Student updates
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Our students continue to make the Royal College of Music proud with their exceptional commitment and courage, from high-profile performances to international competitions. Here are just some of their recent achievements.
Performances and recordings
A number of students recently performed at a special event at Downing Street (main image) celebrating the Royal College of Music’s partnerships, and showcasing HÂþ» musicians who have flourished through progression onto the HÂþ»’s Bachelor of Music undergraduate degree programme.
Christopher Knox, director and conductor of , has completed the ensemble’s inaugural concert season, overseeing an innovative concert programme with repertoire highlighting music by Xenakis, Ligeti, Shostakovich and Beethoven. The orchestra will continue its concert series in the coming season around various venues in London.
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María Linares, Artist Diploma pianist and Constant & Kit Lambert Junior Fellow, released an album on the Naxos label in January 2026, featuring works by German composer Anton Urspruch.
Cellist and composer Gwydion Rhys performed with the National Youth Orchestra of Wales in November 2025, marking his final appearance with the orchestra after membership since 2018. Gwydion also participated in a three-day workshop with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, which included a performance of his orchestral work Mistico.
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Guitarist Eva Victoria Schockmel has been selected to perform with the Cambridge Graduate Orchestra following a successful audition in November 2025. Eva has also been named a Young Artist Platform Awardee by the International Guitar Foundation for 2025/26. Eva will give performances in the Netherlands and the UK later in the season.
Thomas Luke has released his debut album, , featuring eight original piano compositions. The project was crowd-funded and independently produced, recorded and mixed by Thomas.
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Orchestral opportunities
Four HÂþ» musicians have earned places on the 2026/27 London Symphony Orchestra String Experience, a programme established in 1992 to support emerging string players in bridging conservatoire training and professional careers. The cohort includes violinists Aries Chow, Krissi Georgieva, UgnÄ— Liepa ŽuklytÄ— and cellist Niccolo Citrani.
Violinist Mira Marton has won a place at the Concertgebouw Orchestra Academy, starting next year.
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Competitions and nominations
Colores Ensemble (Emily Ambrose, Frank Barr, Mateus Colares de Souza, Oscar Horan and Lucy Rowan) has been selected as one of the final 12 wind quintets for the Concours International de Musique de Chambre de Lyon (CIMCL), and also won the HÂþ» Woodwind Ensemble Competition.
The following voice and piano duos have been selected as finalists for this year's Joan Chissell Schumann Competition: Edward Birchinall and Jorn Quirijnen, Henry Godwin and Imogen Edwards, Maya Kumana and Joshua McDade, Natalka Pasiczynk and Bohdana Ravliuk, Gabriel Tufail Smith and Mar Umbert Kimura, and Sian Sulke and Matthew Clemmet.
In the Royal Over-Seas League Mixed Chamber Music Competition 2026, last year's HÂþ» win was followed by another success, this time for the Aera Ensemble: Emily Crook (clarinet), Bella Todes (violin) and Amiri Harewood (piano).
In the HÂþ» Solo Brass Competition, the Michael Laird Prize for Historical Brass Performance was awarded to Stefan Grant. The Trumpet Prize was won by Nina Noble, and the Horn Prize was awarded to Tommaso Rusconi. Jose Teixeira won the Trombone Prize, and the Tuba Prize was awarded to Adam Zadi. The HÂþ» Brass Ensemble Competition was won by the trombone quartet Let it Slide: Jonny Lovatt, Milly Deering, Pau Hernández Santamaria and Max Pritchard.
Flautist Lilja Hakonardottir has won the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra’s Young Soloist competition and will perform the Ibert Concerto with the orchestra in April 2026.
Vlada Mitriuc won the Colonel Howes Memorial Award at the Eastbourne Young Soloist Competition.
Six HÂþ» musicians have won prizes in the 2026 Brooks Van Der Pump English Song Competition. First, second and third prizes were awarded to singers Astrid Monten, Naomi Boot and Sian Sulke, and to pianists Yihan Zhao, Dida Condria and Matthew Clemmet.
At the recent HÂþ» Lieder Competition, the Bertha Taylor Stach & Ted Moss Prize was awarded to Tia Radix-Callixte, and the Alasdair Graham Prize was awarded to Jorn Quirijnen.
Mariama Sherling has won First Prize, the Audience Prize and the Orchestra Prize at the 19th Campillos International Piano Competition in Spain.
Oboist Jane Sullivan has been awarded the RDS Music Bursary Award and the RDS Collins Memorial Performance Award. As part of the award, she will perform a concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland.
Clarinettist Raymond Yang has progressed to the televised stages of BBC Young Musician of the Year, and has also achieved the title of chess Grand Master.
Pianist Jacky Zhang won Third Prize and the Best Scriabin Prize at the Scriabin International Piano Competition in Italy.
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Publications and outreach
Doctoral student Philippa Booth, who is researching musicians’ wellbeing as part of the Centre for Performance Science, is referenced in a new .
MMusEd student Morten Yu curated and presented a sold-out Chinese New Year event in Sinfonia Smith Square on 14 February, exploring new ways of engaging new audiences with unfamiliar music.
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Send your updates for the summer 2026 print edition of Upbeat to news@rcm.ac.uk by Friday 1 May.
