Last Tuesday we had an unforgettable day at Thorpe Park as our Community and Education team, RPO Resound, together with twenty RPO musicians worked with ACS International Schools to bring exciting activities to 10,000 local young people at the theme park.
I joined the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra as Managing Director on 23 September 2024, and, one month in, I am taking a moment to reflect on what I have discovered about this amazing organisation. My initial observation is, simply, WOW! The RPO does a lot and wants to do a lot, it is nimble, flexible and keen to make anything work and aims for excellence in everything it does. A can-do and will-do attitude runs throughout the organisation, which is essential in the current challenging cultural and financial context.
On Wednesday 25 September the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performed its first concert at the Royal Albert Hall of the 2024–25 season with American Classics, featuring music by Bernstein, Copland, Gershwin and John Williams under the baton of conductor Michael Seal. We were joined by vocalists Anna-Jane Casey and Tobias Turley, as well as pianist Eric Lu for Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.
Violinist Johan Dalene, our Artist-in-Residence for the 2024–25 Season, introduces himself and the music he'll be playing ahead of his concerts with us this coming season at Cadogan Hall, Northampton's Royal & Derngate, Guildford's G Live and Warwick Arts Centre. Winner of the prestigious Carl Nielsen International Competition in 2019 and Gramophone’s 2022 Young Artist of the Year, the Swedish-born Norwegian violinist is one of the most notable rising stars of his generation.
