The Times, November 8 2019
'The country’s most revered concert venue is leading the way to a future of classical music that features the crescendos of computer games and the bass of Bollywood, as well as the majesty of Mahler.
Two British music icons will join forces in a new five-year partnership as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) becomes the official Associate Orchestra of the Royal Albert Hall, reaffirming London’s position as a global centre for the arts.
It’s very easy to overuse the word ‘legend’ to describe somebody these days, or indeed to announce something as being ‘the end of an era’. Both terms are fully applicable right now, as I chat to our wonderful RPO violist, Andy Sippings on the eve of his retirement. Andy deserves a firm place in the RPO Hall of Fame, not only for his contribution as a musician within the viola section but also for several years of extraordinary participation at governance level. Not only did Andy serve as Chair of the orchestra for fifteen years; he also acted as Managing Director and was instrumental in steering the RPO through some incredibly tough and financially challenging times.
From her first ever concert at The Hexagon, to international musician: the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s French horn player Kathryn Saunders reflects on growing up in Reading.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is the Resident Orchestra of The Hexagon and deeply committed to the Reading community through its partnership work with Berkshire Maestros. But the relationship is personal for many of the musicians in the Orchestra who grew up and received their initial training in Reading, such as Philip Woods and Kathryn Saunders, both French horn players.
