Alumni successes in 2023/24

Sarah Lancashire CBE FGS (Acting 1986) won the Special Recognition Award at the National Television Awards, as well as the Drama Performance award for Happy Valley. She also won the BAFTA Television Award for Leading Actress and was nominated for the Leading Acting – Female award at the RTS Programme Awards for the same role. 

Paapa Essiedu FGS (Acting 2012) was nominated for Leading Actor at the BAFTA Television Awards for The Lazarus Project, and for Best Actor at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards and Best Performer in a Play at the WhatsOnStage Awards for The Effect at the National Theatre. 

Dominic West FGS (Acting 1995) was nominated for Leading Actor at the BAFTA Television Awards for The Crown and appeared in A View from the Bridge at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. 

Joseph Fiennes FGS (Acting 1993) was nominated for Best Actor at the Olivier Awards and Best Performer in a Play at the WhatsOnStage Awards for Dear England. 

Zubin Varla (Acting 1992) was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the Olivier Awards and Best Supporting Performer in a Play a the WhatsOnStage Awards for A Little Life.  

Shirley Henderson FGS (Acting 1986) received BAFTA Scotland’s Outstanding Contribution Award. 

Jodie Whittaker (Acting 2005) was nominated for the Leading Acting – Female award at the RTS Programme Awards for Time. 

Toheeb Jimoh (Acting 2018) won second prize at the Ian Charleson Awards, with Tyreke Leslie (Acting 2022) and Amber James (Acting 2015) also nominated.  

Samantha Béart (Acting 2009) won Best Voice Performance at the G.A.N.G. Awards and was nominated for Performer in a Leading Role at the BAFTA Game Awards for their portrayal of Karlach in Baldur’s Gate 3. 

Fode Simbo (Acting 2017) was nominated for Best Supporting Male Actor in a Play at the Black British Theatre Awards for Under the Kundè Tree at the Southwark Playhouse Theatre and Caleb Roberts (Acting 2017) was nominated for Best Male Lead Actor in a Musical for Tina: The Tina Turner Musical at the Aldwych Theatre. 

Shubham Saraf (Acting 2017) was nominated for an Eastern Eye Arts Culture and Theatre Award.  

Jessica Madsen (Acting 2013), Emma Naomi (Acting 2015), Bessie Carter (Acting 2015) and Sam Phillips (Acting 2007) appeared in the third series of Bridgerton.  

Sheyi Cole (Acting 2022) played Jason in The Beautiful Game, directed by Thea Sharrock and starring Bill Nighy and Michael Ward. 

Séamus McLean Ross (Acting 2022) was cast as Colum MacKenzie in the forthcoming series Outlander: Blood of My Blood. 

Levi Brown (Acting 2021) and Michelle Dockery FGS (Acting 2004) appeared in the BBC series This Town.  

Lola Shalam (Acting 2023) played the Third Witch in Simon Godwin’s touring production of Macbeth for Wessex Grove and Underbelly, with Ralph Fiennes and Indira Varma. 

Maisie Norma Seaton (Acting 2023) played Claudia Yount in Stranger Things: The First Shadow at the Pheonix Theatre and Ellen Quinn in series eight of Shetland. 

Brandon Grace (Acting 2021) and Bella Maclean (Acting 2020) played Charley Hexam and Bella Wilfer in London Tide, based on Charles Dickens’ Our Mutual Friend, at the National Theatre. 

Brandon Bassir (Acting 2020) and Jordan Metcalfe (Acting 2013) played Dumaine and Boyet in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Love’s Labour’s Lost. Brandon also appeared in The Grapes of Wrath at the National Theatre, alongside Mirren Mack (Acting 2019), who was also recognised as a Rising Star Scotland 2024 by Screen Scotland and Screen International, as was Séamus McLean Ross (Acting 2022). 

Sarah Slimani (Acting 2022) appeared in Mnemonic at the National Theatre. 

Lydia Fleming (Acting 2019), Jonnie Broadbent (Acting 1998) and Peter McGovern (Acting 2008) appeared in Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare’s Globe.  

Ebenezer Gyau (Acting 2021) appeared in G at the Royal Court. 

Dan Wolff (Acting 2021) played Motel in Fiddler on the Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. 

Seán Donegan (Acting 2008) understudied the role of Alec in The Constituent at the Old Vic.

Guildhall alumni were recognised at the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards: Nicky Spence OBE (Vocal 2009) won the Singer Award, Laurence Osborn (Composition 2015) won the Chamber-Scale Composition Award for TOMB!, Sara Lee FGS (Clarinet 1985) received the Gamechanger Award for their work with the Irene Taylor Trust and Nilufar Habibian (Composition 2019) was nominated for the Chamber-Scale Composition award for Az nahāyate tāriki (From the deep end of darkness).  

A recording of Thomas Adès CBE FGS' (Piano, Opera and Percussion 1988) piece Dante won in the Best Orchestral Performance category at the Grammy Awards. Thomas also won Best Chamber Ensemble Composition for Növények at The Ivors Classical Awards.  

Other winners at The Ivors Classical Awards included Tansy Davies FGS (Composition 1997) for Outstanding Works Collection and Dobrinka Tabakova (Composition 2003) for Best Community and Participation Composition in association with ABRSM, for Swarm Fanfares. Those nominated included Bushra El-Turk (Composition 2006) for Best Large Ensemble Composition, Duncan MacLeod (Composition 2001) and Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian (Junior Guildhall) for Best Sound Art, and Joby Talbot (Composition) for Best Stage Work. 

Alan Williams (Piano 2002) won Outstanding Musical Contribution at the Olivier Awards and Best Musical Direction/Supervision at the WhatsOnStage Awards for their Musical Supervision and Musical Direction of Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy Theatre. Steve Sidwell (Trumpet, Piano, Composition and Orchestration 1982) was nominated in the same category at the Oliver Awards for their orchestrations for Operation Mincemeat. 

Alexandra Lowe (Opera 2019) and Patrick Milne (Piano 2017) were nominated for a BBC Music Magazine Newcomer Award for their album Le Voyage. Rosalind Ventris (Viola 2012) was nominated for the BBC Music Magazine Premiere Award for Sola, an album of music for viola by women composers. 

Adiescar Chase (Composition 2017) was nominated for Original Music: Fiction at the BAFTA Television Awards for Netflix’s Heartstopper. 

As part of The Last Dinner Party, Aurora Nishevci (Composition 2021) and Emily Roberts (Jazz 2020) won the BRIT Rising Star Award and BBC Radio 1’s Sound of 2024. 

As Jockstrap, Georgia Ellery (Violin 2020) and Taylor Skye (Music Production 2020) were nominated for the Mercury Prize for their debut studio album I Love You Jennifer B. 

Lucia Veintimilla (Violin 2017) was nominated for Best Instrumental Album by the National Spanish Academy of Awards. 

Teresa Wrann (Recorders 2021) and Thomas Pickering (Recorders 2022) won the Royal Overseas League’s Mixed Ensembles Prize with their early music group Apollo’s Cabinet. They also received much acclaim for their debut album Musical Wanderlust, which features narration by Alexander Armstrong. 

Gabriele Strata (Piano 2022) won Pierre Péladeau and Raymonde Chopin's Second Prize at the Concours musical international de Montréal and the first and Audience prizes at the Rio de Janeiro International Piano Festival. 

Elisabeth Pion (Piano 2022) won the Bita Cattelan Philanthropic Engagement Award at the Concours musical international de Montréal and third prize at the Rio de Janeiro International Piano Festival. 

As the Aglica Trio, Agnieszka Zyniewicz (Viola 2019), Lise Vandersmissen (Harp 2019) and Carys Gittins (Flute 2019) won the Supernova Competition in Antwerp. 

As the Paddington Trio, Tuulia Hero (Violin 2023), Patrick Moriarty (Cello 2023) and Stephanie Tang (Piano 2023) won The Parkhouse Award. 

Violetta Suvini (Violin 2023) won the D'Addario String Prize Competition at the North London Festival. 

Aïda Lahlou (Piano 2023) won second prize in the Norah Sande Award. 

Òscar Colomina Bosch (Composition 2006) was awarded third prize at the Krzysztof Penderecki International Composers’ Competition-Arboretum, with his composition Open the Curtains. 

Ed Birchinall (Bass-baritone 2023), Mimi Doulton (Soprano 2018) and Oksana Sliubyk (Soprano 2016) were finalists in the Peter Hulsen Orchestral Song Award.  

Dr Raymond Yiu (Composition 2014) premiered his new Violin Concerto at the Barbican in March, performed by Esther Yoo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.  

Antonio Oyarzabal (Piano 2017) gave their debut recital at Wigmore Hall. 

Shabaka Hutchings FGS (Clarinet 2007) released a new flute-led album to rave reviews. 

Jonathan Bloxham (Cello 2014) was announced as the new Chief Conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie. 

Ben Marshall (Oboe 2011) was appointed as Principal Oboe No 2 (Doubling Cor Anglais) with the RTE Concert Orchestra in Dublin. 

Meili Li (Opera 2015), Chuma Sijeqa (Opera 2021) and Sean Boylan (Opera 2019) appeared in The Royal Opera and Irish National Opera production of Vivaldi’s L’Olimpiade.  

Garsington Opera’s production of Le nozze di Figaro featured an impressive number of Guildhall alumni in its cast, including David Ireland (Baritone/Bass 2014) as Figaro, Samantha Clarke (Soprano 2019) as Countess, Claire Lees (Soprano 2016) as Susanna, Susan Bickley (Mezzo-Soprano 1981), Frazer Scott (Baritone/Bass 2014) as Antonio, Joe Chalmers (Baritone/Bass 2024) as cover Figaro and Patrick Dow (Baritone/Bass 2023) as cover Count.  

John Findon (Opera 2017) was understudying and went on as Don José in Glyndebourne’s production of Carmen. 

George Curnow (Vocal 2022) and Michael Lafferty (Vocal 2021) were announced as Glyndebourne Opera Jerwood Young Artists. 

Alex Tay (Composition 2023), Joanne Evans (Soprano 2014), Cole Morrison (Double Bass 2020) and Rosie Murphy (Harp 2020) were announced as Britten-Pears Artists. 

Alex Groves (Composition 2023) and Eden Lonsdale (Composition 2021) were named as Magnum Opus composers with Britten Sinfonia. 

Toby Daintree (Jazz 2022) signed a global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music.  

Lila Palmer (Opera Making & Writing 2016) was appointed General & Artistic Director at New Orleans Opera. 

Paul Sharp (Double Bass 2008) was appointed as Head of Artistic Management for Edinburgh International Festival. 

Margaret Archibald (Clarinet 1970) was awarded a BEM for services to music, as the founder of Everyone Matters, an organisation delivering music projects to schools and the wider community. 

Gavin Reid (Trumpet 1991) was appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order in recognition of his position as Music Advisor to the Honours of Scotland Service held in St Giles’ Cathedral in July 2023, following the King’s Coronation.  

Rob Burton (Junior Guildhall) was named in Classic FM's 2024 Rising Stars. 

Neil Constable OBE FGS (Technical Theatre 1985) received an OBE for services to theatre in the King’s New Years Honours following his near 14 year tenure leading Shakespeare’s Globe, and was named the next Clerk/CEO to The Musicians’ Company. 

The new production of Starlight Express at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre featured a number of Guildhall alumni backstage, including Sam Rixon (Technical Theatre 2018) as Stage Manager, Alex Gasson-Gray (Stage Management 2023) as Rollerskate technician and Jack Garner-Greene (Stage Management 2022) as Assistant Stage Manager & Book Cover, supported by alumna Karen Kerr FGS (Technical Theatre 1976) who worked on the original production in 1984. 

Dan Shipton (Technical Theatre 2003) won the BAFTA Television Craft Award for Entertainment Craft Team a Creative Director of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest. 

Dan Street (Technical Theatre 2012) received The Association for Lighting Production Design Award for Excellence in Programming for his work across multiple genres of the entertainment industry as a Lighting Programme and Designer.  

Grace Duff (Production Arts 2022) won the Stage Manager category at the Women in Live Music Awards. 

Rory Beaton (Technical Theatre 2016) was nominated for Best Lighting Design at the WhatsOnStage Awards for The Time Traveller’s Wife at the Apollo Theatre.