New appointments at Royal Liverpool Philharmonic & Royal Academy of Music

Nicholas Chalmers

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra has appointed a former Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Company musician as Principal Second Trumpet, whilst the Royal Academy of Music has appointed a new Fernside Chair of Choral Conducting, leading the Academy’s postgraduate Choral Conducting programme.

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra has announced the appointment of Hannah Mackenzie as Principal Second Trumpet. Her first performance in the role will be Thursday 30 November 2023. Hannah Mackenzie was raised on the Wirral and joined the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Company when she was 16. The Youth Company is the largest community of young musicians in the North West created to develop young musical talent. During her time in Youth Company, Hannah won the Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition and performed as a soloist.

Hannah Mackenzie

She graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2016, where she studied for her Master’s Degree. She is also a passionate educator, teaching in several schools across Merseyside. She has recently set up a thriving youth group, Wirral Youth Brass, alongside Simon Cowen who is the Principal Trombone of the orchestra.
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The Royal Academy of Music has announced the appointment of Nicholas Chalmers as its new Fernside Chair of Choral Conducting. From September 2024, Nicholas will lead the Academy’s postgraduate Choral Conducting programme, the UK’s longest-established specialist course in conducting for choirs.

Nicholas Chalmers is Principal Conductor of the National Youth Choir 18-25 and Associate Conductor, Learning for the BBC Singers. He is also a Senior Associate Artist of the Royal Opera House, where he will make his conducting debut in A Quiet Place by Leonard Bernstein in October 2024. 

In 2012, Nicholas Chalmers founded Nevill Holt Opera and established an award-winning education and associate artists programme. I chatted to Nicholas about the company back in 2019 [see my interview]. The company has introduced countless young people to opera in the East Midlands and its year-round education programme works with schools across the region. With Nevill Holt Opera, operas he has conducted include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cosí fan tutte [see my review] and La traviata [see my review].
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