Founder and Director of the Armonico Consort, Christopher Monks, spoke with WildKat PR about AC Academy in a short interview for our video blog series. Accompanied by video footage from ‘Around the World in 18 Tunes’ at the Royal Albert Hall, Christopher discusses the work of AC Academy alongside their relationship with the London concert venue.

Watch the video below to find out more about AC Academy and their work:

Keep up to date with news from AC Academy through their Facebook, Twitter and from regular posts on the WildKat PR blog.

(Written on May 22, 2013 )

The Guardian

What’s Wagner’s secret? Love, actually

Every time Paul Mason hears Wagner he wonders how it is that the music of an antisemite can tear his heart to pieces. The answer is in the passion …

The New York Times

Chinese Opera Performers See Fewer Faces in the Audience

Sleep like dogs, eat like pigs, dress like angels.

The Age

A knight’s move away from conventional ideas of classical, delivered in a way to move hearts

Fifteen minutes in, the company of Thomas Ades quells the conventional wisdom that ”classical” music is dead.

Classic FM

Classic FM Live at the Royal Albert Hall 2013 – listen and re-live the magic!

Some of classical music’s brightest stars joined us on stage at the Royal Albert Hall – listen to Classic FM Live on air at 8pm on 26 April

Classical Music Magazine

New Music Biennial: 20 diverse commissions announced for 2014

PRS for Music Foundation has announced details of the 20 new music commissions that will make up its UK New Music Biennial in 2014.

Music Week

Warner to launch new classical label, integrate Virgin and EMI Classics catalogues

WMG hopes that its acquisition of Parlophone Label Group will drive new efforts in the classical genre and catalogue strategy, as well as strengthening the major’s roster in Continental Europe.

(Written on April 26, 2013 )

Guardian

A bad case of Wagner’s Lumbago

Vienna Opera director Franz Welser-Moest collapses with back pain during Wagner performance.

Classic FM 

Classic FM Live at the Royal Albert Hall 2013 – buy tickets now!

Some of classical music’s brightest stars are joining us on stage at the Royal Albert Hall on Thursday 25 April – and you could be there too…

Classical Music Magazine

Liverpool Philharmonic hall on track for major facelift

The whole programme of work is scheduled to be completed in 2015, the 175th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.

Classical source

2013 Glyndebourne Festival Unveils A Series Of Firsts With New Work On Stage, On Screen And Online

When the 2013 Glyndebourne Festival opens on May 18 the seminal anniversaries of Verdi and Britten will be celebrated on stage, on screen and online.

Music Week

Universal Publishing and SACEM sign global licensing agreement with YouTube

France’s Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music (SACEM) and Universal Music Publishing have reached an international agreement with YouTube.

Classic Music Magazine

(Written on April 3, 2013 )

Classic FM

John Williams to score new Star Wars movies?

John Williams has commented on the likelihood of him returning to write the film scores for the new Star Wars sequels.

Benjamin Grosvenor nominated for arts breakthrough award

Representing the Classical category in The Times South Bank Breakthrough Award, the young pianist is up against a variety of artists from different genres including TV Drama, Books, Rock/Pop, and Opera, where soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn is nominated.

Classical Music Magazine

Malcolm Layfield leaves ‘untenable’ RNCM position

Malcolm Layfield, one of a reported nine former or current teachers at Chetham’s and the Royal Northern College of Music who are under investigation by Greater Manchester Police in the aftermath of the conviction of Michael Brewer, has left his position as head of strings at the RNCM.

Classical Source

Vladimir Ashkenazy Receives A Copy Of His First 1963 Decca Contract From Paul Moseley‏

Vladimir Ashkenazy receives a copy of his first 1963 Decca contract from Paul Moseley, Decca Classics’ Managing Director, at a special lunch held in London to celebrate 50 years on the British label.

Planet Hugill

Cardiff Singer of the World

The 20 finalists for the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World have been announced. They will take part in the biennial contest this year, which also celebrates its 30th anniversary.

Metro

Harlem’s Carmen opera star Noah Stewart: I love shocking people

The tenor in the Royal Albert Hall production hopes he will inspire people to follow their dreams.

Music Industry News Network

Industry Experts Deliver BA (Hons) In Music Business At The Institute, London

The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance is preparing for a new intake of students for its esteemed Music Business degree*.

Metro

(Written on February 21, 2013 )

WildKat is pleased to welcome Christopher Monks, Founder and Artistic Director of the Armonico Consort. The organisation is praised for the work it undertakes in reaching new audiences for classical music, with an impressive concert programme. In addition, Christopher is also the Founder of the AC Academy, which engages young children in the arts through choral music across the country. Since 2002, Christopher and the AC Academy have worked with schools in the Midlands and London boroughs to to create choirs and provide teachers with the training to become choir leaders; ensuring that the foundations which the AC Academy have worked hard to create will sustain long into the future. Over 100,000 young children have been involved in the Academy, with more than 700 children currently singing in AC Academy choirs every week.

On 10th March 2013, Christopher Monk will perform with the Armonico Consort at the Royal Albert Hall, along with over 1,500 children involved in the AC Academy. For more information on the concert visit the Royal Albert Hall website and discover more abut the Armonico Consort here.

(Written on February 5, 2013 )

The Guardian

Tom Service on catchy contemporary opera

Anyone want to hear me hum Nixon in China?

The Observer

Don’t mourn HMV: there are far better places to browse for music now

Fan sites and online stores still provide the thrill of a voyage of discovery that the high street lost long ago

The Telegraph

Britten: the composer who had the last laugh

In the centenary year of Benjamin Britten, the reputation of the ‘difficult’ composer may be about to change, says Rupert Christiansen.

How we fell out of tune with the piano

Thousands of pianos are being sent to the scrap-heap despite having the ability to still tug at our heartstrings, Paul Kendall discovers.

Classic FM

Lang Lang sells out Royal Albert Hall in 48 hours

The pianist is performing an extra solo recital on November 17 2013 after selling 5000 tickets to his concert in two days.

BBC News

Les Miserables soundtrack tops UK album chart

The soundtrack to Tom Hooper’s Oscar-nominated Les Miserables has become the first cast recording to top the UK and Ireland album chart in 16 years.

Slipped Disc

European churches pay homage to John Tavener

The British composer, 68, has been announced as the 2013 winner of the Prize for European Church Music.

Music Week

PRS for Music Foundation to run new music talent development fund

The PRS For Music Foundation is to run a new Music Industry Talent Development Fund being launched by Arts Council England.

Generator

Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Copyright

The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), and the Music Managers’ Forum (MMF), have responded with disappointment to Government proposals on copyright extensions, referring to them as a “massive windfall” for large labels but a “mixed bag” for artists.

The Telegraph

(Written on January 21, 2013 )

Gramophone

(Written on November 12, 2012 )

Guardian

Tom Service on the Royal Albert Hall

‘My love affair with classical music’s moshpit’

Classic FM

Lang Lang to be Global Ambassador for Leeds Comp

The Leeds International Piano Competition, led by Dame Fanny Waterman, has selected Lang Lang as its Global Ambassador.

Deaf man hears Mozart for first time with new hearing aid

A deaf young filmmaker has heard music for the first time in his life, including Mozart’s Requiem.

Arts Journal: Limelight

Hahn-Bin no more: violinist changes name to Amadeus Leopold

Classical music’s most extreme hipster reinvents himself with a striking new stage name.

Los Angeles Times

Oh, those string players are so full of themselves

Yes, but what about the louts in the brass section? Orchestra members, so unified when on stage, enjoy poking fun at one another when off.

New York Times

Met Opera to Preserve Rush Tickets

When Agnes Varis, a Metropolitan Opera board member and benefactor, died a year ago, the company lost the person who paid for its heavily discounted rush ticket program.

Arts Journal: Slipped Disc

Breaking: Vienna’s Konzerthaus loses its chief

Bernhard Kerres has decided to quit after the coming centenary season. No obvious reason.

The Australian

Fate of opera season hangs in the balance

First it was the writers, then the visual artists, now the performing arts look likely to take a hit from Queensland Premier Campbell Newman as he attempts to control his state’s multi-billion-dollar debt. The fate of Opera Australia’s 2013 season in Brisbane remains undecided just a few days before the company’s season launch, causing artistic director Lyndon Terracini to tell The Australian he is “extremely worried”.

Classic FM

(Written on August 28, 2012 )

This Proms season WildKat PR are visiting the Royal Albert Hall to review the fashion choices of the audience at this world famous Summer event.

After compiling the prommers’ stories and photos from last week on our Pinterest board ‘Fashion at the Proms‘, here is our pick of the week: those prommers who gave us such insightful stories and opinions on the role of fashion in classical music, whilst also looking fabulous.

We talked to a lovely Prom performer who told us of the importance of looking smart when performing classical music, seeing a link between fashion and music that is not be ignored. He also has a strong dislike for those who take away from the formalities of classical music – such as musicians who take their handbags on stage with them!

Bright colours were in abundance, as were those looking cool in sunglasses (thankfully a necessity in last week’s glorious weather), with both of these young prommers who kept the repetoire in mind when selecting their prom outfits. Polly, in bright Orange, sought to brighten up a Rachmaninov prom, whilst Nicole, in floor length black, felt that Debussy gave her Prom a romantic feel that made her want to dress up and look elegant.

By far, the favourite of our prommers this week was Nigel. Having only missed 3 years of proms since 1947, aged 77, Nigel was keen to chat to us about style, classical music, and most importantly his jazzy purple tie.

Check out the rest of our stylish prommers on our Pinterest board. If you are attending the proms over the next coming weeks, you too could be up there soon!

(Written on July 31, 2012 )

After last week’s sad and shocking closure of MUSO magazine, it seems the world of classical music is following the general trend of culture, news and entertainment – going online.

We decided to go to the Proms this week to ask classical music fans their opinions on magazines and whether they were still the best source for concerts, artist news and listings.

The results we obtained were somewhat surprising and supported the closure of a publication such as MUSO. Only 12.5% of the prommers we spoke to had ever read the magazine. Having said that, only a few more told us that they read classical music magazines at all.

As far as listings and concerts are concerned, these were deemed ‘easier to get online’, on platforms such as Twitter, Time Out, and Classical Source, as well as in Sunday paper supplements. Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine and The Strad were mentioned, but were not widely known. In general many agreed that ‘the paper format is disappearing’, with some arguing that ‘magazines are still current, but are certainly diminishing’.

As one prommer said ‘it is always sad when something comes to an end’; the unfortunate closure of MUSO marks the end of an era, signalling a possible new beginning for classical music coverage online.

See the thoughts of a few prommers in this video:

(Written on July 30, 2012 )