Hilary Hahn Appointed Visiting Violin Professor at London's Royal Academy of Music

May 28, 2024, 10:00 AM · London's Royal Academy of Music announced Tuesday that violinist Hilary Hahn has been appointed Visiting Professor, starting this September.

As Visiting Professor, she will lead masterclasses as well as develop and mentor student projects, according to the Royal Academy.

Violinist Hilary Hahn. Photo by Olivia Slaughter.

"I’m thrilled to be joining the Royal Academy of Music as Visiting Professor," Hilary said in a statement. "Within the classical music world, knowledge being passed from generation to generation is key in ensuring both artistic individuality and healthy collaboration. Having the chance to do so at the revered Academy is an honor, and I can’t wait to hear what these young musicians will be offering the generations to come."

Founded in 1822, the Royal Academy of Music offers programs from pre-school to post-doc, with students coming from more than 50 countries. A few of the school's notable graduates include conductor Simon Rattle, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and pop singer Elton John.

Hilary brings to the task her extensive performing and recording experience as well as her musical and technical expertise over a diverse repertoire. Winner of three Grammys, Hilary has released 22 feature albums on the Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, and Sony labels that have opened in the top ten of the Billboard charts. She has served as artist-in-residence at London’s Wigmore Hall, and during the 2023–24 season she was Artist-in-Residence for both the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’. She is also the Juilliard School’s Visiting Artist in the Music Division. In 2022 she received Yale University’s Chubb Fellowship and served as the Yale College Artist-in-Residence in Spring 2023.

A committed champion of new music, she has commissioned works numerous contemporary composers, including a project of 27 encore pieces, Rautavaara’s Deux Sérénades, Michael Abels’s Isolation Variation, Barbara Assiginaak’s Sphinx Moth, Lera Auerbach’s Sonata No. 4: Fractured Dreams, and Antón García Abril’s 6 Partitas.

"It is such an amazing privilege to be able to welcome Hilary Hahn as Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Music," said Graham Mitchell, Head of Strings at the Royal Academy. "She truly is one of the most illustrious, inquisitive and inspiring artists of our generation, and I know our students will benefit greatly from her presence here."

Other current visiting professors of note at the Royal Academy include violinists James Ehnes and Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, cellists Steven Isserlis and Sheku Kanneh-Mason, and violist Timothy Ridout.

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Stephen Brivati

May 28, 2024 at 11:31 PM · Greetings,

It’s so great that young people get this wonderful opportunity to work with such a great and sincere artist. I imagine the situation has stabilized now, but the words ‘visiting professor at RAM’ were at one time synonymous with a very dark period in British musical life that the younger generation may not know much about. The dark demon Margaret Thatcher had decreed swingeing cuts in the London Arts scene (many of us could barely afford to eat. Let alone go to concerts) which included such things as getting rid of some of the London Orchestras (there were five biggies at the time) and heaven forbid we should have four music institutes of repute in one city. (Efficiency and progress is ours once again) So the institutes were fighting for their very existence. The Academy came up with this job although according to students at the time they didn’t get much contact compared to the current situation. Some internationally renowned teachers there were also furious at being branded ‘unable to give advice a soloist would need..’. The RAM also set up a terrifying series of concerts of modern music as a propaganda exercise and the students of that year barely had time to practice. An internationally renowned teacher from there complained bitterly that students were simply not allowed to get on with learning the violin because of all these quasi propaganda exercises the colleges were putting forward. Some jumped ship for the RCM which was also getting rid of older teachers in order to spruce up their image by importing big name Russian and European teachers.

It was a mean, bitter, terrifying time and none of these institutes can be blamed for trying to survive the brutal fist of the Iron Lady, but we should never forget how hard the powers that be would like to stamp out the arts and how hard the struggle to survive will be for the talented musicians who are lucky enough to be nurtured by the likes of Hilary Hahn .

Cheers,

Buri

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Hilary Hahn Appointed Visiting Violin Professor at London's Royal Academy of Music

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