Royal Academy of Music Names New Jacqueline du Pré Professor of Cello

Hannah Roberts will step into the role, which celebrates the du Pré family's close association with the Academy

London's Royal Academy of Music (RAM) has recently announced that cellist Hannah Roberts will be its new Jacqueline du Pré Professor of Cello. The new named position has been established with the blessing of the du Pré family, and recognizes Roberts' significant contribution to RAM.

Roberts is a prize winner of the Shell LSO, BBC Young Musician, Jacqueline Du Pre Memorial and Pierre Fournier awards, and has made concerto appearances with a number of prominent ensembles — including the London Mozart Players, LSO, BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Hallé.

She is a respected pedagogue and has mentored some of Britain's best young cellists, including Sheku Kanneh-Mason. Alongside her position at RAM, she also teaches at the Royal Northern College of Music and is a guest tutor at the University of Oxford.

"I am deeply grateful for the generosity of the du Pré family in allowing the Academy to celebrate Jackie with this new post for our distinguished cello professor, Hannah Roberts," said Jonathan Freeman-Attwood CBE, the Principal of the Royal Academy.

"Jackie is an iconic reference point for the artistic ambition to which we all aspire at the Academy. Generations of her family were students here, including Jackie’s mother, sister, niece and her sister’s husband, Christopher, whose father, Gerald Finzi, was professor of composition. One of Jackie’s closest links was, of course, through the Academy student and professor, Sir John Barbirolli, with whom was conceived that timeless testament to Elgar’s Cello Concerto."

"Jacqueline du Pré was a hugely formative influence on my own ‘cello journey’ and she continues to inspire musicians and music lovers alike through her transformative and uniquely creative musicianship," Roberts said. "I’m extremely honoured to be invited to contribute to celebrating her lasting influence as Jacqueline du Pré Professor of Cello at the Royal Academy of Music."