THE WHITWORTH: RNCM ON THE ROAD

THE WHITWORTH: RNCM ON THE ROAD

Sunday 16 February 2025

Kimberly Wong   harp

Hailing from Singapore, Kimberly is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music (Honours) degree at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) under the tutelage of Dr Anne-Marie O’Farrell, and was offered an entrance scholarship in 2022. She is a versatile harpist, appearing as a soloist, ensemble member, orchestral player and session musician. 

Kimberly has performed at reputable venues such as the Esplanade Concert Hall, Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage, Gardens By the Bay and The Bridgewater Hall, as well as the RNCM Concert Hall and Theatre on numerous occasions. Her highlights include the recording sessions with Spirit Studios, a solo pre-concert programme for the BBC Philharmonic and being part of the RNCM Pit Orchestra for Rimsky-Korsakov’s Snow Maiden opera production. 

Kimberly also loves to share harp music with the community around her, which spurred her to initiate outreach projects into My First Skool and St Luke’s ElderCare, bringing harp music to both the young and old in Singapore. She regularly helps out in the Young Harps sessions at the RNCM and has been involved in working with young people on multiple projects and concerts. These include the RNCM Engage Showcase, Explore@RNCM and RNCM Children’s Opera Projects. 

Yaxin Fang   harp

Yaxin is a harpist currently in her second year of undergraduate studies at Royal Northern College of Music. She was born in 2002 in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, in central China. She had piano lessons between the ages of five and eleven, and during this period she passed Grade 10 of the Central Conservatory of Music of China. Yaxin then learned about the harp from a cartoon in junior high school; she was immediately attracted to the instrument and began lessons soon afterwards. 

She studied with Zishan Xu, a Harp Professor at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music and won several awards, including First Prize in the Harp Youth Group of the Beijing Area and Second Prize in China Area in 2021. In 2020 she was awarded First Prize in the Singapore International Music Festival-Western Music Competition, and Second Prizes in both the 6th International Music Festival of Melbourne and the China Youth Music Competition Hummingbird Music Awards. In May of 2022, Yaxin performed Handel's Harp Concerto in B flat major for the first time with the Sias Philharmonic Orchestra, giving her the opportunity to perform on stage with an orchestra for the first time.

Yaxin is continuing her harp studies at the RNCM with Anne-Marie O'Farrell. During her first year as an undergraduate, she performed Shaun The Sheep - The Flight Before Christmas with KNDS Fairey Band. She has also performed with the RNCM Harp Department at the Manchester Harp Festival, Edinburgh Harp Festival and an annual concert at the Salvi showroom in London.

Performance:

ALBERT ZABEL

La Source (Am Springbrunnen) Op 23

GUILLAUME CONNESSON

Toccata pour harpe

HENRIETTE RENIÉ 

Danse des Lutins

GEORGE GESHWIN arr ELEANOR FELL

Theme from An American in Paris and Rhapsody in Blue

PIETRO DOMENICO PARADISI

Toccata

PHIL YOUNG

Suhou River

ANTONIO VIVALDI arr KEZIAH THOMAS

Summer from The Four Seasons

CLAUDE DEBUSSY arr CARLOS SALZEDO

Clair de lune

Kimberly and Yaxin appear by kind permission of the RNCM

Further Details:

This is a free event

Booking deadline: 16/02/2025

The concert will take place in Gallery 3 of The Whitworth from 3pm to 3.45pm.

Future Concerts

9th Mar: Sakura Drops Duo
30th Mar: Yūgen Collective
11th May: Ventis Vocal Ensemble
1st Jun: Maxfield String Quartet