Trinity Champion Centre hosts royal celebration

In this blog, we hear from Trinity Champion Centre, East London School of Music, as they share their experience of hosting a royal music event attended by the Duchess of Gloucester. Music Director, Fiona D Pacquette, explains how the event came to fruition and how they prepared for the event, which took place in April 2025.

Securing the royal event

Firstly, I made contact with the Lord Lieutenant of London. I reached out to him last November 2024, and two weeks later, I received a response indicating that they had acknowledged my email. Fast forward to December 2024, I received another email stating that my invitation had been forwarded to Buckingham Palace, and they were considering a member of the royal family to attend the event.

In January 2025, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a phone call from Buckingham Palace informing me that they had received the invitation and that the royal family was contemplating attending our 10th anniversary event! I was absolutely thrilled, as this was my first time receiving a call from Buckingham Palace. I promptly notified the school, and they were overjoyed; this was an unprecedented occurrence for them.

Towards the end of January 2025, I received a call from the King's representative at Hackney Council, who is also a close friend of mine. He called me on my mobile to deliver the wonderful news that a member of the royal family would attend the event, which was the icing on the cake for the school.

Choosing the repertoire

Regarding the repertoire, the lead trustee and I conducted several meetings to determine suitable pieces for the Royal event. For instance, we decided to start with the British national anthem and conclude with 'I Vow to Thee, My Country,' which is a favourite of the King's representative (Hackney Council). We previously performed this piece at Hackney Town Hall to commemorate His Majesty King Charles III's ascension, May 2023, making it a fitting choice for our finale.

Additionally, we included Vivaldi's Concerto for Four Violins, which is another favourite. The young violinists involved in the Vivaldi piece arranged rehearsal sessions at the school with their violin teacher. Two of the violinists were awarded Trinity Music Access Fund funding to support their instrumental and Music Theory Exams.

The big day

The event took place on Thursday, April 10th, and the royal family member who attended was the Duchess of Gloucester, accompanied by her royal team. She thoroughly enjoyed the 20-minute concert we organised, and she had the opportunity to meet the young musicians who performed in the orchestra, particularly enjoying the Vivaldi Concerto for Four Violins in B minor. It was heartening to see our students being supported by one of our professional violinists from the HACS Philharmonic Orchestra. Other key performances were the British National Anthem at the start and the Finale "I Vow To Thee My Country" (arr Geoff Knorr).

A member of the Sector Support Team at Trinity College London also came to watch the concert and support us on the day.

We featured students with their Trinity College London certificates on our programme

Following the event, I was delighted to receive a lovely handwritten letter from the Duchess's secretary, expressing how much she enjoyed her visit and the opportunity to meet with the students and young performers.

Thinking of becoming a Trinity Champion Centre? Applications open for 2026-2027 in March 2026. Contact Amy.Lee@trinitycollege.com for more information.