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In February 2011, students from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) will have the enviable and daunting task of conducting and performing with the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Scottish Symphony Orchestra (³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SSO). These conducting and performing masterclasses are part of an ongoing partnership between the RSAMD and ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SSO, providing academy students with unparalleled opportunities to learn within one of the UK's leading orchestras.

On Monday 7 February, the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SSO's Chief Conductor, Donald Runnicles, will lead four RSAMD students in a Conducting Masterclass. Under his expert guidance, each student will have the opportunity to conduct the entire ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SSO on core items from the symphonic repertoire before an audience at Glasgow's City Halls.

Maestro Runnicles is regarded as one of the finest conductors of symphonic and operatic repertoire in the world and, in addition to his role at the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SSO, is the RSAMD's first International Fellow in Conducting and a member of the Academy's Board of Governors.

Four advanced performing students from the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the School of Music have also been selected to take part in Concerto Masterclasses. Students will work on items from the concerto repertoire and will be mentored and coached on their performance by principal players from the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SSO.

Following the coaching sessions, each student will have the opportunity to perform their concerto with the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SSO before an audience on Monday 28 February. Both the conducting and concerto masterclasses will be filmed for learning purposes and highlights posted on the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SSO website.

This partnership also provides further opportunities for the Academy's first Post Graduate Conducting Fellow, Jessica Cottis. Since October 2009, Miss Cottis has been Donald Runnicles' assistant conductor with the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SSO, working closely with him on major projects that have included epic works such as Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe and Mahler's First Symphony.

Miss Cottis has gone on to conduct the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SSO professionally on several occasions, most notably in the recent world premiere of James Dillon's Nine Rivers.

These new initiatives augment the RSAMD/³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SSO Student Mentoring Scheme, which has been running for the past three years, and presents orchestral players with the opportunity to rehearse and learn in the challenging atmosphere of a leading broadcasting orchestra, under the expert scrutiny of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SSO's players, conductors and radio producers.

These schemes are central to an agreement signed last year between ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Scotland and the RSAMD that will allow students from a variety of disciplines to learn their craft inside the professional environment of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ.

Building upon the RSAMD's existing partnership with the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SSO, the existing musical collaborations will extend to include other art forms and areas of study including drama, digital film and television.

Notes to Editors

RSAMD Donald Runnicles Conducting Masterclass with the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Monday 7 February, 2.30pm (doors open at 2.15pm)
City Halls, Glasgow

Haydn, Symphony No.44, Trauer
Brahms, Symphony No.2

RSAMD student condutors

Jessica Cottis
Gordon Bragg
Eoin Tonner
Kerem Hassan

Free tickets are available from the RSAMD Box Office only, on 0141 332 5057, and are limited to two per application.

RSAMD concerto Masterclasses 2011 with the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Monday 28 February, 2.30pm (doors open at 2.15pm)
City Halls, Glasgow

Villa Lobos Ciranda das sete notas for bassoon and string orchestra
Graeme Brown, bassoon

Sibelius Violin Concerto
Rachel Spencer, violin

Rory Boyle Marimba Concerto
Glynn Forrest, marimba

Larsson Concertino for trombone and string orchestra
Jonathan Wettermark, trombone

Tecwyn Evans, conductor

Free tickets are available from the RSAMD Box Office only, on 0141 332 5057, and are limited to two per application.

SD3