The Radcliffe Trust awarded Oxford Lieder a grant to support their an annual 12-month, world-class professional development programme for up to 8 early-career pianist/singer duos, combining professional mentoring with performance, curatorial and pedagogic opportunities that showcases and nurtures the UK’s finest young and emerging artists.
The Young Artists are all now benefiting from a suite of professional development opportunities which will run until October 2025, aiming to take their careers to the next level. The Radcliffe Trust Grant specifically went towards:-
1) Performances by The Young Artists at the Oxford International Festival 2024
Oxford Lieders’ 23rd Festival programme ran from 11-26 October and was one of their most ambitious and successful to date, attracting an audience attendance of c.9,700 from across the UK and internationally. As part of the Festival programme, each duo was invited to give a 15-minute performance to begin headline evening recitals throughout the first week – their “Emerging Artist” recitals – enabling them to gain public and critical profile. Ahead of their performances at this year’s Oxford International Song Festival, all the Young Artists got together in September for an informal programming workshop and masterclass with Artistic Director Sholto Kynoch.
2) The Young Artists’ participation in the Oxford Lieder Mastercourse
Each duo also received a fully-funded place on our residential Mastercourse which ran through the Festival’s second week, providing our duos with a series of masterclasses led by pianist Anne le Bozec and guest tutors Christian Immler, Stéphane Degout and Joan Rodgers, as well as attending Festival events. The week culminated in the Young Artists all performing at a showcase concert on 26 October in the Holywell Music Room, Oxford, which attracted an appreciative public audience.
Oxford Lieder Say:-
As a major funder of the programme, The Radcliffe Trust’s grant has made a significant difference to the Programme’s success and delivery, and the sixteen artists who have participated.
Oxford International Song Festival relies on the support of individuals, companies and trusts such as The Radcliffe Trust – without it, we would be forced to scale down the ambition and length of our Young Artist Programme. It remains vital that young artists receive high-profile concert platform engagements and experience, so by supporting their performances and our Mastercourse at this year’s main festival, The Radcliffe Trust’s grant has had a significant impact on those participating.
Our Young Artist Programme is also unique in its focus on classical song (as distinct from opera) which generally becomes marginalised in many early careers because the opera world provides far more professional opportunities for young singers (even though song recitals are a medium that many singers find artistically and personally enriching). In the long run, this means that audiences are less well-served by excellent classical song recitals. In this context, our Young Artist Programme is therefore extremely important, and your support is therefore having a positive impact on both the performance of song and the arts sector as a whole.