Author Archive

A new chapter for Kerry Nicholls

Posted 20 December 2021 No Comments

TL alum becomes Associate Director, Artistic Development at English National Ballet

With 30 years’ experience in the sector, dance alum Kerry Nicholls is celebrated internationally for her agile leadership, influential coaching and exceptional contemporary dance teaching.

Since graduating from Trinity Laban in 1991 with a Certificate in Dance Theatre, Kerry has served as Co-Director of Creative Learning for Studio Wayne McGregor (2007 – 2011), the Artistic Advisor for English National Ballet School (2008 – 2015), Artistic Director of National Youth Dance Wales (2014-2018), and Interim Artistic Director for Scottish Dance Theatre (2019). Last year, Kerry was appointed Executive Artistic Lead for English National Ballet.

In 2012, she launched Kerry Nicholls Dance to run training, mentoring and professional development programmes within dance organisations and institutions world-wide. Two-years later she was awarded a Lisa Ullmann Travelling Scholarship to embark on an extensive period of research in the USA, shadowing and assisting Liz Lerman and advancing her work in the Critical Response Process.

At the end of 2021, it was announced that Kerry would join English National Ballet in a full-time role as their Associate Director, Artistic Development.

On her appointment, she comments –

“I am looking forward to this exciting new chapter.”

Founded in 1950 as London Festival Ballet by Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin, English National Ballet brings world class ballet to the widest possible audience through live performances, digital platforms and its distinguished orchestra. It is a UK leader in creative learning and engagement practice, building innovative partnerships to deliver flagship programmes such as English National Ballet’s Dance for Parkinson’s.

To find out more about studying at Trinity Laban visit our Dance pages.

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Image credit: Foteini-Christofilopoulou

David Cohen with long hair and beard in white top, with arm raised holding bow, playing cello, looking down at fingerboard

Principal Cello Appointment for TL Strings Teacher

Posted 2 December 2021 No Comments

David Cohen will join London Symphony Orchestra from September 2022

Trinity Laban cello and chamber music professor David Cohen has been appointed principal cello of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), alongside Rebecca Gilliver.

The former principal cello of the Philharmonic Orchestra, Cohen is the artistic director of the Melchoir Ensemble and the founder and artistic director of the chamber music festival Les Sons Intensifs in Lessines, Belgium.

Before he takes up his new role, Cohen will play for two concerts conducted by LSO principal conductor Sir Simon Rattle on 8 and 9 December 2021.

On the appointment, Cohen comments –

“I am hugely honoured to be joining the LSO. I feel beyond excited by the prospect of working with an orchestra with such a broad repertoire of work, unflagging energy and topflight musicians. I am also looking forward to continuing my commitment to working with young musicians at all stages of their development and throwing myself into this activity with the team at LSO Discovery.”

Trinity Laban’s Head of Strings, Nic Pendlebury, comments –

“David Cohen’s appointment with the LSO is incredibly well-deserved and testament to his skill as a performer.

“He is one of many inspirational musicians who comprise our diverse teaching roster, including accomplished soloists, eminent chamber musicians, and leaders and principal players of our country’s major orchestras. It is their abilities as performers, and links with the industry, that mean our students benefit from a huge range of support and skills.”

Discover more about our Strings department.

Innovation Award Winner Premieres New Work

Posted 2 December 2021 No Comments

Alum Laura Engholm explores experiences of homelessness through ‘Stories of Belonging’

Danish dance artist and emerging choreographer Laura Engholm was a recipient of our TL Innovation Award in 2020 for her proposal to engage with those affected by homelessness and hidden homelessness through inclusive dance practice.

The TL Innovation Award is a unique competition for final-year undergraduates, offering winners a financial award and bespoke professional development support to establish themselves as artists within one of the fastest growing sectors of the UK economy.

Mentored by participatory dance artist and fellow alum Stella Howard, Laura used her Award to created dance company Engholm Danseteater, which places diversity and inclusion at the heart of its work.

The company is now set to premiere its first piece, Stories of Belonging, on 17 Dec 2021 at London’s October Gallery, in partnership with Arts and Homelessness International and St Mungo’s Recovery College.

The foundations of the project are in the creative writing from adults with lived experience of homelessness and not fitting in, who were invited to take part. Their stories appear in both direct and indirect ways as movement, music or words.

Choreographed by Laura, the final piece is a witty and thoughtful blend of contemporary dance, music, poetry and physical theatre, creating a living collage of stories about what it means to belong to a place, to a person, to a tribe, to yourself.

On the upcoming premiere, Laura comments –

“I am so proud and excited that this is finally a reality.”

To book your ticket, visit the event page.

Find out more about studying dance at Trinity Laban.

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Image credit: Becca Hunt

Two saxophone students playing side by side

Taking Jazz on Tour

Posted 18 November 2021 No Comments

Our students are mixing up their performance schedule to help lead change for the future of jazz.

Driven by a desire to “break down barriers” and “bring awareness”, bands from our celebrated Jazz Department are combining their regular gig schedule with touring local schools to connect with grass-roots musicians and inspire the next generation of music makers.

The interactive performances introduce pupils to instruments and music of jazz from 1930s jazz ‘Big Band’ to the present day. They also explore the building blocks of jazz, including improvisation, chord sequences and riffs.

Hans Koller, Trinity Laban’s Head of Jazz comments –

“The emphasis of Jazz on Tour is on performance. To inspire, to bring in our role models, to open ears, to show the quality of jazz and how it all started and still swings.”

After kicking things off at St Dunstan’s College in Lewisham, the Trinity Laban Fletcher Henderson Project is visiting Greenwich’s Middle Park Primary and Tower Hamlets’ William Davis Primary, as well as secondary schools John Roan School (Greenwich) and Pimlico Academy (Westminster). From January, Richard Henry’s Studio Band and the Trinity Laban Jazz Orchestra will take over the tour.

At secondary schools, aspiring musicians are given the opportunity to join the bands and play alongside conservatoire students, offering a taste of big band playing and full immersion in jazz performance.

St Dunstan’s students expressed how welcoming and engaging the session had been –

“I haven’t really improvised before, so it was interesting trying it out, especially in front of an audience. It was scary but fun.”

“It was really nerve-wracking cause everyone was really good, but everyone was really nice and really encouraging. So even if I did something wrong, which I did, I tried!”

Malcolm Earle-Smith, who leads the Trinity Laban Fletcher Henderson Project, explained –

“Every week the band gets great pleasure playing this wonderful music and we wanted to get out there and share it. There are all sorts of things you can learn about melody, harmony and form from earlier types of jazz; and, of course, the importance of rhythm, and how to make music ‘swing’. Being close to the blues, it also teaches us about personal expression. The element of improvisation gives you a chance to put your personal stamp on the music.

“Our undergraduate students have really benefitted from playing music from the 1930s and we want to show other young musicians they can too. This music has great vibrancy and energy. Once you start to understand it, it opens all kinds of doors.”

Other opportunities to see Trinity Laban Fletcher Henderson Project this year will be at the EFG London Jazz Festival (Sun 21 Nov) as part of The London Line-Up at The Clore Ballroom, Royal Festival Hall. Also on the bill is The Jazz Hang @ Trinity Laban with Tomorrow’s Warriors. Now in it’s second year, the programme is a partnership between the conservatoire and Tomorrow’s Warriors, offering a weekly get together for aspiring young musicians focusing on sparking creativity and harnessing a love of jazz.

Alongside visiting local schools, musicians from the Jazz Department have also been celebrating NHS heroes with a series of lunchtime concerts at St George’s hospital in Tooting. The performances form part of the hospital’s initiative to thank staff and show gratitude for their astonishing work over the past 18 months.

To find out more about Jazz at Trinity Laban.

Winter Events 2021-22

Posted 8 November 2021 No Comments

Encounter intriguing and inventive moments of music and dance in our three-month programme of live and digital events.

Running across November, December and January, our winter season includes an operatic world premiere and new work by Alumni Associate Artist Theo TJ Lowe.

Written by Edward Jessen and commissioned by Trinity Laban, Syllable – A Particle Tale will run for three performances at the Laban Theatre (14 & 15 Jan). With a sinfonietta-scale ensemble, auxiliary audio, and visual projection, this artistically ambitious and experimental sonic theatre work is no ordinary opera. Inspired by a range of works including Primo Levi’s 1975 collection of short stories The Periodic Table, audiences can expect a drama driven by sounds rather than conventional plot. The project, which is supported by the PRS Foundation’s The Open Fund for Music Creators, will be a collaboration with musicians, dance artists and composer-performer collective Bastard Assignments.

Also premiering as part of our winter season is the next iteration of Theo TJ Lowe’s Let me move (15 Dec). The improvisation project originated in autumn 2020 as a way for recent graduates to physically engage with how they felt returning to a studio after periods of lockdown. The process resulted in an ephemeral piece of live dance streamed to audiences’ homes. Now Lowe returns to offer 2021 dance graduates an opportunity to continue creating, and to share the moment with a live audience, with Let me move: continued Part 2.

There are vocal delights later in the month as the Trinity Laban Undergraduate Chorus present an eclectic mix of protest music conducted by Sarah Latto (17 Nov). Expect everything from Tippett and Britten to ‘One Day More’ from Les Misérables and Aminita Francis‘ Black Lives Matter. And, to get into the festive spirit, join the Old Royal Naval College Trinity Laban Chapel Choir as they present Handel’s Messiah, conducted by Ralph Allwood MBE (5 Dec).

Musicians from the Trinity Laban community are heading to the Southbank Centre to perform as part of the EFG London Jazz Fest celebrations (21 Nov) including the freshest talent on London’s scene (The Jazz Hang with Tomorrow’s Warriors and Trinity Laban), our Fletcher Henderson Project and a host of alumni.

An evening with Trinity Laban Brass Ensemble (26 Nov) sees critically-acclaimed trumpeter, conductor and Trinity Laban alum Mike Lovatt lead a live rendition of the iconic 1958 Billy May album Big Fat Brass alongside Bizet’s Carmen Suite as you’ve never heard it before.

In December, our final-year Musical Theatre students present Merrily We Roll Along (7-11 Dec) at Laban Theatre. Boasting one of Stephen Sondheim’s most beautiful scores, the story follows the successful career of Broadway composer turned Hollywood producer Franklin as he realises the true cost of fame and fortune.

Conducted by Head of Strings Nic Pendlebury, Trinity Laban String Ensemble (10 Dec) are joined by violinist Joe Townsend and harpist Maria McNamee for a musical tour of the British Isles. The evening features work by Sally Beamish, Elgar and James MacMillan. The performance will be followed by a late lounge performance from BA Music Performance and Industry producers in the Hearn Recital Room.

For full listings, ticketing info and booking visit our What’s On page.

Mirella Bartrip OBE

Posted 2 November 2021 No Comments

With great sadness, Trinity Laban announces that former Director of Dance Mirella Bartrip OBE died on Monday 1 November after a period of ill health.

Mirella’s 36-year contribution to Trinity Laban was extraordinary. She joined what was then the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance in 1982 as an hourly paid lecturer, teaching classical ballet, dance technique theory, and teaching studies.

In 1984, she became Programme Leader for the undergraduate dance programme. Over a period of 20 years, she led a series of reviews that refined and shaped the programme into what is recognised internationally as one of the world’s most prestigious dance degrees.

As first Vice Principal (Academic) and then Deputy Director & Dean of Studies, she oversaw the creation and development of a series of flagship Masters programmes, including the UK’s first Masters programme in Dance Science. She was also an important figure in the merger with Trinity College of Music, leading to the formation of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

In 2010, Mirella became Director of Dance at Trinity Laban. Her numerous achievements have included being part of the team that saw Trinity Laban gain its own Taught Degree Awarding Powers, and successfully enter the Research Excellence Framework for the first time.

Mirella gained an international reputation as a dance educator, and was regularly invited to judge competitions and assess dance work across the globe.

Mirella was awarded an OBE for services to Dance, Education and Training in the 2020 New Year’s Honours. Her investiture ceremony, delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, happened earlier this year (pictured below), and Mirella was able to celebrate surrounded by her family and friends, including many Trinity Laban colleagues.

Professor Anthony Bowne, Principal of Trinity Laban, comments:

“Mirella was a wonderful colleague and friend, and her contribution to Trinity Laban – as well as to dance training globally – is unmatched. I feel her loss very deeply.

She leaves a magnificent legacy behind her as a champion of excellence and creativity working together in dance training to create professional, curious and innovative dance artists. This vision and ethos have influenced and transformed dance training across the World.

I stand with all of the Trinity Laban graduates and staff whose lives were changed by Mirella’s passion and dedication.”

If you would like to leave your condolences or a note of remembrance for Mirella Bartrip, please do so by emailing remembrance@trinitylaban.ac.uk

TL Teaching and Supporting Learning Awards

Teaching and Supporting Learning Awards 2021

Posted 28 October 2021 No Comments

TL staff honoured in annual scheme recognising outstanding contribution

The Trinity Laban Teaching and Supporting Learning Awards scheme recognises staff members who have made an outstanding contribution to the conservatoire’s innovative and nurturing environment.

Each year our community is invited to nominate any colleague or team who has positively influenced student experience through an activity or initiative over the past three years. This includes innovative teaching, championing collaborative approaches and the enhancement of TL’s learning culture.

The 2021 recipients are:

Ann van Allen-Russell for developing online seminars and discussion groups to promote student engagement, using videos to aid students’ understanding of assessments and for progressing the decolonisation of the Music History curriculum.
Tessa Gillett for contributing to a culture of inclusion and diversity at the conservatoire through her leadership of its Black Lives Matter (BLM) campaign and contribution to the BLM working group, which enabled Trinity Laban to gather and respond to students’ concerns.
Richard Henry for leading contribution to the BLM working group and public action plans and playing a crucial role as Black Lives in Music relationship manager and Black Culture 365 producer.
James Hitchins for transforming the learning experience for students with additional needs and supporting teaching staff to design and adapt learning teaching and assessment to be accessible.
Richard Metcalfe for creating a safe environment for learning and teaching in the conservatoire’s buildings during the pandemic.
Gill Munro for supporting student engagement and wellbeing by providing excellent individual service to those booking space and other resources.
Lucy Nicholson for enhancing student progression into professional practice through the development of the Faculty of Music’s Voices from Industry Series, the Innovation Award, and both the GoDigiTL and TL Ignite micro grants.
Stephanie Schober for contribution to inclusion and diversity in learning and teaching through leadership of the ‘Asking Queerer Questions’ CoLab 2021 project.
Byron Wallen for community building in the Jazz dept during lockdown including contributing to a weekly listening club and using innovative approaches to the digital delivery of Jazz Music History.

The winners received their Awards at a celebratory outdoor event in September.

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees.

Junior Trinity Staff Making Waves

Posted 28 October 2021 No Comments

Conductors Darren Bloom and Leo Geyer work with top UK music industry players

2021 has been a busy year for staff in our Junior Trinity Department as two composition tutors take big steps in their professional careers by collaborating with iconic British institutions.

Darren Bloom, Lead Tutor for Composition and Musicianship at Junior Trinity, has conducted the London Symphony Orchestra for Six Degrees of Separation. The newly released album showcases new work by emerging composers as part of the orchestra’s Panufnik Scheme.

Recorded live in concert earlier this year, the record has already received a five-star review from BBC Music Magazine, praising the “total assurance” of the orchestra who provide a “welcome introduction to a terrific new wave of composing talent”.

Darren co-directs Junior Trinity’s Composers Ensemble alongside Leo Geyer, who has been selected by the BBC Open Music Programme on the pathway to become a presenter for Radio 3 and the BBC Proms 2022.

With more than 1,000 applicants for 30 places, the programme brings together new creatives and musicians across a range of genres, styles and backgrounds from around the UK in the hope of developing contemporary collaborations and representative, exciting ideas.

Speaking to his alma mater Oxford University, Leo said –

“I’m not planning on hanging up my composing and conducting hats, but I am aspiring to add ‘broadcaster’ to my portfolio career.”

Previously a student at Junior Trinity, Leo returned to teach on TL’s junior programme in 2015. Alongside his teaching, he also conducts for the English National Opera.

Find out more about our Junior Programmes.

Carolina Cury wins Trinity Laban’s Digital Gold Medal 2021

Posted 22 October 2021 No Comments

The pianist and master’s student delighted with a programme of Bach to Björk

Each year, Trinity Laban’s prestigious Gold Medal competition showcases the diverse talent from across the conservatoire’s Faculty of Music.

Competing for the 2021 prize were Noelia Cotuna (harp), Hannah Crocker (soprano), Tara Cunningham (electric guitar), Carolina Cury (piano), Shaohui Hao (saxophone), Jan Margolius (composition) and May Tether (musical theatre).

Across three days, the seven students and recent alumni delighted digital audiences on TL platforms with creative and intimate pre-recorded performance films spanning classical and contemporary music, jazz and musical theatre.

To judge the competition, the conservatoire’s Director of Music Havilland Willshire was joined by Head of imagine at Intermusica Artists’ Management, Kate Caro, in a unique adjudication film where pianist Carolina Cury was announced as the 2021 winner.

Filmed at Megaron Athens Concert Hall, Carolina’s performance included ‘Prelude and Fugue in F# minor’ from J.S. Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier (Book 1), György Ligeti’s Étude No. 8 ‘Fèm’ and an improvisation on Björk ‘All is Full of Love’.

Explaining what made Carolina a worthy winner Kate Caro commented –

“Across the three pieces Carolina demonstrated what a versatile and confident artist she is; how much originality she has in her voice, in her musicianship. I was just blown away.”

Havilland Willshire added –

“I was intrigued by her playing, particularly the bravery to overthrow convention in her interpretation of Bach. Her personality came through strongly in everything she did.”

Carolina, who completed her master’s at Trinity Laban in 2020, is currently studying on the Artist Diploma.

She joins an illustrious list of recent Gold Medal winners, many of whom are already enjoying budding creative careers. These include 2019 winner Elena Abad, who played with the Parallax Orchestra on the album ‘Bring Me the Horizons’ which reached no.1 in the UK, and 2015 winner soprano Nardus Williams, who is currently performing as Anne Trulove in Stravinsky’s opera The Rake’s Progress with Glyndebourne Opera.

The annual Gold Medal Showcase celebrates outstanding young Trinity Laban musicians. Competitors are nominated by the Heads of each of Departments within Trinity Laban’s Faculty of Music for their exceptional musical flair and professionalism, and all receive a Trinity Laban Director’s Prize for Achievement in recognition of this.

Congratulations to all our finalists. You can watch all seven performances on TL YouTube.

To find out more about studying music at Trinity Laban, visit our study pages

Progressing the Future of Contemporary Dance

Posted 19 October 2021 No Comments

Dedicated to deconstructing gender in the classical arts, Mississippi-born Will Byram has begun his MA/MFA in Choreography at Trinity Laban as the Fulbright-Trinity Laban Postgraduate Scholar 2021/22.

Exploring how male fragility and aggression manifest in the body, Will’s degree will culminate in the creation of a movement theatre work with a narrative adapted from a 1999 Human Rights Watch interview on men’s experiences with sexual assault.

Before arriving in London, Will completed his BFA in Dance in 2020 at the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College, New York where he choreographed the mainstage production of Purcell’s opera Dido & Aeneas. The first large-scale collaboration between the university’s Conservatories of Music and Dance, the show won second place in the 2020 National Opera Association Competition.

Will’s work has also been performed at Dancers Responding to AIDS, Jazz Choreography Enterprises and most recently, Battery Dance Festival in New York.

Will plans to use his postgraduate training as a foundation to launch a career in higher education that champions access and exposure to the arts in the American South. He also hopes to learn about British etiquette and discover the similarities between his Southern upbringing and culture.

His first project at Trinity Laban will be choreographing opera scenes this December in collaboration with the vocal department.

On joining the Trinity Laban community Will says –

“Trinity Laban has such a distinctive place in the dance history canon. I’m honoured to study at an institution dedicated to innovation and progressing the future of contemporary dance. I’m also excited to learn and absorb all that London’s creative theatre and dance scene has to offer.”

Sara Matthews, Director of Dance, comments –

“Trinity Laban is thrilled to welcome William Byram to the Faculty of Dance as this year’s Fulbright Scholar, continuing a rich tradition of cultural exchange and innovation. The international community Will is joining will help support his development as a change-maker, as he continues to take exciting steps to advance the art form of dance.”

Trinity Laban Principal Anthony Bowne comments –

“Trinity Laban is proud to continue its longstanding partnership with the US-UK Fulbright Commission by being part of this next stage in Will’s artistic journey. He is an exceptionally talented individual doing extraordinary work that advocates for equity and we are excited to see the transformative impact he will no doubt have on the Conservatoire and wider arts industry over the course of his tenure.”

US-UK Fulbright Commission Executive Director Maria Balinska comments –

“Will is a testament to the Fulbright Programme’s commitment to civically engaged artistic excellence. We’re excited to see the outcome of his creative exchanges with the dance community at Trinity Laban and proud to be partnering for a sixth year with the only Conservatoire of Music and Contemporary Dance in the UK.”

The US-UK Fulbright programme is the only international education exchange to go both ways across the Atlantic and whose vision is a world in which there are no obstacles to learning, understanding and collaboration.

Previous Trinity Laban recipients include US Marines veteran and Artistic Director of Exit12 Dance Company (New York) Roman Baca, who was awarded the Fulbright Association’s Selma Jeanne Cohen Dance Lecture Award, and Washington-born pianist Garrett Snedeker who won a Barzun Prize for Youth Engagement to pioneer a music project to engage under-served teenagers in Southeast London.

Find out more about the Fulbright Scholarship, including how to apply for 2022, on our Fees and Finance pages.

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Image: Will Byram

TL composer wins Liverpool Philharmonic’s Rushworth Composition Prize 2021

Posted 8 October 2021 No Comments

Master’s student Nneka Cummins commissioned to develop new work as part of emerging talent award

Composer and music producer Nneka Cummins is the 2021 recipient of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s annual Rushworth Composition Prize.

As the winner, Nneka will have a unique opportunity to develop their talent over the course of the next year through a programme of workshops, masterclasses and mentoring sessions from a variety of leading industry figures.

The award will culminate in Nneka writing a new work for performance by Ensemble 10/10, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s new music group, which will be premiered in Autumn 2022.

In addition, they will receive £1,000, made possible through the support of the Rushworth Foundation, a year’s complimentary membership of the Ivors Academy, the UK’s leading professional association for music creators, and additional opportunities to produce new works and commissions for Liverpool Philharmonic and its associated ensembles.

Previous winners of the Rushworth Composition Prize include Carmel Smickersgill, who was nominated for the Ivors Academy Rising Star Award in 2020, and Grace-Evangeline Mason, who premiered new orchestral work ‘The Imagined Forest’ at this year’s BBC Proms, co-commissioned with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

A former full-time solicitor, Nneka is currently completing their Master’s in Composition at Trinity Laban, where they have been awarded the Gareth Neame Scholarship and the Trinity College London Scholarship.

Earlier this year Nneka’s piece Blend was performed by an ensemble from Chineke! in the Cheltenham Music Festival 2021 and they will have new a work premiered by Trinity Laban Symphonic Winds at Blackheath Halls on Friday 15 October. Find out more about the programme and book tickets.

On winning the prize Nneka commented –

“Liverpool is where my passion for music was nurtured and as a teenager, I played in venues across the city as part of Saturday Morning Music Centre’s Liverpool Youth Orchestra. I’m grateful to Liverpool Philharmonic for this opportunity and very much look forward to working with Ensemble 10/10. It’s great to be deepening my musical connection to Liverpool.”

Find out more about composition at Trinity Laban.