VC Artist Timothy Ridout Named Visiting Professor of Music at London's Royal Academy of Music

Ridout returns to the institution after graduating in 2016 with the Queen’s Commendation for Excellence

VC Artist violist Timothy Ridout will lead a viola masterclass at the Royal Academy of Music on Tuesday, June 20, ahead of his new role as Visiting Professor of Music — which will begin in September 2023.

"'The Academy has always been a musical home for me, since I first stepped foot in the building aged 13," Ridout said. "I’m absolutely delighted to take up the role of Visiting Professor and look forward to working closely with a new generation of young musicians!"

A winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society 2023 Young Artist Award, Timothy Ridout graduated from the Academy in 2016 with the Queen’s Commendation for Excellence and is now one of the most sought-after violists of his generation.

Ridout regularly appears as a soloist with leading orchestras around the world. In recent seasons Timothy has made his debut with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Hamburger Symphoniker, and Orchestre National de Lille, among others. This season, he will perform with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and Netherlands Chamber Orchestra.

A graduate of London’s Royal Academy of Music and the Kronberg Academy where he studied with Martin Outram and Nobuko Imai, Timothy is a former first prize winner at the Lionel Tertis and Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competitions. He regularly records for the Harmonia Mundi label.

The Royal Academy of Music also announced that Robert Cohen is to be named William Pleeth Professor of Cello in recognition of his outstanding career and teaching at the Academy over the last 27 years. The position is named for world-renowned pedagogue William Pleeth who taught and inspired generations of musicians. Among these were just three child students: his son Anthony, Jacqueline du Pré, and Robert Cohen.