Royal Academy of Music
The
Royal Academy of Music (sometimes abbreviated to
RAM) is a
music school in
London,
England and one of the leading music institutions in the world. It was founded by
Lord Burghersh in
1822 and in
1830 was granted a
Royal Charter by
King George IV 'to promote the cultivation of the science of music and to afford facilities for attaining perfection in it by assisting with general instruction all persons desirous of acquiring knowledge thereof'. Many important musicians have studied at the Academy since then.
The Academy is situated on
Marylebone Road in
central London, adjacent to
Regent's Park. Facilities, which include the 450-seat Duke's Hall, the
Sir Jack Lyons Theatre and two smaller concert spaces, were expanded in
2001 with the opening of the new 150-seat David Josefowitz recital hall and the
York Gate Collections, a public museum of musical instruments and artefacts from the Academy's collections. The Junior Academy, for under-18s, takes place every Saturday.
|
The David Josefowitz recital hall from outside |
The library has over 160,000 items, with a large stock of books and sheet music including significant collections of early printed and manuscript materials and audio facilities. It also houses archives dedicated to Sir
Arthur Sullivan and a Sir
Henry Wood. Among the Library's most valuable possessions are the manuscripts of
Purcell's The Fairy Queen (lost for many years), Sullivan's
The Mikado,
Vaughan Williams'
Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis and
Serenade to Music and the newly-discovered
Handel Gloria. A grant from the
National Heritage Memorial Fund has assisted in the purchase of the Robert Spencer Collection â€" a set of Early English Song and Lute music, as well as a fine collection of
lutes and
guitars. The York Gate Collections now display many of these items. The Orchestral Library has about 4,500 sets of orchestral parts. Other collections include the libraries of Sir Henry Wood and
Otto Klemperer.
The Academy has students from over 50 countries, follow diverse programmes including instrumental performance, conducting, composition, jazz, musical theatre and Opera. The Academy enjoys an established relationship with
King's College London, particularly the Department of Music, whose students receive instrumental tuition at the Academy. In return, many students at the Academy take advantage of the range of
Humanities choices at King's, and its extended academic
musicological curriculum.
The Academy also plays host to the
Asian Music Circuit's annual "Asian Music Summer School", which runs from the last Saturday in July for around a week. In this
summer school, the public are taught Indian, Chinese and Japanese music from musicians and/or singers from India, China, Japan and the UK. There are also concerts and seminars conducted in the Academy to support the summer school's programme.
The current Principal is the American scholar
Curtis Price.
Student Performances and Festivals
Academy students perform regularly in the Academy's concert venues, and also nationally and internationally under such conductors as Sir
Colin Davis,
Yan Pascal Tortelier,
Christoph von Dohnányi, Sir
Charles Mackerras,
James MacMillan and
Trevor Pinnock. In September 2005, Sir
Colin Davis conducted an orchestra which combined students from the Academy and New York's
Juilliard School at the
BBC Proms.
The Academy collaborates with other conservatoires world-wide, including participating in the SOCRATES student and staff exchange programme. In 1991 the Academy introduced a fully-accredited degree in Performance Studies, and in September 1999, it became a full constituent college of the University of London, in both cases becoming the first UK conservatoire to do so.
The Academy regularly celebrates the work of a living composer with a
festival in the presence of the composer. Previous composer festivals at the Academy have been devoted to the work of
Witold Lutosławski,
Michael Tippett,
Krzysztof Penderecki,
Olivier Messiaen,
Hans Werner Henze,
Luciano Berio, American composers including
Elliott Carter, Academy graduates,
Alfred Schnittke,
György Ligeti, British and American film composers,
Franco Donatoni, Russian composers including
Galina Ustvolskaya,
Arvo Pärt,
György Kurtág and
Mauricio Kagel.
In February-March 2006, an Academy festival celebrated the violin virtuoso
Niccolò Paganini, who first visited
London 175 years earlier in
1831. The festival included a
recital by Academy professor
Maxim Vengerov, who performed on Paganini's own
Cannone Guarnerius violin.
Courses
The Royal Academy of Music offers training from pre-college level (Junior Academy) to PhD.
Notable alumni
*
John Barbirolli (
conductor)
*
Arnold Bax (composer)
*
Richard Rodney Bennett (composer)
*
Harrison Birtwistle (composer)
*
Virginia Black (harpsichord)
*
Christopher Bowers-Broadbent (organ)
*
Dennis Brain (French hornist)
*
Galliard Wind Ensemble*
William Crotch (first Principal of the Royal Academy of Music)
*
Ralph John Cupper (
Organist and composer)
*
Clifford Curzon (pianist)
*
John Dankworth (jazz composer)
*
Christopher Elton*
Rumon Gamba (Conductor)
*
Lesley Garrett (soprano)
*
Evelyn Glennie (
percussionist)
*
Otto Goldschmidt (Piano)
*
H from Steps*
Henrik Jul Hansen (
conductor)
*
Alan Harverson (organ)
*
Myra Hess (pianist)
*
Richard Hickox*
Joe Jackson*
Elton John (rock musician) Junior Academy
*
Izzy Johnston (
star of Wild and FHM)
*
Freddy Kempf (pianist)
*
Philip Langridge*
Annie Lennox*
Felicity Lott (soprano)
*
David Worswick (violinist)
*
David Martin*
Joanna MacGregor (pianist)
*
Philip Mortimer (violinist)
*
Michael Nyman (composer)
*
Denise Orme*
Paul Patterson(composer)
*
Sir Simon Rattle (
conductor)
*
Augusta Read Thomas (composer)
*
David Sanger (organist)
*
Arthur Sullivan*
Eva Turner*
Maxim Vengerov (Violinist) Junior Academy
*
Christopher Warren-Green (
conductor)
*
Henry WoodNotable past and present teachers
*
Kenneth Amis (International Brass Chair)
* Professor
Simon Bainbridge (Head of Composition)
* Sir
John Barbirolli*
Joshua Bell (Violin â€" Visiting Professor)
*
William Bennett (Flute)
* Sir
Harrison Birtwistle (Composition)
*
Barbara Bonney (Opera â€" Visiting Professor)
*
Ian Bousfield (Trombone â€" Visiting Professor)
*
Keith Bragg (Piccolo, Head of Woodwind)
*
Zakhar Bron (Professor of Violin)
*
Daniel Bruggen (Recorder)
*
Colin Carr (Cello)
*
Simon Carrington (Timpani)
*
Laurence Cummings (Head of Historical Performance)
* Sir
Colin Davis (International Chair of Orchestral Studies)
* Professor
Christopher Elton (Head of Keyboard)
*
Ian Fountain (Piano)
* Professor
Jonathan Freeman-Attwood (Vice-Principal and Director of Studies)
*
Nicolai Gedda (Opera â€" Visiting Professor)
* Dr
Amanda Glauert (Head of Research)
*
Clio Gould (Violin and ensembles)
*
Mary Hammond (Head of Musical Theatre)
*
Maurice Hasson (Violin)
*
Christopher Hogwood (Consultant Visiting Professor)
*
Peter Holtslag (Recorder)
*
Stephen Hough (Visiting Professor of Piano)
*
Skaila Kanga (Head of Harp)
*
Lutz Kohler (Principal guest conductor)
*
Jerzy Kosmala (Visiting Professor of Viola)
*
Anthony Legge (Director of Opera)
*
Michael Lewin (Head of Guitar)
*
Joanna MacGregor (Piano)
*
Duncan McTier (Double bass)
*
Andrew Marriner (Visiting Professor of Clarinet)
* Sir
Peter Maxwell Davies (Composition)
*
Colin Metters (Head of Conducting)
*
Anne-Sophie Mutter (Head of International Violin Studies)
*
Owen Murray (Head of Classical Accordion)
*
Dennis O'Neill (Visiting Professor of Opera)
*
Jonathan Papp (Vocal Coach)
*
Paul Patterson (Manson Chair of Composition)
*
György Pauk (Ede Zathureczsky Professor of Violin)
Naxos Website *
Neil Percy (Percussion)
*
Gerard Presencer (Head of Jazz)
*
David Pyatt (French Horn â€" Visiting Professor)
* Sir
Richard Rodney Bennett (Composition â€" Visiting Professor)
*
Martin Roscoe (Piano)
*
Patrick Russill (Head of Choral Conducting)
*
Tanya Sarkissova (Piano)
*
Alexander Satz (Visiting Professor of Piano)
*
Robert Saxton (Head of Composition)
*
Paul Silverthorne (Viola)
*
David Strange (Cello, Head of Strings)
*
Jeremy Summerly (Head of Academic Studies)
*
Robert Tear (Opera â€" Visiting Professor)
*
David Titterington (Head of Organ)
*
Patsy Toh (Piano)
*
Mark van de Wiel (Clarinet)
*
Maxim Vengerov (Violin)
*
Richard Watkins (French Horn)
*
James Watson (Trumpet, Head of Brass)
*
Mark Wildman (Head of Vocal Studies)
*
John Williams (Guitar â€" Visiting Professor)
* Sir
Henry Wood (Head of Conducting)
*
Brian May (Guitar)
In
1999, the Academy became a full member of the largest British university, the
University of London.
York Gate was designed in
1822 as part of the main entrance to Regent's Park, and was an important feature in John Nash's architectural designs for Regency London. The interior of York Gate was largely destroyed by bomb damage in the 1940s, but the Nash exterior has Grade 1 listed building status. The Royal Academy of Music moved to Marylebone Road in 1911, and held a lease on part of York Gate during the 1920s and 1930s. A major grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund has enabled the Academy to acquire and refurbish this magnificent building to house studios and practice rooms and the Academy's museum, The York Gate Collections.
The Royal Academy of Music has a collection of more than 200
stringed instruments from the
violin family. These have been acquired for the benefit of students and recent leavers and they are maintained in playing order by the Academy's resident luthier and include several
Stradivari, Amatis and Guarneris including:
* Stradivari, ‘Habeneck' violin, c1734
* Stradivari, ‘Joachim' violin, 1698
* Stradivari, ‘Maurin' violin, 1718
* Stradivari, violin, c1666
* Stradivari, ‘Markevitch' cello, 1709
* Stradivari, ‘Marquis de Corberon' cello, 1726
* Stradivari, violin, c.1727
* Stradivari, ‘Kustendyke' violin, 1699
* Stradivari, ‘Archinto' viola, 1696
* Stradivari, `Viotti´ex-Bruce violin, 1709
* Antonio and Girolamo Amati, five-string cello, c.1600
* Antonio and Girolamo Amati, violin, 1629
* Nicolò Amati, violin, 1662
* Girolamo Amati II, violin, 1671
* Andrea Guarneri, violin, c1665
* Francesco Rugeri, cello, 1695
* Vincenzo Rugeri, violin, 1705
The galleries display materials from the Academy's collections of instruments, archives, manuscripts and images. The York Gate galleries are also considered a 'living museum', acting as a showcase for the work of performers, composers, instrument makers and scholars from a wide range of musical and other relevant disciplines.
Other Collections: Foyle Menuhin archive, Jenny Lind (1820-1887) Collection, David Munrow (1942-1976)Collection, the Priaulx Rainier (1903-1986) Collection and The McCann Collection.
In the summer of 2006, the "Academy Chimes Music" shop was opened to the public. The shop sells mostly music scores, but also strings, tuners and other souveniers.
*
Royal Academy of Music website*
Royal Academy of Music's Museum
