Guildhall School of Music & Drama announces new collaboration with Carnegie Hall

Guildhall School is to become the first UK partner of Carnegie Hall’s Link Up music education programme, which introduces primary school age children to the orchestra by immersing them within it. Young participants not only learn about and listen to an orchestra – they become part of one – performing alongside talented instrumentalists to experience the thrill of making live music.

The announced collaboration also includes plans for Guildhall School and Carnegie Hall to co-commission new works by emerging composers from backgrounds that have been historically underrepresented within classical music. This provides an exciting opportunity to identify and give a platform to the next generation of promising musical voices across the UK, US and beyond.

The School’s first Link Up project will be delivered in April 2025 with the London Schools Symphony Orchestra (LSSO), managed by Centre for Young Musicians, part of Guildhall Young Artists. The LSSO will collaborate with the London Chamber Orchestra (LCO) and their Music Director Christopher Warren-Green in inspiring local primary school children aged 8 to 10 through the Link Up programme. The programme’s workshops will be led by senior musicians from Guildhall School, who will receive mentoring from LCO members and Guildhall staff to deliver the Link Up activity. Following the initial LSSO project, Guildhall School plans to extend the Link Up programme to other ensembles, including the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra in the 2025/26 Season.

The memorandum of understanding was signed following a performance by three Guildhall postgraduate students at the Carnegie Hall in January. Guildhall Artists in New York featured soprano Manon Ogwen Parry, violinist Kryštof Kohout and pianist William Bracken in a programme reflecting their heritage and musical passions. The series of recitals by Guildhall artists at the legendary Hall dates back to 2010 and remains a high point in the School’s calendar of performances.

Professor Jonathan Vaughan, Principal of Guildhall School, says: “I am delighted to announce this new collaboration with our friends at Carnegie Hall. Our institutions are united by our shared values and ethos. We are both totally committed and passionate in our respective missions to transform young lives through music education. We both firmly believe in social equity and the democratic provision of music for all. And we both believe that the arts should help people to live well in a world worth living in. I am certain that working together will powerfully enrich the combined global reputation and impact of both Carnegie Hall and Guildhall School, inspiring the next generation of talented performers from all backgrounds and communities.”

Sir Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall, says: “We’re excited to launch this new partnership and to welcome Guildhall School as Carnegie Hall’s first Link Up partner in the UK.  For young people, there is something powerful about the moment when they experience making music with a live orchestra for the first time.  Through this new collaboration, we’re thrilled to be opening the door to hands-on music exploration for elementary students in communities that Guildhall School serves, and, for many of them, providing access to educational experiences that wouldn’t otherwise be available.  We are grateful for Guildhall School’s show of leadership and feel that Carnegie Hall couldn’t ask for a better partner – one that shares our deep belief in the many ways that music and the arts can make a meaningful difference in everyone’s lives.”

_{Sir Clive Gillinson and Jonathan Vaughan in New York}

For more information on Carnegie Hall’s Link Up programme, visit https://www.carnegiehall.org/Education/Programs/Link-Up