Concerts and festivals
Concert categories at The Royal Danish Academy of Music
ORCHESTRA AND CHOIR CONCERTS
The Academy presents three to four major in-house productions each year with the RDAM Symphony Orchestra, as well as one or two collaborative projects with Copenhagen Phil.
The large symphonic concerts take place in the Academy Concert Hall, with the exception of one orchestral concert in June, which marks the end of the academic year and is usually held at Tivoli Concert Hall. In addition, a collaborative project with the Opera Academy is presented in January at the Old Stage of the Royal Danish Theatre.
The orchestral concerts are conducted by a wide range of leading conductors – most often with close ties to the region’s musical life in roles such as chief conductor or music director, including Michael Schønwandt, Thomas Dausgaard and Giancarlo Andretta.
Several orchestral concerts are incorporated into festivals organised by RDAM, and the soloists are predominantly drawn from RDAM’s own advanced soloist class. Participation in orchestral projects is compulsory for students studying orchestral instruments.
In addition to the Academy’s own orchestral projects, RDAM students take part in a range of international youth orchestras, such as the Baltic Youth Orchestra, Orkester Norden, European Union Youth Orchestra and the Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchester. RDAM occasionally hosts guest performances by these ensembles.
OPERA CONCERTS
Voices, drama, powerful emotions and vivid storytelling. At the Opera Academy and at RDAM, vocal students are trained to combine singing and acting into a unified artistic expression. This is particularly evident in the spring, when full-scale productions are staged, often featuring the RDAM Symphony Orchestra or smaller ensembles.
DEBUT CONCERTS
The debut concerts are among the flagship events of the Academy’s concert programme. They mark the culmination of studies for students in the advanced soloist class and include singers, instrumentalists, conductors and composers.
Each year, 15–20 debut concerts are presented – most of them on Wednesdays in the Academy Concert Hall.
CHAMBER CONCERTS
Throughout the season, a wide range of solo and chamber concerts is presented by students, faculty and, occasionally, guest artists. Most concerts take place at the Studio Stage.
The Monday Series, comprising 15–20 concerts each year, forms the backbone of the chamber music programme. Concert formats and presentation are subject to ongoing reflection and will continue to be developed.
WEDNESDAY CONCERTS
The popular Wednesday Concerts at 5.00 pm attract a large and loyal audience, offering 45 minutes of music in distinctive venues across the urban spaces of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg.
The Wednesday Concerts have existed since 2002 and are where students truly step beyond the Academy’s physical setting. Here, they present themselves in a wide variety of ensembles and in alternative venues such as Betty Nansen Teatret, Folketeatret, Frederiksberg Rådhus, KU.BE, as well as churches throughout the city.
Children and families
Bring your father, mother, sister, brother, grandparent or a friend along and come and experience some of the wonderful music to be found in our house.
Festivals
Each semester, RDAM presents a number of festivals. In the spring, we host the PULSAR Festival, which focuses on new compositional music, and in the autumn, KONTRAST, which explores some of the contrasts encountered in music.
At various points throughout the year, festivals dedicated to different instrumental groups are also organised. Further down this page, you will find a list of some of the previously presented concerts. A full list can be found on the Danish version of this page.
The laboratory
At Laboratory events, we open our doors to the exploratory and research-based dimensions that are also integral to RDAM. The programme includes lectures, panel discussions and presentations of the faculty’s artistic research projects (KUV).
Last but not least, in the autumn we launched a new talk series, Stof til eftertanke (Food for Thought). Through these talks, we explore simple yet multifaceted questions, such as how we create.
We regularly update the concert calendar with events in this category – see more at dkdm.dk/kalender
The stage
Practice concerts, examination concerts and dress rehearsals – informal, raw experiences.
In The Stage series, you are invited up close to encounter students at different stages of their studies and artistic development. As an informal part of the learning process, works may be performed in front of an audience for the very first time.
The formats in this series include studio concerts, where you can experience students from different year groups, as well as masterclasses, in which students receive tuition from visiting teachers. Concerts are announced on an ongoing basis at dkdm.dk/en
Festivals – Read about previously presented concerts
Concerts and masterclasses from 4 - 8 November 2020
The festival presents several Danish and international organists. Free admission.
Program
5 November 19:30 - Opening Concert
5 November 221:00 - Late Night Organ
6 November 19:30 - Organ recital - Professor Wolfgang Zerer
6 November 22:00 - Late Night Organ
7 November 19:30 - Organ Concert
7 November 22:00 - Late Night Organ
8 November 19:30 - Closing Concert
Concerts, masterclasses and lectures from 10th - 14th November 2016
The Academy offers 5 days of concerts, master classes, and lectures.
The festival presents a number of international organists: Hans Fagius (Sweden), Sietze de Vries (Netherlands) Franz Danksagmüller and Martin Herchenröder (Germany). Faculty and students from RDAM and distinguished organists from Denmark. Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, RDAM Brass Ensemble, and RDAM Vocal Ensemble.
Free admission.
Live stream PULSAR concerts from 11 - 15 March
Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the PULSAR concerts will be live-streamed. The orchestra concerts will be postponed, and the smaller chamber concerts will be live-streamed.
Featuring Bang on a Can All Stars
PULSAR 2020 - featuring Bang on a Can All-Stars
The DNA of PULSAR comprises works composed by young composers from the Academy and performed by the vocal and instrumental students from the Academy. PULSAR 2020 is organised in cooperation with the Schools of Visual Arts at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and the Danish National Vocal Ensemble.
PULSAR 2020 events
- 4.3. kl. 16.00: Fernisering og performances, Udstillingssted Q
- 5.3. kl. 19.30: Åbningskoncert med DRSO og Bang on a Can All Stars, Konservatoriets Koncertsal
- 5.3. kl. 21.30: The 3D Experience, Ny Sal
- 6.3. kl. 17.00: DR VokalEnsemblet, Studiescenen
- 6.3. kl. 19.30: Bang on a Can All Stars, Konservatoriets Koncertsal
- 6.3. kl. 21.30: Beethoven de-constructed, Studiescenen
- 7.3. kl. 16.00: Sinfonietta, Konservatoriets Koncertsal
- 8.3. kl. 16.00: Dance and Drama, Konservatoriets Koncertsal
- 9.3. kl. 19.30: Concert Space, Studiescenen
- 10.3. kl. 19.30: Chinese Instruments, Studiescenen
- 10.3. kl. 21.30: Kammer- og vokalmusik, Studiescenen
- 11.3. kl. 17.00: Onsdagskoncert Echoing Space, Marmorkirken
- 12.3. kl. 17.00: Finissage og performances, Udstillingssted Q
Free entrance
Beethoven 250 Anniversary - concerts, masterclasses, etc.
Programme
- Masterclass Steven Osborne (UK): Thursday 22 October 10:00
- Recital Lars Ulrik Mortensen: Thursday 22. October 19:30
- Late Night I: Thursday 22 October 21:00
- Masterclass Lars Ulrik Mortensen: Friday 23 October 10:00
- Recital Steven Osborne: Friday 23 October 19:30
- Late Night II: Friday 23 October 21:00
- Beethoven Sonata Marathon I: Saturday 24 October 10:00-18:00
- Beethoven Sonata Marathon II: Sunday 25 October 10:00-18:00
Free entrance, but a minimal number of seats due to COVID-19.
NATIVE >> INNOVATIVE
The festival carries the subtitle: NATIVE >> INNOVATIVE, which refers to a multicultural palette on several levels.
The festival presents music and artists from no less than six continents: Africa, Asia, North and South America, Oceania and Europe – a true garden of earthly delights for everyone, old or young, who is enchanted by the magic of the drum.
Concerts
- 12 February 19:30: Kick-Off (RDAM Concert Hall)
- 13 February 19:30: Soli (RDAM Concert Hall)
- 14 February 16:00: Solo (Sankt Markus Kirke)
- 14 February 19:30: Fairytales and Percussion (RDAM Concert Hall)
- 15 February 16:00: Duo (Sankt Markus Kirke)
- 15 February 19:30: Native >> Innovative (RDAM Concert Hall)
- 16 February 16:00: Beat It (RDAM Concert Hall)
Download booklet Percussion Pulse 2020
Support from The Nordic Culture Fund, Nordic Culture Point, Kirsten Bergs Legat and others.