Recent alumni successes at Guildhall School (December 2024)

Natalya Romaniw

With the end of 2024 approaching we’ve taken a look back at the incredible news from our alumni community this autumn.

At Guildhall School we were delighted to see two of our alumni receive Golden Globe nominations:

  • Daniel Craig CMG (Acting 1991) is nominated for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture-Drama for their role in Queer.
  • Ewan McGregor OBE FGS (Acting 1992) is nominated for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television, for their role in A Gentleman in Moscow. 

News from the Music Department

  • Paul Scott-Williams (Vocal 1990) was appointed Head of Education, Outreach, and Communities at Victoria Opera in Melbourne, Australia.
  • Emily Roberts (Jazz 2020) and Aurora Nischevi (Composition 2021) won the Popular Music Award at the Sky Arts Awards with The Last Dinner Party in September. 
  • Clare Hammond (Piano 2011) and Edmond Finnis (Composition 2013) were awarded the Edison Klassiek Neoklassiek Award 2024 in the Neoklassiek category.
  • Laurence Osborn (Composition 2015) won Best Chamber Ensemble Composition at the Ivors Classical Awards, nominated alongside fellow alumni Dr Oliver Leith (Composition 2024), Leo Chadburn (Composition 2004), Duncan MacLeod (Continuing Professional Development 2004), Philip Venables (Composition 2017) and Dr Bushra El-Turk (Composition 2006).
  • Raymond Yiu’s (Composition 2014) newly revised concerto is set to receive its Asian premiere with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra on 14 and 15 February, followed by its US premiere with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra on 10, 11 and 12 April. In addition, he has been appointed as one of the new Professors in Composition at the Royal Northern College of Music. 
  • Camille Said (Violin 2023) has won a trial with the BBC Philharmonic in Manchester.
  • Jamie Reid (Trombone 2024) was awarded First Prize in the British Trombone Society’s Alto Trombone Competition.
  • Emma Besselaar (Cello 2017) received a grant from the prestigious Kersjes Prize.
  • Isobel Doncaster (Violin 2024) has been appointed Development Coordinator for the Lionel Tertis and Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competitions for 2025.
  • Alex Groves (Composition 2023) presented two exciting premieres this year. Pianist Zubin Kanga performed DANCE SUITE – a hyperpop reimagining of the baroque suite – at the Southbank Centre, and violinist Rakhi Singh premiered a new violin concerto inspired by the work of artist Sol LeWitt with Britten Sinfonia at St Giles Cripplegate.
  • Oscar Colomina (Composition 2006) premiered their composition The Styx with the Valencia Orchestra in September 2024.
  • William Boughton (Strings 1971) will retire as Conductor of the Yale Symphony Orchestra at the end of the year.
  • Sir Bryn Terfel CBE (Vocal 1988) and Natalya Romaniw (Soprano 2012) starred in Tosca with The Royal Opera.

News from the Acting Department

  • Kalungi Ssebandeke (Acting 2019) was nominated for a Standing Ovation Award for The Great Privation (How to flip ten cents into a dollar), which they directed.
  • Adrian Dunbar FGS (Acting 1983) will star in a filmed version of the Barbican production Kiss Me Kate to be shown in cinemas in 2025.
  • Ewan McGregor OBE FGS (Acting 1992) received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
  • Hayley Atwell (Acting 2005) will star opposite Tom Hiddleston in Much Ado About Nothing at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in February 2025.
  • Simon Haines (Acting 2014) and Nia Towle (Acting 2021) featured in the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. 
  • Marianna Scott (Acting 2023) makes their West End debut in Stranger Things: The First Shadow.
  • Tyler-Jo Richardson (Acting 2022) is in Twelfth Night, directed by Tom Littler at Orange Tree Theatre until 25 January. 
  • Florence Roberts (Acting 2014) featured in The Forsyte Saga Parts 1 & 2 at Park Theatre earlier this autumn. 
  • Cat McKeever (Acting 2015) makes their debut season with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in Twelfth Night playing the Sea Captain and understudying Feste until 18 January. 
  • Aaron Gill (Acting 2022) was part of the cast of The Flea at Yard Theatre.
  • Mukwae Wabei Siyolwe (Acting 1986) launched Series 2 of their podcast Planet Afropop.
  • Brandon Bassir (Acting 2020) and Dan Wolff (Acting 2021) could be seen in Land of the Free at Southwark Playhouse.
  • Kishore Walker (Acting 2022) and Rosalind Lailey (Acting 2018) feature in Summer 1954 which opened at the Theatre Royal Bath in November and continues its tour in Chichester, Richmond, Cheltenham and finally in Oxford in February. Find out more here. 

News from the Production Arts Department

  • Chloe Jones (Stage Management 2021) was the ASM book cover for The Buddha of Suburbia with the RSC at the Barbican Centre.
  • Richard Howell (Technical Theatre 2006) was the Lighting designer for The Real Thing at The Old Vic earlier this Autumn. 
  • Graham Michael (Technical Theatre 1997) was the Stage Manager for Quiet Songs in the Barbican Pit last month. 
     

Image: Natalya Romaniw © Em Davis