RIAM Partnerships: Open Your Eyes And Tell Me What You See

Devised by Iain Burnside and featuring singers and pianists from the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Hochschule für Musik und Theater »Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy«, Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, and the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz

An outstanding array of young singers and pianists, under the expert stewardship of pianist Iain Burnside, once again shine a spotlight on the climate crisis through the powerful combination of words and music this season.

Interweaving roles as pianist and award-winning broadcaster with equal aplomb, Iain Burnside is also a master programmer with an instinct for the telling juxtaposition. His previous work for the Academy, Ten Thousand Miles Away, Drums and Guns, and The Seven Deadly Sins has been described as “a triumph of ambition” (The Sunday Business Post) and “a stirring program outside of the usual” (Voce di meche).

Having previously toured Open Your Eyes And Tell Me What You See overland to London, Paris and Salzburg, Iain Burnside returns with his devised performance piece to connect performers and audience with the profound changes happening in our world.

A preview concert with Academy students in October 2026 will give audiences a chance to see this performance project develop in real time, before the collective talents of students from four European conservatoires, RIAM, HMT Leipzig, Liszt Academy of Music, and the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz join forces. Vivid contemporary work casts new light on familiar songs by Schubert and Schumann, challenging students and audience alike to open their eyes.