Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has undergraduate and postgraduate students based at three campuses in Greenwich (Trinity), Deptford and New Cross (Laban).

Faculty of Music

History

Trinity College of Music was founded in central London in 1872 by Henry George Bonavia Hunt to improve the teaching of church music. The College began as the Church Choral Society, whose diverse activities included choral singing classes and teaching instruction in church music. Gladstone was an early supporter during these years. A year later, in 1873, the college became the College of Church Music, London. In 1876 the college was incorporated as the Trinity College London. Initially, only male students could attend and they had to be members of the Church of England. In 1881, the College moved to Mandeville Place off Wigmore Street in Central London, which remained its home for over a hundred years. The college took over various neighbouring buildings in Mandeville Place. These were finally united in 1922 with the addition of a Grecian portico, and substantial internal reconstruction to create a first floor concert hall and an impressive staircase. However, other parts of the college retained a complicated layout reflecting its history as three separate buildings. The building is now occupied by the School of Economic Science. Trinity moved to its present home in Greenwich in 2001. The east wing of King Charles Court was constructed by John Webb as part of a rebuilding of Greenwich Palace; it was subsequently absorbed into the Royal Naval Hospital complex, designed in part by Sir

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...

, which had later become part of the

Royal Naval College Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

(RNC). To make the buildings suitable for Trinity's use and remove the accretions of a century of RNC occupation required a substantial refurbishment programme. Work to provide new recital rooms revealed that the building's core incorporates masonry from the Tudor palace. The overall cost of the move to Greenwich was £17 million.

Junior Trinity

Many of the college's staff also teach at Junior Trinity, a Saturday music school for exceptional young musicians who are keen on pursuing a musical career. Junior Trinity offers instrumental and vocal tuition for children and young people ages 5–19, along with GCSE and A-Level courses in Music and Music Technology for older students. Many students of Junior Trinity often continue their musical studies at top conservatoires and universities across the country. Trinity was the first music college to create such a department, and many conservatoires have now followed in Trinity's steps.

Admission

Admission into the Faculty of Music is by competitive auditions, held annually in November or December and March or April. The Faculty of Dance asks for similar qualifications and entry is also by audition; auditions are held at Trinity Laban itself and also at selected venues across Europe and the US. The Conservatoire has an acceptance rate of around 9.9% making Trinity Laban one of the most selective schools in the UK and Europe.

Trinity College London

Trinity College London was founded in 1877 as the external examinations board of Trinity College of Music. Today, the board's examinations are taken by students in over 60 countries, giving external students the opportunity to attain qualifications across a range of disciplines in the

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

and arts education and English language learning and teaching. Trinity College London is based at the Blue Fin Building in central London. Trinity College London validated Trinity College of Music's Graduate Diploma (the GTCL) before it was replaced by the BMus model in 1997.

Trinity College of Music's historical association with the Masonic Order

Trinity College of Music has an historical association with Freemasonry, with the Trinity College Lodge No 1765 being founded in 1878 by seven early teaching members of the college who were freemasons, including the founder, the Reverend Henry George Bonavia Hunt. In the past, freemasonry was an important though private feature of the life of the College, among both members of staff and the undergraduate and postgraduate men. Trinity College Lodge is no longer associated with the college, since no member of the college belongs to it. However, by co-incidence, the College's patron, the Duke of Kent, has been Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England since 1968.

Faculty of Dance

History

Laban Dance Centre was founded in Manchester as the Art of Movement Studio by Rudolf Laban, an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

dancer, choreographer and a dance/movement theoretician. In 1958, the school moved from Manchester to Addlestone in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, and then in 1975 to New Cross in London, where it was renamed the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance. In 1997, it was renamed the Laban Centre London. In 2002, the centre moved to newly built premises in Deptford and was renamed Laban.

The faculty today

Laban offers undergraduate, postgraduate (including Transitions), among other courses. The Faculty of Dance also provides classes for adults and young people on the local community, including the Centre for Advanced Training. In 2019, the London International Screen Dance Festival was introduced by the institution. Laban Creekside (Deptford) includes 13 purpose-built dance studios; eight with ballet barres, the 300-seat

Bonnie Bird Theatre Bonnie Bird Theatre is the 300-seat main performing venue of the Laban Dance Centre of the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, England. The Laban Centre was erected in 2002, designed by winners of the Pritzker Architecture Pr ...

, a smaller studio theatre, and a dance library. Laban Laurie Grove (New Cross) also has a number of studios and performance laboratories.

Architecture award

Pritzker Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produ ...

in 2001 and who also designed the Tate Modern and the

National Stadium in Beijing The National Stadium (), also known as the Bird's Nest (), is an 80,000-capacity stadium in Beijing. The stadium was jointly designed by architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron from Basel-based architecture team Herzog & de Meuron, pr ...

for the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

), the centre's building in Deptford won the Stirling Prize for Architecture in 2003. Herzog and de Meuron collaborated with visual artist Michael Craig-Martin to create the building. The building includes an eco-technological roof known as a "brown roof". After parts of the building's cladding were damaged by Storm Eunice in February 2022, The Twentieth Century Society repeated 2020 calls for the Deptford building to be listed, so that any repairs respected the building's design quality. If it was added to the Heritage List for England it would become its first 21st century building.

Notable alumni

Music

* Howard Arman (conductor) * Peter Arnold (pianist) *

Sir Granville Bantock Sir Granville Ransome Bantock (7 August 186816 October 1946) was a British composer of classical music. Biography Granville Ransome Bantock was born in London. His father was an eminent Scottish surgeon.Hadden, J. Cuthbert, 1913, ''Modern Musi ...

(composer) * Sir John Barbirolli (conductor, CH) *

Helen Bower Helen Bower (born 1985) is a British-born violinist and sound artist. She is known for her experimentation with violin and loop station, particularly through her "...the Looping Glass" series. Whilst living in Melbourne, Australia, she was Presid ...

(violinist) * Thomas Bowes (violinist) *

Mairead Carlin Mairead, Máiréad or Mairéad, is a feminine name and the Irish variation of the given name Margaret, which is believed to mean "pearl". Another spelling variation is Maighread, which is the dominant Scottish Gaelic spelling of the name. It may ...

(singer) *

Edith Coates Edith Mary Coates OBE (31 May 1908 – 7 January 1983) was an English operatic mezzo-soprano. After studying in London at Trinity College of Music she joined Lilian Baylis's theatre company at the Old Vic in 1924 and then became a chorus member ...

(mezzo-soprano,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

) *

Avril Coleridge-Taylor Gwendolen Avril Coleridge-Taylor (8 March 190321 December 1998) was an English pianist, conductor, and composer. She was the daughter of composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and his wife Jessie (née Walmisley). Personal life She was born in South ...

(pianist, conductor, composer) *

Deva Deva may refer to: Entertainment * ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film * ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film * ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film * Deva (2007 Telugu film) * ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film * Deva ...

(composer, singer) *

Wilberforce Echezona Wilberforce William Chukudinka Echezona was a Nigerian musicologist and a pioneer teacher of music in Nigerian universities. He was the first Igbo man to be educated at London's Trinity College of Music, and the first African to obtain a degree ...

, musicologist * Predrag Gosta (conductor, harpsichordist) * Gavin Greenaway (composer) * Heather Harper (soprano, CBE) *

Stjepan Hauser Stjepan Hauser (; born 15 June 1986), known professionally as HAUSER, is a Croatian cellist. He is a member of 2CELLOS, along with Luka Šulić. Early life and musical training Hauser was born in Pula, Croatia, into a musical family, where h ...

(

2Cellos 2CELLOS (stylized 2CΞLLOS) were a Croatian cellist duo, consisting of classically trained cellists Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser. Signed to Sony Masterworks since 2011, they released six albums. They played instrumental arrangements of well ...

) (cellist) *

Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...

(composer, singer, songwriter) * Albert Ketèlbey (composer) *

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the p ...

(musician, activist) *

Sunny Li Li Yun (), popularly known as Sunny Li, is a Chinese concert pianist. Based in London, Li studied at the Royal Academy of Music and Royal Northern College of Music prior to performing at venues around Europe. Biography In 2011, Sunny Li relea ...

(pianist) * Amaal Mallik (composer, singer) * Mantovani Andrew Matthews-Owen (pianist / accompanist) * Cecilia McDowall (composer) * Salim Merchant (composer) * Mickey J. Meyer (composer) * Tom Misch (producer, composer, singer, guitarist) *

Eric Parkin Eric Parkin (24 March 1924 – 3 February 2020) was an English pianist. Parkin was born in Stevenage and attended Alleynes Grammar School there. He studied at Trinity College of Music with the Anglo-French pianist Frank Laffitte and with George ...

(pianist) * Margaret Price (soprano, DBE) *

Marcella Puppini Marcella Puppini is an Italian singer, songwriter, and the founder of The Puppini Sisters. Biography Marcella Puppini started playing the piano at age five and hoped to become an opera singer. At the age of 18, having completed her A levels i ...

(singer) * A. R. Rahman (composer, singer, songwriter) *

Anirudh Ravichander Anirudh Ravichander (born 16 October 1990), also known Mononymous person, mononymously as Anirudh, is an Indian film scorer music composer music producer singer and instrumentalist who primarily works in Tamil films. He is the son of actor Ra ...

(composer, music director, singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, instrumentalist, conductor) *

Amy Shuard Amy Shuard CBE (19 July 192418 April 1975) was an English operatic soprano renowned in such dramatic roles as Elektra, Turandot and Brünnhilde. She created both title roles in Janáček's ''Káťa Kabanová'' and ''Jenůfa'' in their respective ...

(soprano, CBE) *

Iyad Sughayer Iyad Sughayer (born 16 October 1993 in Amman) is a Jordanian-Palestinian classical pianist. Sughayer started playing the piano at the age of five and studied at the National Music Conservatory (NMC) in Amman, Jordan. He was taught by the piano ...

(pianist) * Lana Trotovšek (violinist) * Philip Turbett (bassoonist) * Barry Wordsworth (conductor)

Dance

* Lea Anderson (choreographer, artistic director, MBE) * Radhika Apte (actress) * Cressida Bonas (actress) * Sir Matthew Bourne (choreographer,

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

) *

Bilinda Butcher Bilinda Jayne Butcher (born 16 September 1961) is an English musician and singer-songwriter, best known as a vocalist and guitarist of the shoegaze band My Bloody Valentine. Early life Butcher was born and raised in London and later reloc ...

(vocalist/guitarist of My Bloody Valentine) *

Chisato Minamimura Chisato Minamimura is a British dancer and choreographer. She is deaf and a British Sign Language user. Background Minamimura was born in Tokyo, Japan, and became deaf as a baby, after a treatment for a fever. As a child, she attended mainstream ...

(Japanese dancer and choreographer) *

Anjali Jay Anjali Jay (born 9 August 1975) is a British actress, writer and dancer. She trained as a dancer (Bharatanatyam and Contemporary) and has performed since the age of 7. Jay has had an extensive career in theatre, including working with the Ro ...

(actress and dancer) *

Jessica Ward Jessica may refer to: Given name * Jessica (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters with this name * Jessica Folcker, a Swedish singer known by the mononym Jessica * Jessica Jung, a Korean-American singer known by the m ...

(dance educator) * Nighat Chaudhry (Kathak Dancer)

Notable staff

Current and former staff include: * Deniz Arman Gelenbepiano, Head of Piano Department 2007–2016, Juilliard School BM, MSc, student of Adele Marcus and Gyorgy Sandor * Richard Arnellformer Professor of Composition * Peter ArnoldProfessor of Piano *

Mulatu Astatke Mulatu Astatke (; French pronunciation: Astatqé; born 19 December 1943) is an Ethiopian musician and arranger considered as the father of "Ethio-jazz". Born in Jimma, Mulatu was musically trained in London, New York City, and Boston where he ...

conga drums *

Issie Barratt Issie Barratt (born 29 November 1964) is a British composer, known for her work in Big Band jazz and jazz education. Career Issie has been awarded commissions by the Philharmonia Orchestra, The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Bohuslä ...

composer *

Gabriele Baldocci Gabriele Baldocci (born May 10, 1980 in Livorno, Italy) is an Italian pianist and composer naturalised British. Baldocci is known worldwide for performing with the legendary Argentinean pianist Martha Argerich After studying with Ilio Barontin ...

- piano * Andrew Bernardi-violinist * Oliver Butterworthformer Professor of Violin *

Nicholas Clapton Nicholas Clapton (born 16 September 1955) is an English countertenor, singing-teacher and author. Life and career Clapton was born in Worcester, England and read music at Magdalen College, Oxford. He studied singing with David Mason and Dia ...

singer (former Professor of Singing) * Natalie Cleincello * Christine CroshawProfessor of Piano, Chamber Music and Accompaniment * Alison CrumProfessor of Viola da gamba, member of the

Rose Consort of Viols The Rose Consort of Viols is an English ensemble of viol players who perform mainly early consort music, including works by Orlando Gibbons, John Dowland, and Henry Purcell. They have performed around the world at many events, have appeared a n ...

* Meredith DaviesPrincipal 1979–88 * Graham Anthony Devineclassical guitar * Terry Edwardsconductor *

Myers Foggin Myers Foggin (23 December 1908 – 1986) was an English concert pianist and conductor. Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London from 19271932. His teachers included the compos ...

CBEPrincipal * Philip Fowkepiano *

Sophie Fuller Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia, meaning "wise". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess of ...

Musicology * Harry Gabborgan professor *

Henry Geehl Henry Ernest Geehl ronounced 'Gale'(28 September 188114 January 1961) was an English pianist, conductor, composer and arranger. Born in London in 1881, Geehl studied piano with Benno Schönberger and R. O. Morgan in London, and with Anton Sch ...

conductor, composer, pianist * Rivka Golaniviola *

Philip Jones Philip, Phillip, Phil or Phill Jones may refer to: Sports *Phil Jones (American football) (born 1946), American football coach * Phil Jones (footballer, born 1961), English footballer who played for Sheffield United in the Football League * Phil J ...

former Professor of Trumpet (founder of the

Philip Jones Brass Ensemble The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, founded in 1951 by trumpeter Philip Jones, was one of the first modern classical brass ensembles to be formed. The group played either as a quintet or as a ten-piece, for larger halls. It toured and recorded exte ...

) *

Mark Lockheart Mark Lockheart (born 31 March 1961) is a British jazz tenor saxophonist who was a member of the Loose Tubes big band during the 1980s. Career After the demise of Loose Tubes, Lockheart formed jazz/folk quartet Perfect Houseplants with Huw Warr ...

jazz saxophonist * Joanna MacGregorpiano (honorary Professor) Andrew Matthews-Owen pianist and coach *

Stephen Montague Stephen Rowley Montague (born March 10, 1943 in Syracuse, New York) is an American composer, pianist and conductor who grew up in Idaho, New Mexico, West Virginia and Florida. Musical Statement ''"I write music to engage an audience, to seduce ...

composer *

Andrew Poppy Andrew Poppy (born 29 May 1954, Kent) is an English composer, pianist, and record producer Discography *''Cadenza'' and ''Matters of Theory'' from the self-titled LP by The Lost Jockey (1982, Les Disques du Crepuscule) *''Crude Din'' from "Prof ...

composer * Joan Rodgerssoprano * Daryl Runswickcomposer * Yonty Solomonpianist (Professor of Piano) * Stephen Stirlinghorn * John Tavenercomposer (former Professor of Composition) * David Thomassinger (bass) *

John Ashton Thomas John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

composer * Philip Turbettbassoon (modern and historical) *

Jan Van Dyke Jan Van Dyke (April 15, 1941 – July 3, 2015) was an American dancer, choreographer, dance educator and scholar who was a pioneer of modern dance, modern and contemporary dance. Education Van Dyke graduated from the University of Wisconsin wi ...

dance *

Vasko Vassilev Vasko Vassilev ( bg, Васко Василев, links=no; born October 14, 1970 in Sofia, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian violinist and conductor. At the age of eight he had his first public appearance and released his first record with the Sofia Philhar ...

violin *

Marguerite Wolff Marguerite Agnes Rachel Wolff OBE (17 February 1919 – 25 May 2011) was a British pianist. Marguerite Wolff was born in the West Ham area of London on 17 February 1919, the daughter of Walter and Selina (known as Nina) Wolff; her parents were ...

piano

References

External links

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
– official website

– profile on WhatUni {{authority control 2005 establishments in England Contemporary dance in London Dance schools in the United Kingdom Educational institutions established in 2005 Herzog & de Meuron buildings Music schools in London Performing arts education in London Universities UK