Trinity College of Music Alumni reunite

In June 2025, alumni from Trinity College of Music reunited to perform Faure’s Requiem and Vivaldi’s Gloria at Hinde Street Church, nearly four decades after originally interpreting these pieces under the direction of James Gaddarn. “For just one afternoon, we were all transported back to our college days,” says organiser of the reunion and piano alum Chris Cox. “We all put life on pause and allowed ourselves to remember what it was like to be at Mandeville Place all those decades ago. Alumni attended from all parts of the UK and flew from overseas especially for the event. We organised a choir and orchestra of around 80 people, including current students from Trinity Laban who stepped up to fill the brass section.

“The concert went smoothly – an amazing accomplishment considering it was a group of musicians that hadn’t played together for many decades. Within just two and a half hours of rehearsal, we were able to perform at a standard that we could all be proud of. Afterwards, we headed to the Angel. Despite the time that had passed, people picked up where they left off a lifetime ago.”

The idea of organising a reunion came to Chris when he booked a trip back to the UK in 2019, having moved to Australia in 2009. For many Trinity College of Music alumni, this would be the first time they would be seeing each other in over 40 years. In 2012, Mark Winn (LTCL Performance Diploma, 1985-1991) had set up a Trinity College of Music alumni Facebook group, opening up a digital possibility to re-establish contact. Chris arranged a catch-up at the Angel in the Fields pub where Trinity College of Music students used to go and shared it with the group. “Only shortly after my arrival at the pub, I was joined by faces I knew extremely well, looking much like I remembered them. We greeted each other with a warmth and familiarity not dulled at all by intervening years. The friendships you make in your formative years are kept alive by enduring memories that only become more important as they percolate through the years of absence,” he says.

“I have such wonderful memories now of July 2019, when I reformed connections with friends that I have thought about often over the past 35 years, even if we haven’t managed to stay in touch. Time, as they say,  is an illusion. It was lovely to see so many people that I knew and it sowed the seeds for the reunion of 2024.”

Chris knew that he wanted the next reunion to be on a bigger scale and involve Trinity Laban. “I thought involving Trinity Laban would be an excellent way to bring the old and the new together,” he says. It involved a visit to Mandeville Place, a drinks reception at Greenwich – hosted by Trinity Laban – and drinks at the Angel. Chris also created an alumni video as an enduring memory that was aired during the event. “It was many months in the planning and people were quite emotional as we drew closer to the reunion happening. In the end, we had around 80 alumni join the drinks reception at Greenwich. I think people were surprised by the scale and vision of the video – the ending with Edith Piaf singing Je ne Regrette Rien seemed somehow perfect,” he says.

“Despite the hard work, I knew I was doing something for the alumni that they would appreciate, and it was a way to bring people together from across five decades. We didn’t all know each other, but everyone knew that we all shared similar experiences of our time at Trinity College of Music. The reunion was the culmination of all my ruminations and gradual realisation that the past is important, it shaped who I was at the time, who I would become, and how I view my place in the world today.”

“I was most fortunate to have five wonderful years at Trinity College of Music (now Trinity Laban) between 1983 and 1988. After graduation, we travelled divergent paths in life and few people managed to keep in consistent contact with each other, but that is now changing. I can sum my time up at Trinity College of Music as a sense of belonging. The friendships I formed in those years were enduring and whenever I do meet up with those people today, it is as though we have just returned from the summer break, nothing more. The 40 years in between barely have any impact on the friendships even though we are now all very different people and have far more complex lives. We look back on those days as ‘simple’ times and they are treasured memories.”

Chris knew that he wanted the next reunion to be on a bigger scale and involve Trinity Laban. “I thought involving Trinity Laban would be an excellent way to bring the old and the new together,” he says. It involved a visit to Mandeville Place, a drinks reception at Greenwich – hosted by Trinity Laban – and drinks at the Angel. Chris also created an alumni video as an enduring memory that was aired during the event. “It was many months in the planning and people were quite emotional as we drew closer to the reunion happening. In the end, we had around 80 alumni join the drinks reception at Greenwich. I think people were surprised by the scale and vision of the video – the ending with Edith Piaf singing Je ne Regrette Rien seemed somehow perfect,” he says.

“Despite the hard work, I knew I was doing something for the alumni that they would appreciate, and it was a way to bring people together from across five decades. We didn’t all know each other, but everyone knew that we all shared similar experiences of our time at Trinity College of Music. The reunion was the culmination of all my ruminations and gradual realisation that the past is important, it shaped who I was at the time, who I would become, and how I view my place in the world today.”

“I was most fortunate to have five wonderful years at Trinity College of Music (now Trinity Laban) between 1983 and 1988. After graduation, we travelled divergent paths in life and few people managed to keep in consistent contact with each other, but that is now changing. I can sum my time up at Trinity College of Music as a sense of belonging. The friendships I formed in those years were enduring and whenever I do meet up with those people today, it is as though we have just returned from the summer break, nothing more. The 40 years in between barely have any impact on the friendships even though we are now all very different people and have far more complex lives. We look back on those days as ‘simple’ times and they are treasured memories. This year’s reunion was so joyful and memorable. We’re keen to keep the tradition going and have plans to organise a reunion in London next year, followed by a trip to Salzburg for those able to attend.”