‘Thank you for the music lessons, you are the funniest people I have ever worked with. I thought it was a great experience. ps the concert was wicked!’
If you have an image of a conservatoire of music as a dull, venerable institution populated entirely by neurotic divas and desiccated professors, you should think again. The comment above was made about students and staff from the Royal Academy of Music (RAM), the UK’s oldest conservatoire (founded in 1822), in response to an education project which they ran in the East End Borough of Tower Hamlets.
It’s just one example of how conservatoires are changing. Click on to their vibrant websites, open a colourful prospectus or slot one of their promotional DVDs into your computer and you will see, and hear, that far from being stuck in the 19th century, most are positioning themselves firmly in the 21st.
The point is underlined by Professor Edward Gregson, Principal of the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in Manchester and Chairman of umbrella organisation Conservatoires UK, (www.cukas.ac.uk), itself an exemplar of the new environment. Gregson says the aim of conservatoires today is to prepare students for the realities of the working world: ‘We try to train our students for a portfolio career where they may have three or four strands of work to their income streams,’ says Gregson. ‘Typically this may include some teaching, some freelance playing, some work in the community and some personal entrepreneurial work.’
conservatoires are changing,
positioned firmly in the 21st century
The approach acknowledges the fact that not all musicians who embark upon classical training will make it to the top of the tree as solo performers; others may have no aspirations in that direction at all. But it also encourages those who do have their sights set on the concert stage to widen their horizons and delve into experiences that may enrich their musical personalities. Whereas in the past it was possible to pass through a conservatoire with a limited knowledge of anything other than technique and the repertoire of one’s own instrument, undergraduate degrees which are validated by associate universities and include a wide range of academic and supporting studies are now the norm.
That said, for those who are single-mindedly committed to one instrument or vocal discipline, the traditional opportunity of intensive study with an eminent teacher and several hours a day of individual practice is still available, Dominic Sewell was recently funded by the PRS Foundation to do a two-year Masters degree at the Royal College of Music (whose famous alumnae include Benjamin Britten and Michael Tippett): ‘The RCM was fantastic,’ he says. ‘I studied with two very contrasting teachers, Joseph Horowitz and Timothy Salter, and learnt an enormous amount from them. I found the school of composition very open-minded and ecumenical, with lots of opportunities for cross-fertilisation between different musical genres.’ The RCM is still a mecca for composition students as well as for instrumentalists and singers.
Another aspect of conservatoire life that has changed for the better in recent years is that students at all conservatoires are supported by staff dedicated to ensuring they are prepared to move on in to the working world. Many students now come from overseas, for example, the RAM has students from more than 50 countries.
Alumnae of the RAM include countless famous names: conductors, John Barbirolli and Simon Rattle, pianist Dame Myra Hess, and composers Arthur Sullivan, Richard Rodney Bennett, Harrison Birtwistle and Michael Nyman, not to mention Elton John and, more recently, Katherine Jenkins, Myleene Klass and Ian Watkins of Steps and Celebrity Big Brother fame. But, says Principal Curtis Price, ‘we have no intention of resting on our laurels. Outstanding new teachers are constantly recruited, the curriculum is constantly reviewed and updated, new programmes are introduced and the latest technology applied.’
While broadening the scope of their activities and enhancing their facilities with state-of-the art performance spaces, recording studios, computer suites and libraries has been a general trend, there has also been a tendency for conservatoires to develop their own specialities, often in partnership with other institutions. One of the most complete metamorphoses has been that of the London College of Music, its old central London premises was one of the last to shake off the cobwebs of the 19th century. It moved to Ealing, reinvented itself as the London College of Music and Media, became part of Thames Valley University, and now specialises in composition for film, television and new media, offering a wide range of multidisciplinary courses within its faculties of arts, design and technology.
The largest music college in the UK and the only one to offer both Higher and Further Education courses is Leeds College of Music (LMN). It is the most recent institution to have been awarded conservatoire status, plugging a geographical gap in provision. Its particular strength is jazz, and it has recently launched the Centre for Jazz Studies UK.
Percussionist Colin Currie and composer James MacMillan are probably the best-known graduates of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD), though they are currently somewhat eclipsed by Dr Who star David Tennant, an alumnus of the Drama department. With trumpeter John Wallace as Principal the RSAMD is gaining an increasing reputation for brass teaching, and it also offers the only honours degree in Scottish Traditional Music in the world. Wallace cites the vibrant cultural life of Glasgow as a major attraction for students.
The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, (RWCMD), based in Cardiff, is unique within the conservatoire sector in providing advanced professional training in the production and performance of Popular Music. For Principal Edmund Fivet, it is a personal approach that sets RWCMD apart and makes it a special place: ‘Our students experience a down-to-earth, friendly atmosphere with support and encouragement from a wide network of individuals, giving them the confidence to explore their talents to the full,’ he says.
Most UK conservatoires have embarked upon ambitious modernisation programmes. In Manchester, the RNCM is about to open its Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, a pioneering development backed by funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
students are prepared to move
in to the working world
Sir Christopher Wren’s Old Royal Naval College at Greenwich, south London is the home of Trinity College of Music, after it moved from its historic premises in London’s West End. Modernisation has come about not only as a result of this move but also thanks to the legacy of the college’s dynamic out-going Principal, Gavin Henderson. It extends to fostering links with the local community, both by outreach activities and by purchasing the nearby Blackheath Concert Halls as an additional performance venue, and, crucially, by negotiating the merger of Trinity with the Laban Dance Centre, housed in spectacular new premises in neighbouring Deptford, to create the UK’s first conservatoire for music and dance.
Recent expansion plans have been announced by Guildhall School of Music and Drama, which is owned and largely funded by the Corporation of London, along with greater collaboration with the Barbican Centre, with which it shares premises. Barry Ife, Principal of Guildhall School of Music and Drama and John Tusa, the Barbican’s managing director have worked closely together with the aim of breaking down the artificial barriers that have existed between the two institutions and increasing their collaboration. The result, according to both men, should have a huge impact on the artistic life of the capital as well as to Guildhall students.
And it isn’t only the London-based conservatoires that are expanding and modernising. UCE Birmingham Conservatoire will benefit later this year from the reopening of Birmingham Town Hall, right on its doorstep, as a state-of-the-art venue to complement nearby Symphony Hall - widely acknowledged to be the finest concert hall in the UK.
Clearly, conservatoire education has changed dramatically over the last decade and is not sitting on its laurels. As Gregson says: ‘It is no longer centred entirely on producing the next generation of orchestral players, chamber music soloists, composer, opera singers and so on. The curriculum in most UK conservatoires is now very wide-ranging and includes experiential options, placements within professional music performance organisations, and opportunities to get involved in outreach, educational and community work.’