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.
Greeted by ROSL Chairman Alexander Downer AC, Director-General Annette Prandzioch, Vice Chair Anne Wilkinson and Artistic Director Geoff Parkin, Princess Alexandra was then invited into her namesake hall, where all our concerts and recitals take place.
In a packed Princess Alexandra Hall, Alexander Downer, former Australian Foreign Minister and High Commissioner to the UK, welcomed our royal guest and assembled audience, before extolling the good work done by the ROSL Foundation and ROSL ARTS department over many years in supporting young musicians from around the world like Emily and Ashley, who hail from Australia and the UK, respectively.
It was then the turn of this exceptionally talented duo to take to the stage to perform a programme of Debussy and Strauss. Such was the level of their playing, the audience's appreciative applause was enough for Emily and Ashley to return to the stage twice at the conclusion of the recital to take a bow.
As Princess Alexandra made her way out of the hall, she spoke to members and shared her appreciation for the wonderful performance they had all just witnessed, before heading upstairs to the Bennet-Clark Room to meet with the musicians.
Meanwhile, the audience enjoyed champagne in the hall and had a chance to chat with the musicians, as well as members of the ROSL ARTS team.
It is thanks to the kind support of members, who donate via www.rosl.org.uk/supportus, that we are able to continue to support early career musicians and visual artists like these. A special thanks must also go to Princess Alexandra for her longstanding support and patronage of the ROSL ARTS programme. She has regularly attended the Annual Music Competition over many years, handing out the prizes and meeting the winners, much to the delight of the competitors. The prestige she brings to our work means we continue to attract the future stars of classical music year after year.
Watch the full performance below:
