The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a music school, drama school and concert venue in Birmingham, England. It provides professional education in music,

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

, and related disciplines up to postgraduate level. It is a centre for scholarly research and doctorate-level study in areas such as performance practice, composition,

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

and music history. It is the only one of the nine conservatoires in the United Kingdom that is also part of a faculty of a university, in this case Arts, Design and Media at Birmingham City University. It is a member of the

Federation of Drama Schools The Federation of Drama Schools functions to facilitate vocational drama training in the UK. It was formed in June 2017. History A formal organisation for drama training in the UK was first established with the Conference of Drama Schools (CDS) i ...

, and a founder member of Conservatoires UK. The conservatoire houses a 500-seat concert hall and other performance spaces including a recital hall, organ studio, and a dedicated jazz club. It was founded in 1886 as the Birmingham School of Music, the first music school to be established in England outside London.

History

The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire was founded in 1886 as the Birmingham School of Music, grouping together into a single entity the various musical education activities of the Birmingham and Midland Institute. The institute had conducted informal musical instruction from its foundation in 1854, and its predecessor organisation, the Birmingham Philosophical Institution,had held music classes since 1800, but it was in 1859 that music was established as a formal part of the institute's curriculum. In that year, singing classes were begun, which, after some initial struggles, by 1863 had 110 students and were performing regular concerts. In 1876, a proposal was heard at the institute's council that further classes should be established on the model of the Leipzig Conservatoire, and that year the composer Alfred Gaul began teaching classes in the theory of music. In 1882 instrumental classes were started, attracting 458 students on their first year, and a separate music section created within the institute. This was established as the separate "School of Music" in 1886, with

William Stockley William Frederick Paul Stockley (29 June 1859 – 22 July 1943) was an Irish people, Irish academic, Sinn Féin politician and Teachta Dála (TD). Early life W. F. P. Stockley was born in Templeogue, County Dublin, and was educated at Rathmin ...

as its first principal The school's second principal Granville Bantock was recommended for the position by

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

The name 'Birmingham Conservatoire' was adopted in 1989, with its undergraduate diploma and award (GBSM and ABSM) renamed from 'Graduate/Associate of the Birmingham School of Music' to 'Graduate/Associate of the Birmingham Schools of Music', to reflect the internal structure adopted of the Schools of Creative Studies, of Orchestral Studies, of Keyboard Studies, and of Vocal Studies. In 1995, the GBSM degree-equivalent diploma was redesigned to become a full Bachelor of Music (BMus) degree. In 2008, as part of the university's reorganisation of faculties, it became a part of the Faculty of Performance, Media and English (PME), which has since merged to become the Faculty of Arts, Design and Media. As part of the Paradise Circus redevelopment the former site of the Conservatoire was subject to a compulsory purchase by Birmingham City Council. The Conservatoire received £29 million in compensation in a deal agreed in December 2013; this deal included £12.4 million of council expenditure. Designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios the new building on Jennens Road contains teaching and performance space including a 500-seat concert hall to replace

Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London ...

Hall. Building work started in August 2015 and was completed in August 2017. Adrian Boult Hall was demolished in June 2016. The remaining building on Paradise Circus was demolished by April 2018 as part of Phase I of the scheme. In July 2015, Galliford Try were confirmed as principal contractor on a £46 million contract. In 2017 the conservatoire merged with the Birmingham School of Acting, which had been founded as a drama school in 1936, bringing music and drama teaching together into a single organisation. Alumni of the school include

Nicol Williamson Thomas Nicol Williamson (14 September 1936 – 16 December 2011) was a Scottish actor, once described by playwright John Osborne as "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando". He was also described by Samuel Beckett as "touched by genius" and view ...

, Tom Lister, Catherine Tyldesley,

Rachel Bright Rachel Bright is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Poppy Meadow in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Career Bright was introduced as Poppy Meadow on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in two episodes on 11 and 13 January 2011, ...

, Barbara Keogh, Luke Mably, James Bradshaw,

Stephen Laughton Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...

Jeffrey Holland Jeffrey Holland may refer to: *Jeffrey Holland (actor) (born 1946), English television actor *Jeffrey R. Holland (born 1940), American educator and leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints *Jeffrey Scott Holland (born 1966), Americ ...

, David Holt, Anna Brewster, Jimi Mistry,

Helen George Helen Elizabeth George (born 19 June 1984) is an English actress, best known for playing Trixie Franklin on the BBC drama series ''Call the Midwife''. In 2015, she participated in the thirteenth series of BBC One's '' Strictly Come Dancing''; ...

, Ainsley Howard

Nicholas Gledhill Nicholas Martin Gledhill (born 7 March 1975) is an Australian film, stage actor, voice artist, writer and choreographer Biography Gledhill was born in Sydney to parents Bobbie Gledhill and actor Arthur Dignam. He grew up in Glebe, New South Wa ...

and Amanda Leigh Owen, John Arthur, Tony Bowers, Jeffrey Chiswick,

James Duggan James Duggan (May 22, 1825 – March 27, 1899) was an Irish-American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Chicago from 1859 to 1869, officially resigning in 1880. Biography Early years James D ...

, Anthony Higgins,

Annie Hayes Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

, Paul Henry, Karl Johnson,

Mike Kinsey Mike Kinsey (born 1939) is an English actor turned politician. Kinsey is best known for playing the part of Gunner 'Nosher' Evans in the BBC sitcom ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum''. Amongst other roles, he has also played a reporter in the 1976 drama ' ...

Lloyd McGuire Lloyd McGuire (born 2 September 1947) is an English actor in film and television. Education Born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, McGuire attended Bournville Grammar-Technical School for Boys. He began work as a Commercial Apprentice at the Austin ...

, Jeremy Nicholas, Larry Rew, John Rowe, Michael Strobel, Lynne Verrall, and

Brian Weston Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word mea ...

. On 24 September 2017 the conservatoire was granted Royal status by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

The conservatoire

In 2003, there were around 600 students enrolled in the Conservatoire's undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. Subjects include solo performance, composition,

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

, orchestral playing, music technology and jazz. Students on the four-year BMus(Hons) are encouraged to spend time studying in Europe or the USA. In their ''Junior Department'', training for children aged 8 to 18 years takes place weekly on Saturdays during the local school term. The museum has a notable collection of musical instruments.

Departments

*Brass *Chamber Music *Composition *Conducting (Choral) *Conducting (Orchestral) *Early music *Jazz *Keyboard *Music Technology *Percussion *Performing Ensembles *Strings *Vocal & Operatic *Woodwind

Performances

Conservatoire students perform regularly in the conservatoire's concert venues, and also nationally often at Symphony Hall Birmingham and

Birmingham Town Hall Birmingham Town Hall is a concert hall and venue for popular assemblies opened in 1834 and situated in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England. It is a Grade I listed building. The hall underwent a major renovation between 2002 and 2007. It no ...

and internationally under such conductors as

Sir Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British-German conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principal ...

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

, Sakari Oramo, Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla, Paul Spicer and Jeffrey Skidmore. The conservatoire collaborates with other schools of music, colleges, academies and conservatoires worldwide, including participating in the Erasmus student and staff exchange programme.

Courses offered

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire offers training from pre-college level (Junior Conservatoire) to PhD. * Bachelor of Music honours degrees ** BMus (Hons) Performance ** BMus (Hons) Jazz ** BMus (Hons) Composition ** BMus (Hons) Music Technology * Bachelor of Science

honours degree Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, or ...

** BSc (Hons) Music Technology * Graduate Diploma in Jazz * Postgraduate Certificate ** PgCert * Postgraduate Diploma ** PgDip (Music) ** PgDip (Musical Theatre) — to be delivered jointly with Birmingham School of Acting * Advanced Postgraduate Diploma ** Advanced PgDip * Master of Music ** MMus * Master of Philosophy ** MPhil * Doctor of Philosophy ** PhD

People

Principals

(1886–1900) * Granville Bantock (1900–1934) * Allen Blackhall (1934–1945) * Christopher Edmunds (1945–1956) * (Management Committee) (1956–1957) * Sir Steuart Wilson (1957–1960) * Gordon Clinton (1960–1973) * John Bishop (1973–1975) * Louis Carus (1975–1987) * Roy Wales (1987–1989) * Kevin Thompson (1989–1993) * George Caird (1993-2010) * David Saint (2010-2015) * Julian Lloyd Webber (2015–2020)

Staff

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire has around 80 full-time members of staff that include active professional musicians, performers, composers, conductors and scholars. In addition, nearly 250 hspecialist tutors, musicians and scholars visit the conservatoire to give classes and guest lectures or to serve as visiting faculty members. Notable current and former staff and visiting guest artists include: * Meyrick Alexander - bassoonist * Stephen Barlow - conductor * Ed Bennett - composer; leader/conductor, decibel *

Mark Bebbington Mark Bebbington (born 17 January 1972) is a British concert pianist. He is a notable advocate of British music. Biography Mark Bebbington studied at the Royal College of Music with Kendall Taylor and Phyllis Sellick and later in Italy with Aldo ...

- pianist * Nicola Benedetti - violinist *

Christian Blackshaw Christian Charles Blackshaw (born 18 January 1949, in Cheshire, England) is a British classical pianist. He was educated at The King's School, Macclesfield. In his teens he played oboe (as well as piano) in the Stockport Youth Orchestra in Gr ...

- pianist * Arno Bornkamp - saxophonist *

Margaret Cookhorn Margaret Cookhorn is a British classical contrabassoonist and bassoonist. She is Principal Contrabassoon and Bassoon with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, bassoonist with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and, notably, has pursu ...

- contrabassoonist *

Philip Cobb Signalman is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is a member of Batman's rogues gallery. Publication history Signalman first appeared in ''Batman'' #112 (December 1957), and was created by Bill F ...

- trumpeter * Rutland Boughton - composer *

- composer * George Caird - oboist * Jiafeng Chen - violinist *

Jiaxin Cheng Jiaxin Cheng ( zh, c=程嘉欣, links=no, born 2 October 1974) is a Chinese-born cellist. Career Cheng graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, China, in 1997. She was already giving performances with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra but ...

- cellist * Gary Cooper – conductor, harpsichordist *

Joe Cutler Joe Cutler (born London, 17 December 1968) is a British composer who grew up in Neasden and studied music at the Universities of Huddersfield and Durham, before receiving a Polish Government Scholarship to study at the Chopin Academy of Music i ...

- composer * Nicholas Daniel - oboist * Danielle de Niese - soprano * Andrew Downes - composer *

Tony Dudley-Evans Tony Dudley-Evans is Jazz Adviser to the Jazzlines programme at Town Hall/Symphony Hall Birmingham and Programme Adviser to the Cheltenham Jazz Festival. He now sees himself as a jazz promoter, but he was for many years a British linguist and expe ...

* Henry Fairs - organist * Catrin Finch - harpist * Margaret Fingerhut - pianist *

Byron Fulcher Byron Fulcher (born 1970) is a British musician who is the principal trombone with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the London Sinfonietta. In addition, he is professor of trombone at the Royal College of Music. Early life and education Byron wa ...

- trombonist * James Galway - flautist * James Gilchrist - tenor *

Rivka Golani Rivka Golani ( he, רבקה גולני , born 22 March 1946) is a world–renowned Israeli-born viola player. She has performed as soloist with many orchestras throughout the world including the Boston Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Royal Conc ...

- violist * Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla - conductor * Simon Halsey - conductor * Stephen Hough - pianist *

Leonidas Kavakos Leonidas Kavakos ( el, Λεωνίδας Καβάκος; born 30 October 1967) is a Greek violinist and conductor. As a violinist, he has won prizes at several international violin competitions, including the Sibelius, Paganini, Naumburg, and In ...

- violinist * Sheku Kanneh-Mason - cellist *

Miloš Karadaglić Miloš Karadaglić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милош Карадаглић, born 23 April 1983), sometimes known just by his mononym Miloš, is a classical guitarist and Deutsche Grammophon/ Mercury Classics recording artist from Montenegro. Biograph ...

- guitarist *

Jonathan Kelly Jonathan Kelly (born Jonathan Ledingham, 8 July 1947 – 2 May 2020) was an Irish folk rock singer-songwriter, who enjoyed a varied career in music, playing with many musicians and groups, including Eric Clapton and Tim Staffell. He formed Jon ...

- oboe *

Hans Koller Antonio Hans Cyrill Koller (12 February 1921 in Vienna – 21 December 2003 in Vienna) was an Austrian jazz tenor saxophonist and bandleader. Koller attended the University of Vienna from 1936 to 1939 and served in the armed forces from 1940 to 1 ...

- pianist; composer; bandleader *

Stephen Kovacevich Stephen Kovacevich (born October 17, 1940) is an American classical pianist and conductor. He is particularly celebrated for his recordings of works by Beethoven, Bartók and Schubert, and is known for technical skill, clarity of playing and an ...

* Justin Lavender - vocal * Robert Levin - harpsichord/fortepiano * Tasmin Little - violinist * Julian Lloyd Webber - cellist *

Louis Lortie Louis Lortie, OC, CQ (born 27 April 1959) is a Canadian ( Québécois) pianist. Education Born in Montreal, Lortie made his debut with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra at the age of thirteen and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra three years l ...

- pianist * Rupert Marshall-Luck - violinist * Philip Martin - pianist * Denis Matthews - pianist *

Melinda Maxwell Melinda Maxwell (born 1953 in London) is an English oboist and composer. She is principal oboist of the ensemble Endymion and the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, and a regularly principal of the London Sinfonietta. She has been an academic t ...

- oboist *

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...

- composer * Amos Miller - trombonist *

Daniel Moult Daniel Moult (born 1973) is a concert organist, educator and animateur, ensemble player and presenter of films about music. Education Daniel Moult was born in Manchester. He attended Manchester Grammar School and St John's College, Oxford, wher ...

- organist *

Tai Murray Tai Murray (born ) is an American violinist. According to Murray, she became interested in the violin when her parents "put a pencil case with a toy violin in my hand when I was five". Born in Chicago, Illinois, Murray made her concert debut with t ...

- violinist *

Pascal Nemirovski Pascal Nemirovski (born 1962) is a French pianist. In 1981, he was admitted to the Juilliard School on full scholarship (Steinway & Freundlich Fund) and studied with Nadia Reisenberg, pupil of Josef Hofmann and Adele Marcus, pupil of Josef Lhevi ...

- pianist * Liam Noble - pianist; composer; bandleader * Craig Ogden - guitarist * Edwin Roxburgh - composer; conductor; oboist *

Howard Skempton Howard While Skempton (born 31 October 1947) is an English composer, pianist, and accordionist. Since the late 1960s, when he helped to organise the Scratch Orchestra, he has been associated with the English school of experimental music. Skempt ...

- composer; accordionist * Jeffrey Skidmore - conductor, Ex Cathedra *

Dmitry Sitkovetsky Dmitry Yulianovich Sitkovetsky (russian: Дмитрий Юлианович Ситковецкий; born September 27, 1954) is a Soviet-Russian born classical violinist, conductor and arranger, most notably of an arrangement for strings of J. S. ...

- violinist; conductor * Paul Spicer - conductor * Mike Stevens (saxophonist) - musical director * Simon de Souza - horn * Errollyn Wallen - composer *

Michael Wolters Michael Wolters is a British composer of German origin. He was born in 1971 in Mönchengladbach, Germany, grew up in Niederkrüchten, a small German village on the Dutch border and now lives in Birmingham, UK. After working as a care worker in ...

- composer * Jian Wang (cellist) - cellist *

Mary Wiegold's Songbook Mary Wiegold’s Songbook is a collection of songs for soprano and, usually, an ensemble of two clarinets, viola, cello and double bass which were written at the invitation of the soprano Mary Wiegold and the composer John Woolrich. Around two hundr ...

- vocalist * Sarah Willis - horn * Barry Wordsworth - conductor *

Di Xiao Di Xiao () is a classical piano soloist originally from China, named in the top 10 up and coming Chinese pianists by International Piano Magazine in 2009.Nancy Pellegrini: ”On The Rise", "International Piano Magazine", No 62, March/April 2009 ...

- pianist * Ivan Yanakov (pianist) - pianist *

Xuefei Yang Xuefei Yang (; born March 15, 1977) is a People's Republic of China, Chinese classical guitarist. Early years Yang was born in Beijing in 1977, and began playing the guitar when she was seven. Three years later, she started studying under Chen ...

- guitarist *

Lauren Zhang Lauren Zhang (born in December 2001) is an American-born pianist who won the BBC's Young Musician Contest in May 2018. In 2010, Zhang moved with her parents to Birmingham, United Kingdom, where she studied music at the junior department of Royal ...

- pianist

Fellows

* Gildas Quartet - Junior Fellows

Alumni

* Ben Lee - jazz mandolin player *

Richard van Allan Richard Van Allan CBE (28 May 1935 – 4 December 2008) was a versatile British operatic bass singer who had a lengthy career. He sang varied repertoire at Covent Garden and English National Opera, as well as at numerous important houses worldw ...

- opera singer *

Nicola Coughlan Nicola Mary Coughlan (born 9 January 1987) is an Irish actress. She is known for her roles as Clare Devlin in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Derry Girls'' (2018–2022) and Penelope Featherington in the Netflix period drama ''Bridgerton'' (2020–presen ...

- actress * Fred Thelonius Baker - guitarist, bassist *

Dave Cliff Dave Cliff (born 25 June 1944) is a British jazz guitarist. Career Cliff was born in Hexham, Northumberland. In 1967, he moved to Leeds and gained a diploma in jazz studies from Leeds College of Music while studying with bassist Peter Ind an ...

- jazz guitarist *

Krzysztof Czerwiński Krzysztof Czerwinski (born January 13, 1980) is a Polish conductor, organist and voice teacher. Czerwinski studied at Wieniawski School of music (Poznań, Poland), Eastman School of Music (University of Rochester, New York, US) and Birmingham ...

- organist; conductor * Henry Fairs - organist *

Brian Ferneyhough Brian John Peter Ferneyhough (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer. Ferneyhough is typically considered the central figure of the New Complexity movement. Ferneyhough has taught composition at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and ...

- composer * Mark Gasser - pianist * Duncan Honeybourne - pianist *

Albert Ketèlbey Albert William Ketèlbey (; born Ketelbey; 9 August 1875 – 26 November 1959) was an English composer, conductor and pianist, best known for his short pieces of light orchestral music. He was born in Birmingham and moved to Lon ...

- composer, conductor * Jim Moray - singer, producer *

Laura Mvula Laura Mvula ( Douglas; born 23 April 1986) is a British singer. A native of Birmingham, England, Mvula has gained experience as a young member or leader of a cappella, jazz/neo-soul and gospel groups and choirs. She was classically trained. In ...

- singer *

Michael Rayner Michael Rayner (6 December 1932 – 13 July 2015)Mackie, David. "Obituaries: Michael Rayner", ''Gilbert and Sullivan News'', Vol. V, No. 9, Autumn/Winter 2015, pp. 17–18, The Gilbert and Sullivan Society was an English opera singer, best kno ...

- opera singer *

Jean Rigby Jean Rigby (born 22 December 1954) is an English opera and concert singer. A mezzo-soprano, she is a long-time principal with the English National Opera. Biography Born in Fleetwood, Lancashire, Rigby studied at the Birmingham School of Music and ...

- opera singer *

Rhydian Roberts Rhydian James Roberts (born 14 February 1983), also known mononymously as Rhydian, is a Welsh baritone singer, television presenter and musical theatre actor. He made his name by finishing second in series 4 of ''The X Factor'', and has since ...

- singer *

Michael Seal Michael Seal (born 3 May 1970) is a British orchestral conductor and classical violinist. Since 2011 he has served as the Associate Conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), having served previously as the orchestra's Assistan ...

- violinist, conductor,

CBSO The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. It is the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall: a B:Music Venue in Birmingham, which has been its principal performance venue since 1991. Its a ...

* Mike Stevens - musical director, producer *

Ian Venables Ian Venables (born 1955) is a British composer of art songs and chamber music. Biography Ian Venables was born in Liverpool in 1955 and was educated at Liverpool Collegiate Grammar School. He studied music with Richard Arnell at the Trinity ...

- composer * Segun Akinola - composer

Venues

* The Bradshaw Hall, formerly known as The Concert Hall, 500 seats * Recital Hall, 150 seats * Organ Studio, 100 seats * Eastside Jazz Club, 80 seats * Experimental Music Lab

References

Bibliography

* * *Morley, Christopher. Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, 2017, Elliott & Thompson

External links

* *
The history of Birmingham Conservatoire

History & Origins Of Birmingham City University
{{Authority control Education in Birmingham, West Midlands Music schools in England Conservatoire Buildings and structures in Birmingham, West Midlands Culture in Birmingham, West Midlands Musical instrument museums Educational institutions established in 1886 1886 establishments in England

History

The conservatoire

Departments

Performances

Courses offered

People

Principals

Staff

Fellows

Alumni

Venues

See also

References

Bibliography

External links