The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a

music school A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

drama school A drama school, stage school or theatre school is an undergraduate and/or graduate school or department at a college or university; or a free-standing institution (such as the Drama section at the Juilliard School); which specializes in the p ...

and concert venue in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, England. It provides professional education in

music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

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 bro ...

, and related disciplines up to

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and str ...

level. It is a centre for

scholarly research The scholarly method or scholarship is the body of principles and practices used by scholars and academics to make their claims about the subject as valid and trustworthy as possible, and to make them known to the scholarly public. It is the me ...

and

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' ...

-level study in areas such as

performance practice Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of classical music, which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of the musical era in whi ...

, composition, musicology and

music history Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is a highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies music from a historical point of view. In theory, "music history" could refer to the study of the 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 , mottoeng = "Do what you are doing; attend to your business" , established = 1992—gained university status1971—City of Birmingham Polytechnic1843—Birmingham College of Art , type = Public , affiliation = ...

. It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools, 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 Birmingham and Midland Institute (popularly known as the Midland Institute) (), is an institution concerned with the promotion of education and learning in Birmingham, England. It is now based on Margaret Street in Birmingham city centre. It ...

. 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 as its first principal The school's second principal

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 ...

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 Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of presc ...

(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 Compulsion may refer to: * Compulsive behavior Compulsive behavior is defined as performing an action persistently and repetitively. Compulsive behaviors could be an attempt to make obsessions go away. The act is usually a small, restricted a ...

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom ...

. 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 Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (also known as FCBStudios) is a British architectural design firm, established in 1978, with offices in Bath, London, Manchester, Belfast and Edinburgh. The firm is known for its pioneering work in sustainable desig ...

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 Londo ...

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 Galliford Try plc is a British construction company based in Leicester, England. It was created through a merger in 2000 of two businesses: Try Group, founded in 1908 in London, and Galliford, founded in 1916. Formerly involved in house-buil ...

were confirmed as principal contractor on a £46 million contract. In 2017 the conservatoire merged with the

Birmingham School of Acting Birmingham School of Acting (BSA), previously known as Birmingham School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art (BSSTDA) and then as Birmingham School of Speech and Drama (BSSD) was a drama school located in Birmingham, England. It was founded in 19 ...

, 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,

Tom Lister Thomas or Tom Lister may refer to: *Thomas Lister (Jesuit) (c. 1559–c. 1628), English Jesuit writer *Thomas Lister (regicide) (1597–1668), colonel in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War, MP for Lincoln, and judge at the trial of ...

, Catherine Tyldesley, Rachel Bright,

Barbara Keogh Barbara Keogh (21 April 1929 – 25 October 2005) was a British actress. Keogh is most noted for her work on television, particularly her role as Lilly Mattock on the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. Early life and career Keogh was born on 21 ...

, 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, David Holt, Anna Brewster,

Jimi Mistry Jimi Mistry (born 1 January 1973) is a retired British actor. He is known for appearing in numerous films such as '' East Is East'' (1999), '' The Guru'' (2002), ''Ella Enchanted'' (2004), '' The Truth About Love'' (2005), ''Blood Diamond'' (20 ...

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 Tony Bowers (born 31 October 1952, England) is a musician based in Italy and Ireland who has worked with many bands, including Simply Red in the 1980s. Career Bowers debuted in the blues band, Blind Eye (1971–1972), as second guitarist, alth ...

, Jeffrey Chiswick, James Duggan,

, 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 Lynne may refer to: * Lynne (surname) * Lynne (given name) * Lynne, Florida, an unincorporated community * Lynne, Wisconsin, a town in Oneida County, Wisconsin, United States {{Disambig ...

, and Brian Weston. 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 her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

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 num ...

, 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,

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 Mon ...

Sakari Oramo Sakari is a given name, and may refer to: * Sakari Kukko (born 1953), Finnish saxophonist and flutist * Sakari Kuosmanen (born 1956), Finnish singer and actor * Sakari Oramo (born 1965), Finnish conductor * Sakari Pinomäki, Finnish mechanical and ...

, 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 Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' w ...

student and staff exchange programme.

Courses offered

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire offers training from pre-college level (Junior Conservatoire) to PhD. *

honours degrees ** BMus (Hons) Performance ** BMus (Hons) Jazz ** BMus (Hons) Composition ** BMus (Hons) Music Technology *

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

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 A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PG, PDE) is a postgraduate qualification awarded after a university degree, which supplements the original degree and awards them with a graduate diploma. Countries that award pos ...

** PgDip (Music) ** PgDip (Musical Theatre) — to be delivered jointly with

* Advanced Postgraduate Diploma ** Advanced PgDip * Master of Music ** MMus *

Master of Philosophy The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

** MPhil *

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

** PhD

People

Principals

* William Stockley (1886–1900) *

(1900–1934) * Allen Blackhall (1934–1945) * Christopher Edmunds (1945–1956) * (Management Committee) (1956–1957) * Sir

Steuart Wilson Sir James Steuart Wilson (21 July 1889 – 18 December 1966) was an English singer, known for tenor roles in oratorios and concerts in the first half of the 20th century. After the Second World War he was an administrator for several organ ...

(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 Julian Lloyd Webber (born 14 April 1951) is a British solo cellist, conductor and broadcaster, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme. Early years and education Julian ...

(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 Ed Bennett (born 15 March 1975) is a composer of contemporary art music. Biography Bennett was born in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Having studied with Brian Irvine at North Down College and with Michael Finnissy at the Guildhall ...

- composer; leader/conductor, decibel * Mark Bebbington - 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 - 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 ...

- cellist *

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...

– conductor, harpsichordist * Joe Cutler - composer * Nicholas Daniel - oboist *

Danielle de Niese Danielle de Niese (born 11 April 1979) is an Australian-American lyric soprano. After success as a young child in singing competitions in Australia, she moved to the United States where she developed an operatic career. From 2005 she came to w ...

- 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 Catrin Ana Finch is a Welsh harpist, arranger and composer. She was the Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales from 2000 to 2004 and is visiting professor at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the Royal Academy of Music in London. ...

- 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 Sir James Galway (born 8 December 1939) is an Irish virtuoso flute player from Belfast, nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Flute". He established an international career as a solo flute player. In 2005, he received the Brit Award for Outstan ...

- flautist * James Gilchrist - tenor * Rivka Golani - violist * Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla - conductor * Simon Halsey - conductor *

Stephen Hough Sir Stephen Andrew Gill Hough (; born 22 November 1961) is a British-born classical pianist, composer and writer. He became an Australian citizen in 2005 and thus has dual nationality (his father was born in Australia in 1926). Biography Hou ...

- 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 I ...

- 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 - pianist; composer; bandleader * Stephen Kovacevich * Justin Lavender - vocal * Robert Levin - harpsichord/fortepiano * Tasmin Little - violinist *

- 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 - 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 Edwin Roxburgh (born 1937) is an English composer, conductor and oboist. Roxburgh was born in Liverpool. After playing oboe in the National Youth Orchestra, he won a double scholarship to study composition with Herbert Howells and oboe with Ter ...

- 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 - 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 Benjamin Michael Lee (born 11 September 1978) is an Australian musician and actor. Lee began his career as a musician at the age of 14 with the Sydney band Noise Addict, but he focused on his solo career when the band broke up in 1995. He appe ...

- jazz mandolin player * Richard van Allan - opera singer * Nicola Coughlan - actress *

Fred Thelonius Baker Fred Thelonious Baker (born 4 June 1960) is an English guitarist and jazz bass guitarist from Tibshelf, Derbyshire. He is known for playing in Phil Miller's Canterbury scene band In Cahoots. Baker played the guitar until his mid-teens, at wh ...

- 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 a ...

- 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 Mark Gasser (born 6 July 1972) is a British concert pianist. Career Gasser was born in Sheffield, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, in 1972 to Austrian and Scottish parents. He studied with John Humphreys at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, ...

- pianist * Duncan Honeybourne - pianist * Albert Ketèlbey - composer, conductor *

Jim Moray Jim Moray (born 1981) is an English folk singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Recording artist While studying classical composition at the Birmingham Conservatoire, Moray released the home-recorded ''I Am Jim Moray'' EP. During ...

- 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 - 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 sinc ...

- singer * Michael Seal - violinist, conductor, CBSO * Mike Stevens - musical director, producer * Ian Venables - 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