PLAY! Festival 2026

Fresh strings, wild ideas, and a whole lot of curiosity. Join us for a hands-on new music workshop where student composers get to work directly with violinist and new music specialist Amalia Young. Amalia's playing has been heard everywhere from the Royal Opera House and BBC Radio 3 to the experimental hub of Café OTO, and she has collaborated with ensembles such as Riot Ensemble and Apartment House. Across a career that moves fluidly between contemporary classical, improvisation, and pop sessions with Pete Tong, she brings one essential quality to every project: a total commitment to the sound no one has heard yet.

In this workshop, selected student composers will bring their own short pieces or ideas to the table, working side by side with Amalia to explore extended techniques, tuning, texture, and the practical magic of turning a notated gesture into a living, breathing sound. Whether you are scribbling graphic scores, experimenting with harmonics, or simply wondering what a violin can really do, this session is a rare chance to learn from a performer who specialises in the unknown.

Venue

This event is taking place in the Boilerhouse Tank Room (0-07). 

Car parking

When you arrive for a College event at our Egham campus, please park in car parks 12 or 4.

Car park 12 can be accessed by turning right as you enter the main College gates and is located next to the tennis courts. If this car park is full, please drive further onto our campus to car park 4, which can be accessed by turning left at the mini-roundabout behind the Students’ Union. We would advise that you bring the College map to campus with you and give yourself plenty of time to park.

Blue Badge holders can find designated parking spaces in Car park 1W, as well as between Gardeners Lodge and the Williams Annexe. You can find these locations by looking at our campus map opposite. If you require any assistance on arrival, please contact our premises team in advance of your visit by emailing: premisesadmin@royalholloway.ac.uk and they will be happy to help.

Please note that we operate an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system on certain parts of our campus, however if you are here for an organised event, parking is unrestricted for event guests in car parks 12, 4 or 14 (or display your blue badge permit if parking in a disabled bay). If you have any questions about parking, please email: premisesadmin@royalholloway.ac.uk