Royal College of Music singers win prestigious awards
Thursday 25 July 2024
Royal College of Music (RCM) students and alumni continue to garner awards and recognition for their exceptional talent.
Tenor Dafydd Jones triumphed at the Royal Over-Seas League’s 72nd Annual Music Competition, winning the prestigious Gold Medal. Held at London’s Wigmore Hall, Artistic Director Geoff Parkin praised his performance, noting: ‘In a set of exceptional performances from all the musicians, Dafydd impressed the jury with his magnetic stage presence, stunning voice control and interpretation of his programme.’ Dafydd, who is set to join the Bayerische Staatsoper in autumn 2024, was accompanied by RCM pianist Francesca Lauri who previously won the Collaborative Piano Award in the section finals.
Royal College of Music alumnus, Julien van Mellaerts, was honoured with the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation Laureate at a gala concert to celebrate Dame Kiri Te Kanawa’s 80th birthday at Opera Holland Park. The distinguished honour, established in 2022, is awarded to a New Zealand singer who has achieved sustained excellence and who will continue to flourish into the future.
Meanwhile, current student Henna Mun recently shared the stage with world-renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli at British Summer Time Hyde Park, having been generously supported in her studies by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation – Community Jameel scholarship. In another triumph, she also earned a place on the coveted 2024 Glyndebourne Jerwood Young Artist programme, gaining invaluable experience working with leaders in the opera world.
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The Kathleen Ferrier Competition in April witnessed further success for the Royal College of Music with student Maddie Boreham receiving Second Prize, while the Song Prize was awarded to Charlotte Kennedy. Charlotte is currently a Young Artist at Garsington Opera alongside many recent graduates including Sam Harris, who joins the Stuttgart Opera Studio in Autumn 2024.
The Royal College of Music dominated the Association of English Singers and Speakers senior competition, securing a clean sweep. Current student Lily Browne claimed First Prize while alumna Emily Jennings was awarded Second Prize. Richard Decker, a current RCM student, not only secured Third Prize but also received the Rodney Gibson Early Music Prize.
In addition to these achievements, baritone Sam Hird took home the esteemed Clonter Opera Prize while Daniel Barrett, Ellen Pearson and Marcus Swietlicki all secured places on the Opera Holland Park Young Artists scheme.
These accomplishments underscore the Royal College of Music’s global reputation as a hub of creativity and excellence. Opera Today recently hailed the RCM as ‘a global cauldron of creativity that has few, if any, equals in the world today’ with Opera Now echoing this sentiment, declaring that ‘the future of opera is bright’ in their review of the RCM’s Revolutions.
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