The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama today hosted a special performance, attended by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, in celebration of his 70th birthday.
The concert in the Dora Stoutzker Hall featured a selection of music and drama performances, showcasing the talents of the College’s young artists. Emmy-award winner and Golden Globes nominee Matthew Rhys, International Chair of Drama at the College, introduced the event. Guests included Owen Teale, Catrin Finch and graduate Hugo Blick, as well as students, staff, supporters and friends of the College.
His Royal Highness became the College’s Patron in 1999, prior to its royal status being granted in 2002
The College marked the occasion of His Royal Highnesses’ birthday by announcing the renewal of the annual Prince of Wales Scholarships, which will be awarded from 2019 onwards from the College’s developing endowment, and the start of a partnership working with The Prince’s Trust.
It was also announced that The Prince of Wales will be the Patron of World Harp Congress 2020, which will be held at the College. His Royal Highness talked with Catrin Finch, Artistic Director of WHC 2020 in front of the 13 harps played by the College’s harp students, with Royal Harpist Anne Denholm performing on the Royal Harp.
RWCMD Principal Professor Helena Gaunt reflected on this prestigious end to her first term at the College:
“We are honoured and delighted to be hosting this celebration for His Royal Highness at the Royal Welsh College. We are so grateful for the close and active interest he takes as our Patron in our work, and in the development of the College. Best of all is that our students benefit directly from this very special relationship – from scholarships in his name to extraordinary opportunities to perform at Buckingham Palace and his home in West Wales.
The College is also able to lead initiatives such as RWCMD’s Orchestradventure! through support from The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund, allowing hundreds of primary school children to experience live music in the College’s full symphony orchestra tour of Wales.”
In 2018, the College has enjoyed another year of outstanding artistic and educational success. It was once again ranked as the UK’s top drama school in The Guardian University Guide, holding onto the top spot for the second year running and achieving number one status for the fourth year since 2013.
Leading artists and practitioners from across the world have continued to visit the College to share their knowledge and experience with the young performers training here. Just last month the College welcomed Lin-Manuel Miranda, actor Rhys Ifans, and the world renowned violinist, Nicola Benedetti, who spent a weekend working with pre-conservatoire and conservatoire musicians.
This term Uzo Iwobi OBE, was announced as the College’s first International Chair of Diversity, as part of the College’s ongoing outreach and inclusion programme, with a further announcement of scholarships that enable exceptional young artists to access specialist training.
The College has continued to fulfil its role as the National Conservatoire of Wales through outreach work across Wales, including its Young Actors Studio in Pembrokeshire. As part of the Orchestradventure! Project, for example, the RWCMD Symphony Orchestra performed for over 1,400 children in Cardiff and Carmarthen and in 2019 the project will also visit Builth Wells and Llandudno.
John Fisher has recently been announced as the first Artistic Director of the David Seligman Opera School. Working in association with Welsh National Opera the School provides a unique training programme across all disciplines of opera performance and production. The School is supported by a Circle of Presidents – Rebecca Evans, Sir Brian McMaster, Carlo Rizzi, Sir Bryn Terfel and David Pountney.
In addition to the industry expertise and world class facilities the School will offer, is the acquisition last month of The Foyle Opera Rara Collection, a major collection of historical research material. The collection is a remarkable body of historical research material relating to 19th-century Italian opera and is of international significance for scholars and performers.
In 2019, the Royal Welsh College itself will also be celebrating its 70th birthday and will celebrate this milestone with a year long season of activity including important partnership projects, events for College alumni and an exhibition from the College archive.
As part of its growth in international engagement and exchange, the College will also launch its Americas Campaign, which will raise money to create opportunities and scholarships for both Welsh and US students. The Campaign’s first main event will be a Gala Dinner in New York on St David’s Day March 1st 2019, presenting Catherine Zeta-Jones CBE with her Honorary Fellowship, attended by special guests from the world of music and drama.
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