On Monday 8 February the Old Royal Naval College Trinity Laban Chapel Choir (ORNCTLCC) marked the launch of a new Choral Evensong website with a celebratory concert in the Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul.

The launch event comprised a performance in the Chapel followed by a reception in the Painted Hall. Directed by esteemed choral conductor Ralph Allwood MBE, the ORNCTLCC performed Choral Evensong for an audience which included the Mayor of Greenwich as well as representatives from local institutions.

The new website ChoralEvensong.org provides a directory of Choral Evensong events throughout the UK, encouraging audiences to enjoy this rich musical tradition which has existed for over 500 years.

Trinity Laban student and mastermind of the project, Dr. Guy Hayward, commented “Choral Evensong is one of the greatest cultural creations of our country. It happens in more than 400 churches and cathedrals on Sundays, and also every weekday in most cathedrals and many college chapels. However, most people simply don’t know about it. In London alone, every day of the week at 5pm, one can enter Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral free of charge and listen to world-class music.”

The Astronomer Royal Lord Rees also commented:

“Every evensong is a chance to be inspired by the liturgy and music of the Anglican Church — and by the choral tradition that should be cherished. And in historic Greenwich we are especially mindful of ‘the spacious firmament on high’ — its wonder and its mystery.”

The ORNCTLCC is an important part of musical life at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, the only conservatoire in the world to have its own dedicated chapel choir. Trinity Laban students form the nucleus of the choir, and twelve scholarships are offered per year.

For information about Choral Evensong services in your local area please visit the new website: http://www.choralevensong.org/

For information about future concerts by Old Royal Naval College Trinity Laban Chapel Choir visit the Trinity Laban website: https://www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/whats-on/music-events

Photography credit: James Keats

On Monday 11 January, composition student Harry Palmer was announced as the winner of the 2016 Gold Medal Competition – one of the most prestigious awards for music performance offered by Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

Adjudicators for this year’s competition were Dr Claire Mera-Nelson (Director of Music at Trinity Laban), Gillian Moore MBE (Director of Music at the Southbank Centre) and award-winning violinist Tasmin Little OBE, who praised Palmer for his “gripping and mesmeric” compositions.

Mera-Nelson commented after the event “It was a delight to see six fantastic young artists bearing the Trinity Laban name. It has been a privilege to judge them all alongside two esteemed adjudicators.”

Harry Palmer is currently in his third year at Trinity Laban, having studied with Gwyn Pritchard, Errollyn Wallen and Ed Jessen. He commented “I’m so honoured to have been given this award and opportunity, particularly as everyone involved was truly outstanding. Trinity Laban is such a wonderful place to study and as a composition student I’m so lucky and grateful to have such amazing and talented artists around me to perform my work.”

The 2016 finalists performing alongside Harry Palmer were Becky Brass (Percussion), Ruben Fox (Jazz Saxophone), Emma Lewis (Mezzo-Soprano), Stefan Melovski (Guitar) and Naufal Mukumi (Piano).

Photo credit: James Keates

Soprano Erika Mädi Jones has been selected for a leading role in a production of Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser at the Longborough Festival Opera in June 2016.

Longborough Festival Opera (LFO) is a country house opera company located in the Cotswolds and specialising in Wagner’s works. In 2013 the LFO received critical acclaim for its production of Wagner’s epic four-part opera cycle, The Ring of The Nibelung.

For this production Erika takes the role of Elisabeth, the leading female role in Tannhäuser. This marks another success for the Trinity Laban alumnus after she performed as a finalist in the Wagner Society Singing Competition 2015 and became a Les Azuriales Young Artist in the same year.

Graduating with a distinction in her MMus and Postgraduate Artist Diploma, Erika benefited from the world-class musical training Trinity Laban offers all its students, as well as comprehensive financial support in the form of numerous scholarships and bursaries.

For more information about the Longborough Festival Opera please visit the official website here https://lfo.org.uk/

For information about the vocal studies department at Trinity Laban please visit https://www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/study/music/vocal-studies

To learn more about the financial support available to students at Trinity Laban visit https://www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/fees-finance/scholarships

The Bonnie Bird Choreography Fund awards ceremony, now known as The Bonnies, took place at Sadler’s Wells on Thursday 3 December with Trinity Laban alumnus Matthew Bourne OBE invited as a special guest.

Trinity Laban alumnus Nicola Conibere was presented with the prestigious Bonnie Bird New Choreography Award, a biennial £10,000 prize which allows recipients to pursue groundbreaking choreographic research with the guidance of other professionals within the industry. Conibere completed her PhD in Creative Practice at Trinity Laban earlier in 2015.

In addition Rosemary Butcher – recently made an Honorary Fellow of Trinity Laban – was given the Lifetime Contribution to Choreography Award, the first award of its kind in the history of the Bonnie Bird Choreography Fund.

The Bonnie Bird Choreography Fund is an organisation which supports the development of new choreography and recognises outstanding talent within the field. The fund pays homage to Bonnie Bird, one of the most influential figures in modern dance, who helped to establish Britain’s first dance degree courses at the Laban Dance Centre, now Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. For more information see www.bonniebird.org.

For more alumni success stories please visit the Trinity Laban website: https://www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/alumni/alumni-profiles

Photo: Bonnie Bird in her solo The Judgement, Cornish School, 1938 (Bonnie Bird Collection, Laban Archive)

Students and staff Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance have taken part in BBC documentary Dance Rebels: A Story of Modern Dance, which was broadcast on Sunday 13 December on BBC Four.

The documentary explored the story of modern dance, combining historical footage and interviews with leading practitioners, with footage featuring Trinity Laban students in rehearsal and performance. Modern dance was explored through the students’ eyes as they encountered key works from the genre for the first time. Students demonstrated the ground-breaking techniques that have shaped the genre, and performed the works of choreographers whose work has challenged audiences and revolutionised dance.

Trinity Laban held an exclusive screening of the film earlier in the week. Speaking to the audience, Principal of Trinity Laban, Professor Anthony Bowne, commented “We were particularly thrilled to be invited to take part in this documentary. Here at Trinity Laban we believe that our mission is not just to train dancers and musicians to enter their respective professions, but also to make sure that those professions are thriving.”

Dance Rebels: A Story of Modern Dance forms part of BBC Four’s Year of Song and Dance, a year of programming exploring the extraordinary power of song and dance.

You can watch Dance Rebels: A Story of Modern Dance on BBC iPlayer here for thirty days after broadcast.

Picture Credits: James Keates

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance has presented an Honorary Fellowship to renowned choreographer Rosemary Butcher, in recognition of “her remarkable lifelong contribution to the development of contemporary dance, and her profile as one of our greatest living artists”.

The award was presented by Professor Anthony Bowne, Principal of Trinity Laban, at a private reception attended by Butcher’s friends and colleagues.

Mirella Bartrip, Trinity Laban’s Director of Dance, read the citation, which included the following tribute:

“We are here tonight to honour Rosemary Butcher’s remarkable achievements over nearly four decades, during which time she has become regarded as one of our most innovative choreographers. She has made more than 50 works, many of which have toured internationally performed in over 40 countries, memorably presented in theatres, galleries, museums, art houses and installation environments.

Alongside her profile as dance and visual artist, Rosemary’s contribution as teacher and mentor is also significant. Her work with students, emerging artists and teachers has influenced dance pedagogy and, in turn, developments within dance, its presentation and curation.

She has courageously remained an independent artist. In her use of cross arts collaboration, and in her frequent choice of non-theatrical spaces for presentation, Rosemary’s work has made a unique and significant contribution to contemporary dance as an art form.

Rosemary is driven; she is compelled; she is forensic in her exploration of movement and in pushing dancers to excavate the endless possibilities of the body; she is original; she is special.”

Following the presentation of the Honorary Fellowship, guests were treated to a video tribute, featuring extracts from some of Butcher’s most important works.

Trinity Laban Honorary Fellowships are awarded each year to distinguished artists, practitioners, educators and professionals in the fields of the performing arts and education. Previous recipients have included choreographers such as Matthew Bourne, Merce Cunningham and William Forsythe, and musicians such as Wissam Boustany, Sir Edward Downes, and Ravi Shankar.

Pictured (L to R): Mirella Bartrip, Rosemary Butcher, Anthony Bowne

Photo: JK Photography

Rising jazz star drummer and Trinity Laban alumnus Moses Boyd has won a MOBO award for his innovative duo Binker and Moses, with tenor saxophonist Binker Golding.

This year has already seen the release of the debut Binker and Moses album ‘Dem Ones’, in addition to two albums by Boyd’s band Moses Boyd Exodus. He has also been gigging with numerous jazz stars, including Soweto Kinch, and touring Vietnam with acclaimed jazz vocalist Zara McFarlane. This MOBO Award marks another milestone in Boyd’s early musical career, after he claimed the Worshipful Company of Musicians’ Young Jazz Musician award in 2014.

Moses Boyd is just the latest in a series of Trinity Laban jazz alumni receiving awards in recognition of their outstanding talent, paving the way for successful careers in music. Recent examples include Laura Jurd, Elliot Galvin and Peter Edwards, among others.

Prodigiously talented young pianist Gen Li has won the 19^th Jaques Samuel Intercollegiate Piano Competition, vying with the best candidates from Guildhall School of Music and Drama, The Royal Academy of Music and The Royal College of Music.

Gen Li became the second Trinity Laban student to win the contest within three years, a remarkable accomplishment in light of such strong competition. Li is currently undertaking the Independent Study Programme (Advanced) at Trinity Laban, after completing his MMus and Postgraduate Artist Diploma under the guidance of Deniz Gelenbe. He has won numerous competitions, awards and scholarships at Trinity Laban, including the Soloists’ Competition, which saw him perform with the Trinity Laban Symphony Orchestra at Cadogan Hall conducted by Martin Andre.

Claire Mera-Nelson, Director of Music at Trinity Laban, commented: “I’m delighted that one of our outstanding students, Gen Li, is the winner of the 2015 Jaques Samuel Intercollegiate Piano Competition. Throughout his studies at Trinity Laban Gen has consistently displayed exceptional focus and dedication. I know that he has greatly benefitted from the support of his teacher Deniz Gelenbe, and – building on his already impressive list of accolades – anticipate that this most recent success will only set the tone for the continued development of his future career.”

Jaques Samuel Intercollegiate Piano Competition winners get to play two high-profile concerts, at the Wigmore Hall and at the Fazioli Auditorium in Italy. In addition, an official CD release is produced from recordings of the concert at the Wigmore Hall.

Listen to the just-crowned Gen Li performing on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune (1:36:00): http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06hl5vx

You can read Gen Li’s student story on the Trinity Laban website.

On Saturday 10 October, Trinity Laban dance artist Alison Curtis-Jones travels to Switzerland to perform two new works with her company Summit Dance Theatre. 

The works are recreations of Rudolf Laban’s Dancing Drumstick and Ishtar’s Journey into Hades, which were originally choreographed in Monte Verita in 1913, at Laban’s School of Movement. They will be performed at the Teatro Del Gatto in Ascona and filmed by German television company ARTE.

Summit Dance Theatre were winners of the prestigious Swiss Dance Award “Dance as Cultural Heritage” for 2014-15. All of the dancers are either alumni or current members of the Faculty of Dance: Robert Keates, Charlotte Pook, Claire Victoria Lambert, James Kay, Andy Race, Fred Gehrig, Verena Schneider, Ellen Jeffrey and Ingvild Olsen. Collaborators include Producer and fellow alumnus Nunzia Tirelli, composers and musicians Oli Newman and James Keane, and costume designer Mary Fisher.

This has been a busy year for Ali Curtis-Jones in Europe. Most recently, in July she was invited to the Dalcroze International Conference in Vienna, where she taught a master class and presented a paper on the impact of the Dalcroze method on Rudolf Laban’s dance theatre practice.

You can follow the activity of Summit Dance Theatre on Facebook.

Rising star jazz trumpeter and composer Laura Jurd, who graduated from Trinity Laban in 2013, is one of just seven international young artists selected for BBC Radio’s enormously prestigious BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists scheme.

The scheme was established in 1999 to help ‘support young musicians on the threshold of an international career’, and nurtures the finest young talents from across the globe. Selected artists are afforded numerous performance, recording and broadcast opportunities, and benefit from BBC Radio 3’s international music industry affiliations. Previous artists have included the likes of Alison Balsom, Natalie Clein and Colin Currie.

Laura Jurd is the first jazz artist to be selected for the scheme in three years. Already in her short career she has received numerous accolades, including the Dankworth Prize for Jazz Composition and the Worshipful Company of Musicians Jazz musician of the Year Award. Laura has been commissioned by the London Jazz Festival and the BBC, and is also a member of the genre-bending improv quartet Blue-Eyed Hawk, who released their debut album Under the Moon in 2014. She has received great acclaim for her two solo albums, Landing Ground and Human Spirit.

Trinity Laban music and dance students took to the Hyde Park stage on Saturday evening, as part of the Proms in the Park celebrations.

Students Joy Effiong, Ross Newton, Ellie Tapper and Lori Williams joined Anna Meredith and alumnus David Ogle to lead an enthusiastic crowd of 40,000 in a massed performance of Connect It for body percussion.

Created by composer Anna Meredith and choreographer David Ogle, Connect It is one of the BBC’s Ten Pieces, an initiative created to open up the world of classical music for primary schoolchildren.

Trinity Laban students and alumni performed Connect It at the two BBC Ten Pieces Proms earlier in the summer, and this was such a success (“the highlight of an ebullient night” – The Times) that the piece was brought back for Proms in the Park, which coincides with the Last Night of the Proms.

You can view the performance (and join in at home!) via the BBC iPlayer.