The Royal Manchester College of Music (RMCM) was a

tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

level

conservatoire 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 ins ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, north-west England. It was founded in 1893 by the German-born conductor

Sir Charles Hallé ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

in 1893. In 1972, the Royal Manchester College of Music amalgamated with the

Northern School of Music The Northern School of Music was a music college located in Manchester which operated between 1920 and 1972 before merging with the Royal Manchester College of Music to form the Royal Northern College of Music. History The Northern School of M ...

to form the

Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...

History

The Royal Manchester College of Music was founded in 1893 by

who assumed the role as Principal. For a long period of time Hallé had argued for Manchester's need for a ''conservatoire'' to properly train the local talent.Thomason, Geoffrey. “Hallé’s other project – the RMCM”. Manchester Memoirs, being the memoirs and proceedings of the Manchester Literary & Philosophical Society: Vol.149 (2010-2011), pp.104-123. The RMCM opened in 1893 in a former club building on the corner of Ducie Grove and Ducie Street, near Oxford Road. The building was adapted for use as a college by the architects Salomons and Steinthal, and contained a 400-seat concert hall lined with walnut wood panelling, classrooms, a library and offices. According to the ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', instead of a formal opening ceremony, donors were invited to a ''

conversazione A ''conversazione'' is a "social gathering redominantlyheld by learned or art society" for conversation and discussion, especially about the arts, literature, medicine, and science. ::It would not be easy to devise a happier way han the ''con ...

'' with Sir Charles Hallé and other musicians on Saturday October 7, 1893. Students were admitted in October 1893. RNCM A brief history of the Royal Northern College of Music ArchiveKennedy, Michael (1971) ''The History of the Royal Manchester College of Music'' (Manchester University Press) In 1888 German violinist Willy Hess became leader of The Hallé Orchestra, a role he held until 1895. From its opening in 1893 he was also the principal professor of violin at the Royal Manchester College of Music. In 1954 the Principal of the RMCM, Frederic Cox, started to explore the issue of amalgamation with the

. This took until 1972 when the amalgamation resulted in the founding of the

Principals

(1891-5) *

Adolph Brodsky Adolph Davidovich Brodsky (russian: Адольф Давидович Бродский, ''Adolf Davidovič Brodskij''; – 22 January 1929) was a Russian violinist. He enjoyed a long and illustrious career as a performer and teacher, starting earl ...

(1896-1929) * Robert Jaffrey Forbes (1929-1953) * Frederic Cox (1953-1970)

Notable teachers

* John Acton, voice *

Wilhelm Backhaus Wilhelm Backhaus ('Bachaus' on some record labels) (26 March 1884 – 5 July 1969) was a German pianist and pedagogue. He was particularly well known for his interpretations of Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin and Brahms. He was also much ...

, piano * Rawdon Briggs, violin *

Walter Carroll Walter Carroll (4 July 1869 - 9 October 1955) was an English composer, music lecturer and author. He was born at 156 Great Ducie Street in the Cheetham district of Manchester. Early life and education He was a pupil at Longsight High School, M ...

, composition *

Marie Fillunger Marie Fillunger (27 January 1850 – 23 December 1930) was an Austrian singer, and the longtime partner of Eugenie Schumann, who was a daughter of Robert and Clara Schumann. Life Fillunger was born in Vienna. She studied at the Vienna Conser ...

, voice *

Carl Fuchs Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", List of Aqua Teen ...

Henry Hiles Henry Hiles (31 December 1826 – 20 October 1904) was an English composer, organist, writer, and music educator. Life He was born in Shrewsbury, Hiles was the youngest of six sons. His eldest brother, John Hiles, was known as an arranger of org ...

Helen Lemmens-Sherrington Helen Lemmens-Sherrington (4 October 1834 – 9 May 1906) was an English concert and operatic soprano prominent from the 1850s to the 1880s. Born in northern England, she spent much of her childhood and later life in Belgium, where she studied at ...

, voice *

Frank Merrick Frank Merrick CBE (1886–1981) was an English pianist and composer in the early 20th century.Obituary, ''The Times'', 21 February 1981, p. 14 Life Merrick was born in Clifton, Bristol, Clifton, now part of Bristol, the son of musical parents.Me ...

, piano *

Olga Neruda Olga may refer to: People and fictional characters * Olga (name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters named Olga or Olha * Michael Algar (born 1962), English singer also known as "Olga" Places Russia * Olga, Russia, ...

, piano *

James Kendrick Pyne James Kendrick Pyne (5 February 1852 – 3 September 1938) was an English organist and composer. Biography He was born in Bath into a musical family. His father, also James Kendrick Pyne (1810–1893) was organist at Bath Abbey for 53 years ...

, organ *

Simon Speelman Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genu ...

, violin *

Hope Squire Evelyn Hope Squire Merrick (1878–1936) was a British composer, pianist, and political activist who supported women's suffrage, vegetarianism, Esperanto, and new music. She opposed England’s participation in World War I. She published and per ...

, piano

Notable alumni

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include ''Th ...

, composer * Arthur Butterworth, composer *

Pamela Bowden Pamela Anne Bowden (17 April 19258 April 2003 (age 78)) was an English contralto. Bowden was born in Rochdale and was educated at Heywood Grammar School and the Royal Manchester College of Music. During World War II she was a Wren. In 1954 she ...

, contralto and voice teacher * Louis Cohen, violinist and conductor *

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...

, composer *

Alexander Goehr Peter Alexander Goehr (; born 10 August 1932) is an English composer and academic. Goehr was born in Berlin in 1932, the son of the conductor and composer Walter Goehr, a pupil of Arnold Schoenberg. In his early twenties he emerged as a centra ...

, composer * Barry Griffiths, violinist * Jeffrey Lawton, tenor *

Martin Milner Martin Sam Milner (December 28, 1931 – September 6, 2015) was an American actor and radio host. He is best known for his performances on two television series: ''Route 66'', which aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964, and ''Adam-12'', which ai ...

, violinist *

John Ogdon John Andrew Howard Ogdon (27 January 1937 – 1 August 1989) was an English pianist and composer. Biography Career Ogdon was born in Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, and attended the Manchester Grammar School, before studying at the Ro ...

, piano *

Alan Rawsthorne Alan Rawsthorne (2 May 1905 – 24 July 1971) was a British composer. He was born in Haslingden, Lancashire, and is buried in Thaxted churchyard in Essex. Early years Alan Rawsthorne was born in Deardengate House, Haslingden, Lancashire, to Hu ...

, composer *

Maisie Ringham Maisie Ringham MBE (June 1924 – 3 December 2016), later Maisie Ringham-Wiggins, was a British musician. She was the first woman to be a principal trombonist in a British orchestra. Early life Ringham was born in Woolwich, London. Her parents ...

, trombonist * Barbara Robotham, opera singer and voice teacher *

Carolyn Watkinson The English mezzo-soprano Carolyn Watkinson (born 19 March 1949) is a well-known singer of baroque music. Her voice is alternately characterized as mezzo-soprano and contralto. Watkinson was born in Preston and studied at the Royal Manchester ...

, opera singer * John Ramsden Williamson, composer * Carol Jane Seymour, Accompanist. *

Olive Zorian Olive Nevart Zorian (16 March 1916 in Manchester – 17 May 1965 in London) was an English classical violinist. She was the youngest daughter of Samuel Hovannes Zorian and Ada Mary Zorian. Samuel was an Armenian hosiery manufacturer and music ...

(191665), violinist

References

Other sources

Royal Manchester College of Music Archive: National Archives
{{Defunct universities and colleges in the United Kingdom Music schools in England Royal colleges Education in Manchester Educational institutions established in 1893 1893 establishments in England Defunct universities and colleges in England Royal Northern College of Music