Department of Music
School of Performing & Digital Arts
YOUREVENT PROGRAMME
PLAY! FESTIVAL 2025
FEST 2025
OUR2025 FESTIVAL
PLAY! is a week-long, annual festival of arts presented by the School of Performing and Digital Arts, showcasing some of the best and most innovative music, film, and theatre at Royal Holloway.
PLAY! Festival returns bigger and better than ever, showcasing the very best of music, film, and theatre at one of the UK's highly-ranked arts faculties, with events curated and performed by the staff and students of Royal Holloway With pop-up recitals, film screenings, cross-arts collaborations, jazz and music theatre gigs, talks and recitallectures, new music from across the UK, plus the year's largest orchestral event, PLAY! offers a bundle of exciting events for all
This year's festival will take place between Sunday 8 June 2025 to Friday 13 June 2025, in venues across campus and in our local community.
We look forward to welcoming you to our festival this year.
Dr Nathan James Dearden
Music
the International Concert Series and Arts Festivals
Performance Manager & Curator of
Orchestra
Sunday, 8 June 2025
A European
Windsor Building Auditorium
Royal Holloway University of London
Featuring Royal Holloway Festival Orchestra
Rebecca Miller Principal Conductor
Harvey Lok Assistant Conductor
Estimated finish time: 10.00pm
There will be a short interval during this event.
Please no flash photography or visual/audio recording throughout the event.
For news about our future events, please visit royalholloway.ac.uk/music/events
EVENT PROGRAMME
Johann Strauss II (1825-1899) Die Fledermaus Overture
Dorothy Howell (1898-1982) Humoresque
Ferenc Farkas (1905-2000)
Five Early Hungarian Dances from the 17thCentury (Performed by our Orchestral Scholars)
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847)
Movement One from String Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20 (Performed by our Orchestral Scholars)
INTERVAL
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) Othello Suite, Op. 79
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Capriccio Italienne, Op. 45
EVENT PERFORMERS
Royal Holloway
Festival
Orchestra
Violin 1
Nicole Yuen *
Lingling Bao-Smith *
Rachel Pankhurst
Clarise Chong *
Terry Chen
Paul Kam
Lily Thompson
Bella Morgan
Tristan Hail
Violin 2
Christopher Bacon *
Phedra Low *
Joseph McCarthy
Hannah Lam
Winston Ung
Maggie Ip
Andreas Karapanagiotidis
Viola
Laura Field *
Maisie Pearce
Izzy Wroe
Phoebe Canell
Cello
Oliver Grimes *
Naoki Aso *
Kian Jan-Dickens
Evelyn Pong
Claudia Buchanan
Jasmine Akibo-Betts
Niamh Sherwood
Double Bass
Owen Morgan
Owen Ward
Flute
Evelina Venslovaite *
Gwendolyn Schneider *
Klara Sweeney
Iris-Amelia Davies
Eunice Chan
Rachel Li
Iris-Amelia Davies
Oboe
Joseph Stapleton
Clarinet
Ben Hall *
Josephine Edwards
Sam Pollacco
Izzy Reid
Billy White
Bassoon
Luke Passmore *
Rosina Murray
Horn
Josephine Palmer *
Kerin Black ^
Saxophones
Elijah Olukoya
Jimmy Davies
Trumpet
James McPherson *
Peter So
Oskar Warren
Tenor Trombone
Michael Hews
Amelia Lewis ^
Bass Trombone
Tom Williams ^
Tuba
Elliott Milum ^
Percussion
Reece Walker
Luke Gore
Sophia Wilhelmi
Joshua Li
Ellen Gao
Harp
Catrin Meek ^
* Orchestral Scholar ^ External Musician
ORGANISING COMMITTEE
Orchestral Manager Clarise
Chong
Socials and Events Manager
Klara Sweeney
Assistant Orchestral and Social Manager Gwendolyn Schneider
Fundraising Chief Ban Hall
Stage Manager Luke Passmore
Assistant Stage Manager
Nicole Yuen
Assistant Stage Manager & Librarian Hannah Lam
Librarian Phedra Lo
Rebecca Miller
Conductor
California-born conductor Rebecca Miller has earned an international reputation for her compelling, insightful, and energetic presence on the podium and for her ability to communicate with audiences of all ages.
Recent guest-conducting includes the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, Västerås Sinfonietta, DalaSinfoniettan, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Gävle Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Swan, The Orchestra Now, The Bard Music Festival, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, London Mozart Players, London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, City of London Sinfonia, National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico, and at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall. Following her debut with the Uppsala Chamber Orchestra in Sweden, she was immediately re-invited and appointed Chief Conductor, a post which she held from 20192023.
In previous seasons, Rebecca has guestconducted the Houston Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Reno Philharmonic, Bakersfield Symphony, Santa Cruz Symphony, Chicago College of the
Performing Arts, Huntsville Symphony, Williamsport Symphony, and Musiqa Houston, and with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra in Israel. Firstprize winner in the Eduardo Mata International Conducting Competition, she has conducted throughout Mexico, including repeated engagements with the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional and Orquesta Filarmonica del UNAM, and the state orchestras of Yucatan, Aguascalientes, and Sinaloa. In 2017, Rebecca was also featured in the Bruno Walter National Conductors Preview with the Nashville Symphony.
Rebecca’s discography includes CDs with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (CPE Bach Symphonies / Signum Records, which made the final shortlist for a 2014 Gramophone Award), with the BBC Concert Orchestra (Henry Hadley Orchestral works / Dutton Epoch), with the BBC Scottish Symphony (piano concertos by Amy Beach, Dorothy Howell, Cecil Chaminade / Hyperion Records), and three CDs with the Royal Northern Sinfonia (Haydn Symphonies / Signum Records; George Frederick Bristow’s ‘Jullien Symphony’ / New World Records; Concertos by Aaron Jay Kernis / Signum Records).
Rebecca is passionate about her work with young musicians – she has recently started regular partnerships with the National Children's Orchestra and the with the London
Symphony Orchestra Discovery, and previously worked with the National Youth Orchestras of Scotland, NYO Wales, and NYOGB, with the Chicago College of the Performing Arts, and with the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela (Teresa Carreño), much to the acclaim of its late founder José Antonio Abreu. She was conductor at the Royal Academy of Music’s Junior Department for many years, where she formed the ground-breaking and unique JA Classical Orchestra, and works regularly with the Southbank Sinfonia in London, where she was Associate Conductor for three years.
As Director of Orchestras at Royal Holloway University of London, she has been widely acclaimed for building the orchestral programme to new heights – starting an orchestral scholarship programme, initiating a side-by-side programme with the London Mozart Players, securing high-profile engagements (including ‘Magna Carta 800 at Runnymede’ a project with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Temple Church Choir, performed in the presence of HM Queen Elizabeth II and 4000 dignitaries and honoured guests), and establishing a new initiative called ‘Music +’, which aims to build bridges through music with interdepartmental projects and interdisciplinary research.
Previously, Rebecca served as Resident Conductor of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and American Conducting Fellow of The Houston Symphony, and Assistant Conductor of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. She holds a B.Mus. in Piano Performance from Oberlin Conservatory, an MMus in Orchestral Conducting from Northwestern University, and for two years was the Paul Woodhouse Junior Fellow in Orchestral Conducting at London’s Royal College of Music.
Harvey Lok Assistant Conductor
Harvey Lok is a finalist Music and English student at Royal Holloway, University of London that combines his interests in music, literature, and spirituality in his artistic expression. As the Assistant Conductor of the Royal Holloway Symphony Orchestra, he works closely with Rebecca Miller and has collaborated with John Traill, the Royal Holloway Founder’s Choir, and the London Mozart Players. Notably, Harvey conducted Mussorgksy’s ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’ during the inaugural Queen Mary Music Festival. Previously, Harvey was a choral scholar of the Choir of Royal Holloway, where he conducted nearly fifty works that includes William Mathias’ ‘Missa Aedis Christi’ and the UK premiere of Cecilia McDowall’s ‘Music of the Stars’.
Harvey is also the co-founder and director of vocal ensemble Hemiola, where he has formulated thoughtful programmes exploring the Book of Job, the Nativity of Christ, and the poetry of Sara Teasdale and Chrstina Rossetti in venues such as Sherborne Abbey and Downside Abbey. Past and upcoming highlights with the group include Hubert Parry’s ‘Songs of Farewell’ and headlining the 2025 Brecon Choir Festival with a concert inspired by R.S. Thomas’ poetry.
Harvey credits his musical roots to the Hong Kong Children’s Choir, where he sung in their Concert Choir as a treble and toured to Australia, Estonia, Finland, and Xiamen. Growing up, Harvey studied choral conducting under Sanders Lau and has recently learnt from Amy Bebbington, Neil Ferris, Patrick Russill, and Felix Yeung. He has served as a student conductor for Diocesan Boys’ School Choir, Diocesan Boys’ School Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong
Children’s Choir, the Royal Holloway New Music Collective, and The Illumino Singers, the latter of which was a three-year choral project he founded during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Harvey has been fortunate to learn from many esteemed conductors in numerous masterclasses, including Josef Bastian, David Hill, Gábor Hollerung, and Fred Sjöberg, where he worked with ensembles such as the Asian Youth Orchestra, NOĒMA, the Rodolfus Choir, and the Taipei Philharmonic Chorus. In recognition of his musical achievements, Harvey has been awarded prizes and scholarships by Royal Holloway, Youth Arch Foundation, Diocesan Boys’ School, and the Hong Kong Children’s Choir. Harvey is looking forward to studying his at the Royal Academy of Music for a Masters in Choral Conducting from this September onwards, under the tutelage of Nicholas Chalmers.