate Ensemble at the Barbican Centre, and this new partnership provides Guildhall musicians with a range of opportunities to prepare them for careers in the profession including masterclasses with AAM principal players, access to major artists working with the AAM, side-by-side ensemble workshops, mock auditions, exclusive access to AAM rehearsals, Q&A sessions and a variety of networking opportunities.
Academy of Ancient Music
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The School’s joint Creative Learning Division with the Barbican Centre continues to offer exceptional opportunities to students both within and beyond the curriculum. For details of projects in 2012/13, see page 26.
Partnerships / Milton Court
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Milton Court The School’s long-term ambition to build a state-of-theart suite of performance and teaching facilities at Milton Court finally came to fruition in 2013. Practical Completion of the new building was achieved on 5 July 2013 and it was formally handed over to the School on 8 July 2013. A long and complex process then started to rectify the inevitable snags and defects and to fully commission all the mechanical, electrical and technical systems. It was expected that the main contractor, Sir Robert McAlpine, and a significant number of sub-contractors would remain in the building throughout the summer vacation, in order to ensure that it would be fully ready for the start of the 2013/14 academic year. At the same time, significant refurbishment and reorganisation work started in the Silk Street building, to prepare it for use by the music department once Acting and Technical Theatre had moved to Milton Court. Several days of acoustic tests carried out by musicians from the School shortly before Practical Completion demonstrated that the Concert Hall would more than fulfil expectations. Not only is it visually stunning, it became apparent within
the first few bars from the first performer that the acoustic is exceptional: clear and detailed yet full-bodied, rich and responsive at the same time. Musicians all report that they find sound production effortless and that they can simply relax into the quality of the hall. Milton Court was a redundant brown-field site at the eastern end of Silk Street. Planning permission was granted in November 2007 for a composite development which gives the School much-needed additional premises. Designed by architects Renton Howard Wood Levin LLP, facilities include a Concert Hall (608 seats), a second Theatre (223 seats), an accessible Studio Theatre (80-128 seats, depending on configuration), all with appropriate back-of-house support; three rehearsal rooms and a gymnasium; three large teaching rooms (one of which doubles as a TV studio); and office and workshop accommodation for the departments of Acting and Technical Theatre. The spaces all incorporate technical facilities of the highest specification, which will help to provide the School’s students with the very best training for their future careers in the performing arts.
Testing the acoustics in the Milton Court Concert Hall
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Guildhall School of Music & Drama • Annual Report 2012/13
Staff Successes In 2012/13 the Guildhall School launched a Scheme for the Conferment of Title to Professor for teaching staff. Each applicant was required to demonstrate a national and international standing in their discipline, as established by outstanding contributions to its advancement through publications, creative work or other appropriate forms of scholarship or performance, and through teaching, including innovation in the learning process, administration and academic leadership. The following members of staff had the title of Professor conferred upon them: Helena Gaunt Assistant Principal, Research and Academic Development Patsy Rodenburg Head of Voice, Acting Department Ronan O’Hora Head of Keyboard Studies & Advanced Performance Studies Susan McCulloch Principal Study teacher, Department of Vocal Studies In addition, following a workshop in February 2013, fourteen members of staff completed applications for recognition from the Higher Education Academy.
Senior Fellows Peter Collyer Jo Hensel Mike Roberts Eliot Shrimpton Ben Sumner Alasdair Tait Armin Zanner
Principal Fellow Professor Helena Gaunt Professor of Jazz Carlos Lopez-Real was made a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy following the completion of his Professional Certificate, an accolade demonstrating a commitment to professionalism in teaching and learning in higher education.
In other staff news: Professor Barry Ife, Principal of the Guildhall School, was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Music in its annual awards ceremony presided over by the RCM’s President, HRH The Prince of Wales. The Fellowship was conferred on five ‘outstanding figures in international musical life’, which, in addition to Professor Ife, included singer Alfie Boe, the RCM’s Head of Percussion David Hockings, guitarist and composer Gary Ryan, and flautist and conductor Jaime Martín.
The recognition scheme contributes towards the professionalisation of teaching by conferring the status of Associate Fellow, Fellow, Senior Fellow or Principal Fellow. The following members of staff gained recognition:
Fellows Stuart Calder Matthew Jones Matthew Kaner Paul Newland Ian Wilson Dominic Wheeler
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Professor Barry Ife with HRH The Prince of Wales
Composer in Residence and Professor of Composition Julian Anderson won a South Bank Sky Arts Award for his orchestral work The Discovery of Heaven, which was also nominated for a British Composer Award. Ian Clarke, composer and professor of flute at the School, reached No. 8 in the Official Charts Company Classical Charts with his new CD of self-composed works, Deep Blue, released on his own label, IC Music, on 13 May. Deep Blue features repertoire composed by Ian between 2006 and 2012, and includes three works supported by the Guildhall School’s Research department – Curves, Touching the Ether and Hatching Aliens – which have been performed by students in exams and recitals at the School, as well as internationally. Steven Hudson (alumnus and Guildhall School oboe professor), was appointed Principal Oboe of the Northern Sinfonia. Guildhall School governor and former Lord Mayor David Wootton received a knighthood in the 2013 New Year Honours List, for services to legal business, charity and the City of London. In December 2012, Deborah MacCallum, Director of Student and Corporate Affairs, left the Guildhall School after eight years of service. During her time at the School Deborah oversaw all student- and stakeholderfacing services, from admissions, library and student services to marketing, alumni relations and fundraising. At her leaving reception she was presented with a Fellowship of the School by Principal Barry Ife and Alderman David Graves, and she also received the Freedom of the City of London in a ceremony earlier the same week.
w Staff Successes / Research and Knowledge Exchange
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Research and Knowledge Exchange Highlights in the Research and Knowledge Exchange Department included: • Development of the Doctoral Programme. Three students completed their studies in 2012-13, and Philip Venables became the first Doctoral Composer-in-Residence in collaboration with the Royal Opera House (see page 22). In July 2013, there were 13 doctoral students enrolled at the Guildhall School. • The School’s submission to the Research Excellence Framework was completed and returned to HEFCE. The REF return presented the highest quality research outputs from the School, as well as focusing on the public impact of new works created by staff members. The outcome will be known in 2014. Twenty-seven staff were submitted to the REF, with a total FTE of 16, including four earlycareer researchers. • Enhancements to the research environment continued, with ResearchWorks growing in scale and attendance, and further research associates and artists in residence (research) being appointed. The School’s three established research groups: Words Becoming Music, Understanding Audiences, and The Creative Stage, have all been active, each developing highly-distinctive work and interaction with other key players from the arts and higher education.
Work began in earnest on CreativeWorks London, one of four national AHRC Knowledge Exchange Hubs for the Creative Economy, and in particular on the strand that the School is leading: Capturing London’s audiences. Research began on a collaborative project with English Touring Opera, which investigates the appeal of live opera and cinema broadcasts. In particular, the research aims to find out whether the emotional experience for audiences differs, and if lessons from the success of the cinema broadcasts can be used to increase the audience for live opera. In May 2013 Peter Gregson commenced his Entrepreneur in Residence project, entitled ‘Even the Building is a Performer’, to be based in Milton Court. In collaboration with Guildhall School composition students he will use live data from the rehearsals and performances within the building to turn Milton Court into a living, breathing piece of music and to contribute to the musical life of Silk Street while asking questions about the space our new buildings take up in the ever-changing urban environment. An externally-funded project began in May 2013 to evaluate the second phase of the Vocal Futures initiative, which engages young audiences (1622) with classical choral masterpieces in the hope of encouraging them to become regular classical concert attenders.
• Publication of new work, including: Richard Baker’s 2012 composition Tyranny of Fun, which received its first performance in February 2013. Jane Booth and John Irving performed the Sonatas of Johann Baptist Vanhal Con Clarinetto obbligato: Complete Sonatas for Fortepiano and Clarinet by Johann Baptist Vanhal in Summer 2013, following research by Jane into the earliest surviving editions of the sonatas. Helena Gaunt and Heidi Westerlund’s ‘Collaborative Learning in Higher Music Education’ in the Ashgate/SEMPRE Studies in the Psychology of Music series, including chapters authored by Guildhall staff: Biranda Ford, John Sloboda, Armin Zanner and Dinah Stabb. The first volume of Graham Johnson’s ‘Franz Schubert: The Complete Songs’ was published by Yale University Press. Jackie Ross’ recording for violin and fortepiano of Schubert’s Introduction and Variations on ‘Trockne Blumen’ (from Die Schöne Müllerin) Op.post.160, D802 for flute was published in November 2012.
To find Toout findmore out more visit www.gsmd.ac.uk visit www.gsmd.ac.uk
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Guildhall School of Music & Drama • Annual Report 2012/13
Creative Learning The School’s joint Creative Learning Division with the Barbican Centre continues to offer exceptional opportunities to students, both within and beyond the curriculum as well as working with schools, community groups and others across East London. The Division’s work across the School and the Barbican in 2012/13 reached over 15,000 participants as well as many audiences both inside and outside the buildings. Highlights included: Undergraduate programme and Masters in Leadership Creative Learning leads a number of initiatives designed to foster collaboration across Music, Drama and Technical Theatre. In the spring term, all undergraduates take part in a whole-School project, working in small groups to devise an original piece of work. A MADLab (Music and Dance) in April 2013 gave musicians and actors an opportunity to work in the Barbican’s Pit theatre with artists Lucy Bailey and Justin Audibert. Students were also invited to apply for the coLABorate programme, which provides support for three student-led experimental cross-arts projects a year. Masters in Leadership students took part in an exchange with Palestinian musicians from Beit al Musica. This exciting collaboration, now in its third year, enables skills sharing and work with community groups both in London and in Israel. In July 2013, the Curious Festival presented the work of students and recent graduates over three extraordinary evenings at Chats Palace in Hackney.
Community and schools projects Both Masters in Leadership and undergraduate students worked with primary and secondary schools, as well as with groups including St Mungo’s Homeless Charity, The Arbour Women’s project and Fellows Court Community Centre to produce the Dialogue Festival in February 2013. Culminating in performances at venues
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across East London, this celebration included contributions from over 750 participants. In November 2012, the Young Ensembles run by Creative Learning, including Future Band, Drumheads and Young Poets, presented Unleashed on the Barbican Theatre Stage. This new piece of theatre was developed by the young people in a series of collaborative laboratory sessions with a creative team including current Guildhall students and recent graduates. The show was extremely well received, achieving five star reviews in the national press and standing ovations at its three performances. With the support of Youth Music, the Connect iD music mentoring project is providing bespoke music-based mentoring to twelve young people from Creative Learning’s ensembles and from Tower Hamlets Leaving Care service. The participants have each led music workshops in primary schools as well as developing their own creative and ensemble skills.
Links with Barbican Artists The partnership with the Barbican brought many opportunities during this year. In October 2012, the residency of Barbican Associates the New York Philharmonic included a series of masterclasses with Guildhall School musicians, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic residency in March 2013 gave young musicians from CYM, Junior Guildhall and other East London groups a unique opportunity to work with Gustavo Dudamel in an open
rehearsal in the Barbican Theatre. As part of the residency, the Future Play symposium brought together musicians and educators from around the world to explore new directions and issues in music education. Creative Learning’s Weekender in November explored crossovers between the arts and digital technology, providing a perfect showcase for a demonstration of the Technical Theatre department’s Video Mapping work. In March 2013 the Brain Waves Weekender – delivered as part of a Barbican season in partnership with the Wellcome Trust – featured a collaboration between electronic music students and Barbican Young Poets. ‘A Scream and an Outrage’, a Marathon Weekend in May 2013 of new music curated by composer Nico Muhly, included performances from electronic music, percussion and string students, and collaborations with visiting artists including So Percussion and Kronos Quartet.
Professional Development The programme of Continuing Professional Development offered by Creative Learning included a series of weekends focusing on cross-arts and collaborative practice, and a Creative Music Leadership Summer School. With participants including many current students and recent graduates, this programme has enabled Creative Learning to provide continued support to artists in the early stages of their career, as well as widening access to the world-class training provided through the School.
Creative Learning / Development
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Development The Guildhall School is indebted to the generosity of all its supporters during the 2012/13 academic year. Funds raised directly or through the School’s two linked charities, the Guildhall School Trust and the Guildhall School Development Fund, totalled £2,198,000 in cash received and a further £1.6million in pledges for future years. A large part of the School’s fundraising activities was focused on the Campaign for Milton Court in the run up to the opening of the facilities in September 2013. Over the course of the year, the amount of funds secured increased to £10.2million with significant major donations and pledges from BB Energy Holdings NV, Cantillon, City Bridge Trust, the Dorset Foundation, Michael and Mercedes Hoffman, J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust, the 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust and the estate of the late Carl Sutton. In addition to major gifts to the Campaign, the ‘Take Your Seat’ appeal was formally launched in September 2012 and the response was incredibly generous: more than 250 seats were named in the two main venues, raising in excess of £290,000 for the overall Campaign. Furthermore, over 50 companies gave or pledged their support for the City Livery Companies Bar to celebrate their ongoing and historic link with the Guildhall School and the School is very grateful to both Heron International and Tiffany & Co. for hosting events in support of the School and the Campaign during the autumn of 2012. Alumni Freddie Fox, Gary Griffiths, Chris Gunning, Lily James, Alistair McGowan, Kate Royal, Claire Rutter, Toby Spence, Hannah Stone and Roderick Williams all attended events to encourage potential donors to support the Campaign. The School was delighted to receive a significant commitment to our Scholarships Fund over the next few
years from the Trustees of The Leverhulme Trust. The Trust has long been a major supporter of the Guildhall School and professional training in the performing arts, and its new commitment will provide not only support for musicians and actors, but also technical theatre students for the first time, as well as students taking the dedicated Orchestral Artistry postgraduate pathway in association with the LSO. As ever, the School is incredibly grateful for the large number of supporters who provide scholarships and awards for our students on an annual basis. The School also remembers those individuals who provided legacy gifts in their wills and is extremely grateful to the late Michael Denville, Erika Burgell and Betty Brenner in this respect. The generosity of donors means that over 400 individuals were able to receive help with their tuition fees and living costs during the academic year enabling them to concentrate fully on their studies and professional training. The year was also punctuated with opportunities for supporters to attend special performances. In March 2013, the School held its first Take to the Stage event, an exclusive dinner on the set of the production of Le nozze di Figaro featuring performances from senior opera singers and introductions from Dominic Wheeler, Head of Opera Studies. The Summer Gala Evenings also attracted a large number of guests over two nights and this year’s dinner was held in the Barbican’s Art Gallery alongside an exhibition of the work of graduating Technical Theatre students before a production of Rags in the Silk Street Theatre. Both events raised significant sums for the Scholarships Fund. To help train and launch the careers of young actors, musicians and theatre technicians who will transform the performing arts of the future, please contact Duncan Barker, Head of Development, on 020 7382 2313 or duncan.barker@gsmd.ac.uk or visit www.gsmd.ac.uk/support.
Major supporters 2012/13 The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust The Atkin Foundation BB Energy Holdings NV The Behrens Foundation The estate of the late Erika Burgell Cantillon Catlin Group City Bridge Trust The estate of the late Michael Denville The Dorset Foundation
Dunard Fund
Investec
The Skinners’ Company
Serena M Fenwick
Keltbray Group
The estate of Carl Ashley Sutton
The Fishmongers’ Company
The Leathersellers’ Company
Tiffany & Co.
J Paul Getty Jr Charitable Trust
The Leverhulme Trust
William Hare Limited
The Girdlers’ Company
Lindner Group
The Wolfson Foundation
The Haberdashers’ Company
Linklaters
Pauline & Peter Halliday
M&C Saatchi
The Worshipful Company of Chartered Accountants
The Headley Trust
Music Students’ Hostel Trust
Michael & Mercedes Hoffman
Dr John & Mrs Jo Padfield
ICAP
Cindy & Andrew Peck
The Worshipful Company of Tobacco Pipe Makers
Professor Barry Ife CBE & Dr Trudi Darby
The Sidney Perry Foundation
Sir David & Lady Wootton
Bianca & Stuart Roden
Peter & Corinne Young
The Drapers’ Company
The Worshipful Company of Cordwainers
The Guildhall School Trust is a registered charity no. 1082472 and the Guildhall School Development Fund is a registered charity no. 1130102.
To find out more visit www.gsmd.ac.uk
28
Guildhall School of Music & Drama • Annual Report 2012/13
Student Profile
UNDERGRADUATE Gender
2012 ENROLMENT UNDERGRADUATE
Male 47.5%
Programme
Total (FTE)
BA in Acting
50
BA in Stage Management & Technical Theatre/ Technical Theatre Arts
99
BMus
392 Total
541
Total 2011/12
530
Female 52.5%
Disability
Declared disability 18%
POSTGRADUATE Programme
Ethnicity
Total (FTE)
MA in Acting (full-time)
26
MA in Training Actors (part-time)
1
Artist Diploma new for 2012/13
12
Guildhall Artist Masters extended programme (PG Cert Year all pathways) (full-time only)
8
All other ethnicities 11.7% Information not known/ refused 1.3% White 87%
Guildhall Artist Masters Part 1 Performance (full or part-time)
124
Guildhall Artist Masters Part 1 Composition (full or part-time)
7
POSTGRADUATE
Guildhall Artist Masters Part 1 Leadership (full-time from 2010/11)
11
Gender
Guildhall Artist Masters Part 2 (full-time all pathways)
27
MA in Music Therapy (full-time)
15
MPhil/DMus in Composition
5
MPhil/DMus in Performance
3.5
MMA/DMA full-time*
Male 50.3% Female 49.7%
Disability
5 Total
244.5
Total 2011/12
211.5
*MMA/DMA students are registered at City University but are taught in the School
Declared disability 10.2%
Qualifications awarded (as at October 2013) Qualifications Awarded Bachelor’s Degrees Master’s Degrees PG Diplomas Total
To find out more visit www.gsmd.ac.uk
2012/13 143 92 8 243
Ethnicity All other ethnicities 12.8% Information not known/ refused 1.1% White 86.1%
Student Profile
29
GUILDHALL YOUNG ARTISTS Junior Guildhall Student Cohort
School
2012/13
Music Course
231
String Training Programme
136
Drama Course
28
Total Student Body
395
Other 0.9% Home Educated 5.5% Maintained Schools 50.9% Private Schools 42.7%
Ethnicity
Gender
White British 78.5%
Male 44.6%
All other ethnicities 14.4% Female 55.4%
Information refused 7.1%
School
Centre for Young Musicians Student Cohort Saturday Centre
448
LSSO, LYWB and Holiday Courses
637
Total Student Body
1085
Independent 16%
State 84%
Gender
Ethnicity
Male 44%
White British 26.7%
Female 56%
All other ethnicities 73.3%
To find out more visit www.gsmd.ac.uk
30
Guildhall School of Music & Drama • Annual Report 2012/13
Financials INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2013 Income
£000
Grants
2,937
Tuition Fees
8,431
City of London local risk
6,036
City of London central risk
1,118
Other Operating Income
1,734
Total Income
20,256
Expenditure
£000
Teaching and teaching support
8,022
Administration and central services (staff)
4,397
Premises
2,658
Administration and central services (non-staff)
753
City of London administration and central services
484
Other
3,920
Total Expenditure
20,234
Income 2012/13 Tuition Fees 41.62% Grants 14.5% Other Operating income 8.56% City of London central risk 5.52% City of London local risk 29.8%
Expenditure 2012/13 Teaching and teaching support 39.65% Other 19.37% City of London administration and central services 2.39% Administration and central services (non-staff) 3.72% Administration and central services (staff) 21.73% Premises 13.14%
To find out more visit www.gsmd.ac.uk
To find out more visit www.gsmd.ac.uk
Financials
31
To find out more visit www.gsmd.ac.uk
32
Guildhall School of Music & Drama • Annual Report 2012/2013
To find out more visit www.gsmd.ac.uk