On Monday 26 October a memorial event was held at the Lyceum Theatre with family and friends from across the industry sharing their memories of ArtsEd alumnus Chris Hornby.

Chris was highly regarded across the theatre industry having performed in many professional shows including Starlight Express, Anything Goes, Billy Elliot and Guys and Dolls, before moving on to creative roles. It was whilst working at the Lyceum Theatre as Resident Director of The Lion King that Chris sadly passed away in December 2014. 

Performances at the memorial included You Are My Sunshine sung by Louise Dearman, Circle of Life performed by the cast of The Lion King, Bach Cello Concerto No1 played by Philip Taylor and dance pieces from The Lion King cast members Kella Panay, Francisco Lins and Hugo Batista. ArtsEd third year musical theatre students sang a moving rendition of Nat King Cole’s Smile.

Chris’s partner Tim explained that Chris had received a bursary to train at ArtsEd, a small grant that had a big impact on his life and all those he went on to meet. The Chris Hornby Fund has been set up as a lasting legacy that will help talented students at ArtsEd facing financial hardship. Attendees of the memorial showed exceptional support for the fund, resulting in an incredible £3,261 being donated on the day and a further £3,700 online.

We are all extremely grateful for the generosity of Chris’s family and friends.

If you would like to support the Chris Hornby Fund please visit the justgiving page.

Photograph: Ken McKay

We are delighted that so many recent graduates have already secured professional contracts at prestigious venues. These include featured and lead roles at The Crucible, Sheffield (Scripted), The Old Vic (Future Conditional), Hampstead Theatre (Firebird), Royal Court (Liberian Girl), Manchester Royal Exchange (The Skriker), Birmingham Repertory Theatre (The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe) and The Rose Theatre, Kingston (Wars of the Roses). Graduates are also utilising their screen training filming scenes for BBC's Call The Midwife, a new Sky One drama and US drama Outlander. This exceptional range of graduate work is a testament to the students’ dedication and the excellent training they receive at ArtsEd.

Our students work closely with highly regarded industry creatives during their final year, performing in a West End showcase and staging public productions as well as filming showreels and original screenplays. Such a range of training opportunities ensure students enter the industry as highly skilled, sought-after performers. We can’t wait to see what else our graduates achieve in the future!

Could you be the next ArtsEd success story?
Applications are now open for our BA Acting course starting in 2016. To find out more and apply please click here.

Principal Jane Harrison led the proceedings at St Michael and All Angels Church on 14 September, offering inspiration for the graduands: ‘You are at the edge of the aircraft, your skills and training are your parachute, you are ready to fly!’ 

The performing arts is a notoriously difficult industry to work in, but Director of the Schools of Musical Theatre and Acting, Chris Hocking gave encouragement by sharing some of the weird, wonderful and surprising jobs that ArtsEd staff members have undertaken to support their careers.

Musical Theatre and Acting students were represented by Mairi Barclay and Philip Tomlin, who offered their personal reflections on their time at ArtsEd and thanks to staff across the school.

Guest speaker and ArtsEd Patron Robert Lindsay is well known for his extensive career on stage and screen but lesser known for recording the Derby County football anthem played before every match, as Jane revealed! Robert was clearly delighted to be a part of this special day, advising the graduands that their creative careers could be seen as a game of snakes and ladders with many ups and downs. He stressed that they must take every opportunity to keep learning and growing and wished them the best for their bright futures.

Armed with this expert encouragement and guidance, the students were presented with their degrees by City University representative, Professor Steve Stanton and officially became graduates.