Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery

Recognised as one of the world’s leading guitar quartets, the Aquarelle Guitar Quartet is a dynamic and innovative group known for its extraordinary ensemble in performance, expansive repertoire and ground-breaking work in developing the guitar quartet medium. Originally formed at the Royal Northern College of Music in 1999 under the guidance of Craig Ogden and […]

Kantos is a trailblazing vocal ensemble, performing at the cutting edge of the creative scene. We produce vocal performances, shaped by the music and stories we believe in. We think voices are a powerful gateway to our past, present and future, unveiling countless emotions, identities, and experiences. The doors to our performances are always open […]

Gillian Blair (saxophone) and Elinor Nicholson (harp) formed the Polaris Duo in 2011 whilst studying at the Royal Northern College of Music. They have since been exploring an eclectic range of repertoire and possibilities for this unusual instrumentation. The duo perform regularly around the UK and in 2018 made their international debut in Croatia at […]

Since their formation at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in 2021, the Aestus Quartet have established themselves as a dynamic ensemble that is recognised for their warmth and sensitive musical approach. The name “Aestus” is Latin for sea tide and is inspired by the opening of Benjamin Britten’s String Quartet No. 2: the […]

Russian cellist Svetlana Mochalova and Ukrainian pianist Slava Sidorenko first met at the Royal Northern College of Music. A musical relationship blossomed into a personal relationship and the couple are now married. Between them, they’ve won multiple awards and performed at venues including the Purcell Room, the Barbican, Wigmore Hall and Glastonbury. As part of […]