London’s Royal College of Music plays concert in Fire Station courtyard

© - Monaco Info

Students from the senior classes at the Royal College of Music in London, currently on a placement at the Prince Rainier III Academy of Music, gave a concert in the courtyard of La Condamine Fire Station on Friday evening, alongside their counterparts from the Monegasque Academy. The concert was staged with the support of Monaco City Hall, the Department of Education, Youth and Sport, the Fire and Emergency Service, the Friends of the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Rotary Club of Monaco, which organised the students’ musical adventure.

The concert, the first and only of its kind to be held in the courtyard, was attended by a number of personalities, including Colonel FRINGANT, Superior Commander of the Military Force; Ms ARDISSON SALOPEK, a member of the Council of the Commune, representing the Mayor; Lieutenant-Colonel VARO, Chief of the Fire and Emergency Service; Ms EISENBERG from the Friends of the Orchestra; Mr COLOGIER and Mr GARIBIAN from the Rotary Club of Monaco; Father Guillaume PARIS, Vicar General; and Father César PENZO, Chaplain of the Military Force. The event was a tribute by the musicians to Lieutenant-Colonel Tony Varo’s men, who have taken on the “stewardship” of the Royal College, inviting the students to the mess during their stay and, for one evening, transforming the fire station’s internal courtyard into a true concert hall.

Professional musicians Philippe Bender (flute) and Catherine Michel (harp), and guest artists Eunsley Park (violin) and Mina Ghobrial (flute) performed a classical repertoire with the orchestral group, spanning from Mozart to Mahler, with original solo compositions for concert flute. The concert was conducted by Maestro Mark Messenger.

The public will have an opportunity to hear them on Saturday 16 April at 8.30 p.m. with major international pianist Gabriel Tacchino in the Grimaldi Forum’s Salle Camille Blanc as part of the Rotary Club of Monaco’s gala concert.