News

Our monthly round-up of some of the successes for Trinity Laban alumni.

Alumni took to the stage in many performances in June. The contemporary cello duo 2Cellos, of which alum Stjepan Hauser is one half, performed at Wembley Arena at the start of the month, as part of their farewell tour.

Eleanor Perry’s choreography was featured at the Royal Albert Hall’s Pride 2022 event.

Elaine Mitchener’s performance at the closing concert of the London Contemporary Music Festival 2022 was highlighted in London Jazz News’ review of the event.

Olivia Edgington, Ingvild Marstein Olsen, Natalie Sloth Richter, Johanna Merceron, and Vivian Triantafyllopolou took to the stage at Stamford Arts Centre in a double bill of their exciting new works, SMACK and Spektakel.

Hope 4 Justice, Trinity Laban’s call for action on the climate emergency, took place this month. Alum Sarah Golding was the choreographer for the project.

Bethany Horak-Hallet debuted at Garsington Opera this month, in the role of Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte.

Katarine Karneus’ performance as Kundry in Wagner’s Parsifal is highlighted in the Ikley Gazette’s review of the opera in Leeds Grand Theatre.

 

New works by alumni were released and premiered throughout June. Ayanna Witter-Johnson’s piece FAIYA! was premiered at the London Symphony Orchestra’s concert in Trafalgar Square on June 11. Ayanna also gave an interview in the Voice, discussing her music and its connection to Jamaican folk song.

Heloise Werner released her new album Phrases, with a launch concert in Wigmore Hall. The album was also featured as Europadisc’s album of the week, and in Gramophone and the Guardian.

Kokoroko, the jazz group led by Sheila Maurice-Grey and featuring Cassie Kinoshi, have released a new single Age of Ascent, ahead of the August release of their album Could We Be More. The single was reviewed in Clash magazine.

Ezra Collective, the jazz-grime fusion quartet featuring Femi Koleoso and Joe Armon-Jones, released their first music video this month, for their song Victory Dance. They have also signed to the record label Partisan.

Joe Armon-Jones released his new single Pray this month.

Nubya Garcia and Moses Boyd appear on the XATIVA single Fall Back To You, released this month.

James Layton’s opera saudade premiered in Ostrava, Czechia on June 28.

Hollie Harding’s piece What was scattered has been included on Composers’ Academy 4, recorded by Patrick Bailey and the Philharmonia Orchestra.

Manu Delago features on Anoushka Shankar’s upcoming live album Between Us.

Daniel Casimir features on Binker Golding’s new album, Dream Like a Doogwood Wild Boy.

Xhosa Cole appears on On Record, a “sonic love letter to Birmingham” that released this month.

Artie Zaitz and Mark Kavuma’s album Back to Back was featured in Jazz Journal.

 

Alumni were also given several reviews and features in June. Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy featured as Sarabi in The Lion King at Edinburgh Playhouse, which garnered this review.

Nikki Iles was featured in London Jazz News ahead of a concert with the RNCM Big Band.

Daniel Casimir was interviewed in Reverb magazine, on the making of his album Boxed In.

Laura Jurd was featured in Elbphilharmonie this month.

Matthew Bourne was interviewed by the Telegraph on his revival of The Car Man, a ballet based on Bizet’s Carmen. The ballet premiered this month to rave reviews, including in the Telegraph and the Independent.

 

Matthew Bourne was also one of many alumni given awards and feature in announcements this month, winning Best Modern Choreography for The Midnight Bell at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards 2022.

Two alumni were recognised in the Queen’s birthday honours list. Rosemary Lee received an OBE for services to dance, and Harriet Stubbs was awarded a British Empire Medal for services for the community in West London during Covid-19, after the success of her online concert series.

The All Party Parliamentary Jazz Awards took place in early July. Alumni Xhosa Cole, Matt Ridley, Nikki Iles, Deschanel Gordon, and Chelsea Carmichael were nominated, and Daniel Casimir’s Boxed In won Best Album.

Wayne McGregor has been announced as National Youth Dance Company’s Guest Artistic Director for next year.

James Darch has been announced as part of the cast for the upcoming musical Identical, an on-stage rendition of The Parent Trap, which premieres at the Nottingham Playhouse in late July.

Jessie Jing has been awarded a BOH Cameronian Grant for New Productions, in order to develop her piece Nian Gao into a stage production.

Chiya Amos has been named Research Fellow in Sustainability Science at Hiroshima University, Conductor and Music Advisor of Hirodai Symphony Orchestra, and Representative for Music and Culture of the International Council of Environmental Law, being the first classical musician to gain this post.