Events

Emmanuel Society Culture Club - A visit to the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge

4:45pm – Institute of Astronomy, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HA

Following last year's stellar event, we are delighted to once again offer members the opportunity to visit Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy for a special guided tour and talk with Paul Fellows (1979), Chair of the Cambridge Astronomical Association.

The guided visit will comprise a tour of the historic buildings and telescope observatory, and a talk by Paul on the discovery of planets beyond the solar system.

If the evening is clear, you'll have the opportunity to look up at the night's sky through the telescopes and learn to navigate the constellations. If the weather is not conducive to stargazing, you'll enjoy a planetarium-style show indoors. An event not to be missed!

This is event is free of charge to members of the college.

This event is fully booked. Join the waiting list. Members will be contacted on a first come first served basis should places come available.

Emmanuel Society Dinner in York

7:00pm – The Merchant Taylors' Hall, Aldwark, York, YO1 7BX

The Emmanuel Society invites members of the College to join the Master; Dr Sarah Bendall, Development Director and Fellow, and friends old and new for a convivial evening of catching up on all things Emmanuel and beyond.

We’re privileged to be able to welcome members to dine at the magnificent Merchant Taylors’ Hall, a 610-year-old medieval guild hall in the heart of historic York.

The evening will start with a pre-dinner reception, followed by a three-course dinner and great conversation into the evening, and will conclude with coffee and handmade chocolates. The Master will share updates on recent goings-on at Emma and his thoughts on future developments at your college.

A delectable menu is being prepared for the evening. If you have any special dietary requirements, please note these when you book.

You are welcome to attend with up to three guests. We’d love to see you there.

Booking

The cost is £95 per person or £50 for those who graduated in 2020 or later. This includes three courses, wines, soft drinks, coffee and chocolates.

Discounted places are limited.

Supporting recent graduates

The Emmanuel Society has a long-standing tradition of inviting recent graduates to events at a discounted rate.

The college and Society would very much appreciate the generosity of any member willing to sponsor a recent graduate to attend the dinner.

If you would like to do this, please add the cost of full or part-sponsorship (at £95 per person for a full sponsorship or a lower figure if part-sponsorship) to your online payment or cheque.

Booking is now closed.

Booking closes on Wednesday 22 October. Please contact the Development Office with any questions about this event.

Burnaby Recital: Anna Wolstenholme (1999), flute, and Michael McHale (2001), piano

6:15pm – Emmanuel College

Join Anna Wolstenholme (flute) and Michael McHale (piano), both Emmanuel members, for an evening of forgotten treasures that begins in 1880s London and takes us across the ages to a 1948 piece composed for the New York Flute Club.

Anna Wolstenholme (1999) is the first amanuensis Professor of Flute at the University of Bergen. She has a busy freelance career with major UK orchestras including LSO, Philharmonia, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, RSNO, BBC Philharmonic, Royal Opera House, RPO, ENO, Opera North, Northern Sinfonia, BBC NOW, Hallé, CBSO, London Sinfonietta, RTE amongst others.

Michael McHale (2001) is one of Ireland's leading pianists, with an international career as a solo recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician. He has performed and recorded as a soloist with the Minnesota and Hallé Orchestras, the Moscow, Bournemouth, Jacksonville, Fort Smith, BBC and London Symphony Orchestras, City of London Sinfonia, London Mozart Players and all five of the major Irish orchestras.

Entry is free on the door, and members are invited to book to dine at High Table afterwards.

Booking for High Table closes on Friday 31 October.

Handel's Messiah from Scratch

2:00pm – Emmanuel College, St Andrew's Street, Cambridge, CB2 3AP

Join members from across the college community for a bi-annual festive tradition! Sing and play through Handel's Messiah 'from scratch' (no rehearsal!) in the college's Christopher Wren-designed chapel, carefully conducted by Graham Walker, Director of Music. The chapel choir and members of the Emmanuel College Music Society (ECMS) will join for the afternoon.

Singers and players are invited to join in, as well as brave listeners. This event is always tremendous fun for all, adding an exhilarating twist to Handel's festive masterpiece.

Messiah is scored for strings, oboes, bassoon and trumpets.

There is a cost of £10 for all members attending this event, or a special subsidised rate of £5 for those who graduated in 2020 or after. Following the performance, refreshments will be served in the Old Library.

Book your place. Registration closes on Friday 7 November.

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Emmanuel Society AGM

6:00pm – Robert Gardner Room, Emmanuel College

The Annual General Meeting of the Emmanuel Society for 2025 takes place on Friday 21 November. This meeting is open to all members of the college. Come along to hear about your alumni society's year in review. Refreshments will be served.

Book a place at the AGM

Members are invited to dine at High Table with the Emmanuel Society committee following the meeting. You may make use of your High Table dining privileges to dine as a guest of the college (non-member guests incur a cost).

This must be booked separately to your AGM booking. Please indicate that you would like to request to dine at High Table in the booking form and a member of the Development Office team will be in touch to confirm details.

Information on dining at High Table, including the cost for non-member guests, can be found here.

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Stories from Emma Entrepreneurs: Amy Salzhauer (1993), Founder and Managing Partner at Good Growth Capital

6:00pm – Online, via Zoom

Amy Salzhauer (1993) is Founder and Managing Partner at Good Growth Capital, a majority women-owned venture capital fund that is one of the top-performing funds in the United States. Good Growth Capital finds, funds, and grows superior, defensible technology companies that fill pressing societal needs, creating portfolios that meet impact and workplace diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) metrics while still investing for the highest possible return. Amy was previously the CEO of Ignition Ventures, where she helped start companies worth over US $1 billion out of science labs in areas such as chip-based fuel cells, self-organising networks, selective brain cooling and advanced materials.

Amy has written for magazines like Newsweek, Science, Technology Review, and Harvard Business Review and served as the Assistant Director of a non-profit environmental organisation in Washington D.C. Her recognitions include being selected by the World Economic Forum as one of its one hundred top “Global Leaders for Tomorrow," and being chosen multiple times as a top ‘40 Under 40’ business leader. Amy holds an MBA from MIT; an MPhil in Plant Sciences from Emma, where she was a Herschel Smith Harvard Scholar; and an A.B. magna cum laude from Harvard University.

About the series

Stories from Emma Entrepreneurs brings together members of the college with experience in founding, or working closely with, start-ups and entrepreneurial ventures. Each of these hour-long online sessions sees a member share the highs and lows of their entrepreneurial journeys, and the work of their current venture, followed by a lively Q&A.

Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just interested to learn more about the work of fellow Emma members, you'll take lots away from this series.

Book a place. You will receive a link to join a few days before the event.

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Emma in Tokyo: Drinks meet-up

6:30pm – Virtù, Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi, 1 Chome-2-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 100-0004, Japan

Meet Emma members for relaxed after-work drinks in Tokyo's stylish Virtù bar at Four Seasons Otemachi.

Simon Lebus CBE, Bye-Fellow and Non-Executive Director, Chair and Senior Adviser for various organisations including Raspberry Pi, Duolingo and Clarence Education Asia, will welcome you and share some of the latest college updates.

Members are invited to attend with a guest. Your first drink is on us!

Book your place.

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College and Emmanuel Society Advent Carol Service

6:30pm – The Temple Church, Temple, London, EC4Y 7BB

Members, students, families and friends are invited to the annual College and Society Advent Carol Service at London's Temple Church. Welcome the festive season with the Emmanuel College Chapel Choir, followed by refreshments in the church's 12th century round nave.

This event is open to members of Emmanuel College and their guests.

Please RSVP to help us estimate numbers for refreshments. Early booking is advised to avoid disappointment.

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Emmanuel Society City and Finance Dinner

7:00pm – Haberdashers' Hall, 18 West Smithfield, London, EC1A 9HQ

You are warmly invited to a special evening hosted by the Emmanuel Society at London’s Haberdashers’ Hall.

This special dinner brings together Emmanuel members working in financial services, fintech, investing, and related sectors. Whether you’re reconnecting with familiar faces or meeting new ones across matriculation years and professional paths, this evening is a wonderful opportunity to share experiences, spark conversations, and enjoy a relaxed evening over a delicious three-course meal with wine.

The Master, Doug Chalmers, will be in attendance and will welcome you to the dinner. You’ll enjoy a speech by a special guest speaker after dinner. Details of the evening’s speaker are being finalised and will be shared soon.

Numbers for this special dinner are limited and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Members are welcome to attend with a guest, subject to availability.

Supporting students and recent graduates

As is tradition at these dinners, the Society is delighted to invite undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in a career in finance to this special evening. Students attending will have a rare opportunity to meet, network and explore their ambitions with members working in fields they hope to enter.

This is only possible thanks to the generosity of members who choose to sponsor student places. If you’re able, we warmly invite you to support a student or recent graduate by contributing towards their attendance:

• £140 sponsors a full place
• £70 sponsors half a place

Any contributions not used for this event will go towards supporting student and recent graduate attendance at future Emmanuel Society gatherings.

Booking

The cost is £140 per person, which includes a drink on arrival, three courses, wines, and coffee and petit fours.

A limited number of places are available at £70 per person for those who graduated between 2019 and 2025 (inclusive).

Members are welcome to bring a guest.

The dress code for the evening is lounge suits or equivalent.

Book your place. Booking closes on Thursday 29 January 2026.

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Walking the Mildmay Legacy: Newington Green and Beyond

2:00pm – Outside Canonbury station, Wallace Road, London, N1 2PG

You are invited to join fellow members of Emmanuel College for a fascinating walking tour through 400 years of history around the Newington Green and surrounding Mildmay area, a corner of London deeply connected to the legacy of the college’s founder, Sir Walter Mildmay.

This engaging and accessible walk will explore how the Mildmay name was woven into the fabric of this part of the city, from the historic estate of Sir Walter’s descendants (many of them Emmanuel men) to the 19th-century missionaries and healthcare pioneers who carried the Mildmay name into new realms of social action.

We’ll visit the site of the Mildmay Mission Hospital, born out of the evangelical zeal of William and Catherine Pennefather, whose work with the urban poor and early nursing deaconesses echoed Sir Walter’s own commitment to education, reform, and public service. The tour also takes in Newington Green, a historic hub of dissent and radical thought, home to figures such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Daniel Defoe, and a place where the values of nonconformity and social justice flourished.

Led by guide Debbie Kent, an alumnus of Open City’s Golden Key Academy, this walk offers a unique opportunity to reflect on the broader impact of the Mildmay legacy – not only in the founding of Emmanuel, but in shaping communities, challenging norms, and caring for the vulnerable.

Whether you're interested in college history, social reform, or simply a good story well told, this promises to be a memorable afternoon.

£25 per person. Members are welcome to attend with one guest. Book your place.

Places for this walking tour are limited. Please book early to avoid disappointment.

Registration closes on Monday 23 February 2026.

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Emma Entrepreneurs London Networking Drinks

5:00pm – Bunghole Cellars, 57 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6DT

Following the success of this informal networking event in September 2025, we're delighted to bring it back for March 2026.

Join fellow Emma entrepreneurs, business owners or executives for an evening of conversation, connection and collaboration in Holborn, London.

Whether you’re running a start-up, scaling a business, exploring your next venture or you have lots of experience in venture creation, this is a chance to build your network within the Emma member community.

Grab a drink at the bar on arrival and come ready to share ideas, swap stories, advise and be advised, and make meaningful connections.

There is no cost to attend but registration is essential: book your place.

This event takes place before our regular Emmanuel Society London Drinks event, taking place in the same venue. We’d love you to stay on after!

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Emmanuel Society London Drinks (3 March 2026)

6:00pm – Bunghole Cellars, 57 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6DT

You are warmly invited to our next London Drinks event. This is a great opportunity for networking and a chance to catch up with fellow Emma members from across the subjects and years. As is tradition, there'll be the chance for all attendees to win a bottle of Emmanuel College port.

You don't need to book a place for this event but, to give us an idea of expected numbers, please do register.

RSVP

Gathering of Members (2011, 2012, 2013)

Gathering of Members (2003, 2004 & 2005)