Royal Over-Seas League (ROSL)

Last night saw the second of our solo Section Finals take place in the Princess Alexandra Hall, as five talented young soloists competed for the £5,000 Singers Prize and a place in the Gold Medal Final in June. With a wealth of repertoire to choose from, the audience and our jury were wowed by the exceptional musicianship on display. 

A Saturday stroll has never been quite like this!  Following art historian, author and TV presenter Richard Stemp through the streets of Mayfair and Soho, members were invited to  to explore the two sides of the upcoming Art Fairs, Frieze London and Frieze Masters, as part of a tour by ROSL ARTS and Art History UK. All the visits were planned to look at both the contemporary side of the art world as well as the historic that has come before and set the scene. 

Due to Covid restrictions the Annual Music Competition Gold Medal Final took place behind closed doors this year. This is your change to watch it in full. 

Over the past week, the clubhouse has been buzzing with the sounds of Chopin, Mozart, Gershwin and more as 15 concerts have taken place for our ROSL Recitals Fringe series. In case you missed any of the concerts, or would just like to hear these exemplary musicians again, you can watch them here. 

Winners of the 2017 Mixed Ensembles prize at the ROSL Annual Music Competition, Kabantu, will be returning to the Princess Alexandra Hall on Tuesday 25 June for the latest in our ROSL Rush Hour concert series. 

Watch 2000 AMC Wind and Brass winner Sarah Field perform Hard Fairy by Graham Fitkin alongside Dawn Hardwick in ROSL's Princess Alexandra Hall. Through some very clever editing, Dawn appears as pianist on both pianos with Sarah playing soprano saxophone. 

Last night, ROSL 2014 AMC Gold Medal winner and saxophonist Huw Wiggin performed on stage from the Princess Alexandra Hall with pianist Noriko Ogawa. 

Many aspects of Over-Seas House have seen several iterations over the years, none moreso than the art adorning our walls. As part of ROSL ARTS' programme of rolling exhibitions, the artwork in the Central Lounge, Duke of York Bar, Gibbs staircase, and dotted elsewhere in the clubhouse, is currently changing from the hugely successful to Edit, Adapt, Evolve exhibition to a new exhibition themed around memory, in partnership with the Printmakers Council.

Watch last night's recital from the Princess Alexandra Hall, featuring 2013 ROSL Annual Music Competition Gold Medal winner baritone Morgan Pearse, with ROSL 2016 collaborative piano winner Chad Vindin. 

Visitors to the ROSL clubhouse in Spring 2018 will remember the wonderful exhibition featuring leperello stories from young illustrators across the Baltics and the UK, which was hosted in partnership with Pop Up Projects. 

Missing your musical fix today? Then why not relive all the excitement of the 2019 Annual Music Competition (AMC) Gold Medal Final, which took place at the Southbank Centre in May. Watch the future of classical music compete for the £15,000 first prize. And don't forget ROSL will be bringing together its AMC alumni for two weeks over concerts next month at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Take a look at the programme here. 

On 9 November, ROSL hosted a champagne recital featuring 2016 Annual Music Competition Gold Medal winner Emily Sun violin and 2011 Keyboard Prize winner Ashley Fripp piano, in the presence of ROSL Vice Patron HRH Princess Alexandra. 

We are still welcoming applications for our international residencies. Last year we re-launched our residency programme with The Art House in Wakefield and the brilliant Buhle Wonder Mbambo and Joey Chin, watch here to find out more about their experience. 

Watch last week's recital again, which saw flautist Sirius Chau, winner of the 2020 AMC Wind and Brass Prize, take to the Princess Alexandra Hall stage alongside pianist Kumi Matsuo. 

If you missed our online talk last week, fear not. This is your chance to hear how after over five decades of trekking and climbing in the Himalayan mountains, Henry is in a position of authority to mark the changes that have occurred over time and how people from various walks of life have been impacted by them. 

Watch our book talk with author and historian Alexander Larman again here, as he discusses his new book The Crown in Crisis, which explores the relationship between Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. 

ROSL prides itself on the good it can do for 'humanity at large', one of our founding principles. Today, that is most often achieved through our support of the arts and of education. While not often bringing these two facets of the club together, earlier this year we put music education centre stage. In July, ROSL we were pleased to welcome 25 schoolchildren from Riverley Primary School in Leyton to participate in a workshop with Kabantu, winners of the Mixed Ensembles prize in the 2017 ROSL Annual Music Competition. 

The Annual Music Competition has been a part of the ROSL calendar for more than 65 years, growing in scope and stature to become world renowned for the quality of young musicians it attracts and the long-standing relationship it builds with its alumni, helping musicians to build their careers in classical music long after they have competed. 

On Saturday, the London Sinfonietta performed the world premiere of For Years Now, composed by Michael Small. 

UK High Commissioner for Antigua and Barbuda, and founder of the Antigua and Barbuda Youth Symphony Orchestra, Her Excellency Karen-Mae Hill joins ROSL Artistic Director Geoff Parkin on 22 July for a chat about the project to bring orchestral music and learning to Antigua and Barbuda. They will also be joined by manager of the orchestra Claudine Benjamin. 

Last night the audience in the Princess Alexandra Hall were treated to a special performance of Schubert's String Quintet in C Major by ROSL prizewinners the Marmen Quartet and cellist John Myerscough, in the latest of our ROSL Rush Hour concert series.

Nigerian writer Wole Talabi has won the inaugural ROSL Readers' Award as part of the 2018 Caine Prize for African Writing with his piece ‘Wednesday’s Story’. The prize is £1,000 and a commission to write an original piece to be published in an upcoming edition of Overseas. 

Autumn will see ROSL honour those who fought and lost their lives during the First World War as commemorations reach a climax, marking the centenary of Armistice on 11 November 1918. 

Last night we saw the second of our three First World War Concerts Never Such Innocencewith actor Christopher Kent and ROSL prizewinner Gamal Khamis. This show is touring the UK and we were happy to have the opportunity to present it to our ROSL members so close to the centenary of armistice. 

Last night saw ROSL musical alumni from around the world gather to honour the memory of those who fought in the First World War, with particular emphasis on the composers whose works reflected the changing attitudes towards the hostilities. 

Last night the London Clubhouse welcomed visitors to Young Masters, a new exhibition in partnership with the Cynthia Corbitt Gallery. 

Last night saw new younger members and prospective members come together in the beautiful surroundings of the Willingdon Drawing Room for an evening of drinks and discussion, plus a chance to meet the Younger Members Committee and find out about all that the club has to offer.