The Royal Holloway Symphony Orchestra presents a programme exploring music and the forces that shape us.

The Royal Holloway Symphony Orchestra presents a programme exploring music, identity and the forces that shape us, featuring Joan Tower's vibrant Made in America alongside Shostakovich's powerful Symphony No. 5.

Joan Tower's Made in America draws on the sound of the American musical landscape, transforming the familiar opening of 'America the Beautiful' into a vivid orchestral celebration. Written as part of the "Made in America" consortium project, the work reflects on musical identity and the ways familiar sounds can take on new meaning.

Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony offers a strikingly different perspective. Written in 1937 during one of the darkest periods of Stalin's rule, the symphony balances public declaration with private intensity, moving between moments of apparent triumph, unease, tenderness and violence. Its ambiguous conclusion has prompted generations of listeners to question what lies beneath its surface.

This event is presented as part of the International Concert Series 2026-27 - The Sounding World (https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/research-and-education/subjects/music/studying-here/music-performance-at-royal-holloway/the-sounding-world-international-concert-series-2026-27/)- at Royal Holloway.

Event programme

To include:

Joan Tower (b. 1938): Made in America

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975): Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47

About the performers

Led by internationally-acclaimed conductor Rebecca Miller, the Royal Holloway Symphony Orchestra meets weekly, giving three concerts per year in the Windsor Auditorium. The orchestra endeavours to create a lively, challenging, and social basis for orchestral life at Royal Holloway and comprises students from across the university. They also participate in side-by-side programmes with professional musicians, and through our unique partnership with the Chiltern Music Academy. For 2020-21, orchestras at Royal Holloway launched a new social action project called Re-Orchestrating Society, where members of orchestras at Royal Holloway work together in small teams to develop a project based around orchestras that aims to benefit society.

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. Most recently she has guest-conducted the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, London Mozart Players, London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra (at the BBC Proms), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico, Gävle Symphony Orchestra, Västerås Sinfonietta and Dalarnsinfoniettan in Sweden, and Kuopio Symphony Orchestra in Finland. Read more (https://www.rebeccamiller.net/biography).

Car parking

When you arrive for a College event at our Egham campus, please park in car parks 12 or 4.

Car park 12 can be accessed by turning right as you enter the main College gates and is located next to the tennis courts. If this car park is full, please drive further onto our campus to car park 4, which can be accessed by turning left at the mini-roundabout behind the Students’ Union. We would advise that you bring the College map to campus with you and give yourself plenty of time to park.

Blue Badge holders can find designated parking spaces in Car park 1W, as well as between Gardeners Lodge and the Williams Annexe. You can find these locations by looking at our campus map opposite. If you require any assistance on arrival, please contact our premises team in advance of your visit by emailing: premisesadmin@royalholloway.ac.uk and they will be happy to help.

Please note that we operate an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system on certain parts of our campus, however if you are here for an organised event, parking is unrestricted for event guests in car parks 12, 4 or 14 (or display your blue badge permit if parking in a disabled bay). If you have any questions about parking, please email: premisesadmin@royalholloway.ac.uk

Description supplied by the event organiser.