Scottish Gaelic: Conservatoire Rìoghail na h-Alba | |
Former name | Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama |
---|---|
Type | Conservatoire |
Established | 1993 – granted degree-awarding powers 1847 – Glasgow Athenaeum |
President | Nicola Benedetti (Honorary) |
Principal | Jeffrey Sharkey |
Patron | Charles III |
Students | 1,260 (2022/23) [1] |
Undergraduates | 875 (2022/23) [1] |
Postgraduates | 385 (2022/23) [1] |
Location | , |
Colours | |
Affiliations | |
Website | rcs |
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic : Acadamh-chiùil Rìoghail na h-Alba [2] ), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (Scottish Gaelic : Acadamaidh Rìoghail Ciùil is Dràma na h-Alba [3] ) is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and film in Glasgow, Scotland. [4] It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools. [5]
Founded in 1847, it has become the busiest performing arts venue in Scotland with over 500 public performances each year. The current principal is American pianist and composer Jeffrey Sharkey. The patron is King Charles III.
The Royal Conservatoire has occupied its current purpose-built building on Renfrew Street in Glasgow since 1988. Its roots lie in several organisations. Officially founded in 1847 by Moses Provan [6] as part of the Glasgow Athenaeum, from an earlier Educational Association grouping, music and arts were provided alongside courses in commercial skills, literature, languages, sciences and mathematics. Courses were open and affordable, including day classes for ladies, and the Athenaeum had a reading room, news room, library and social facilities. Apprentices could also be members. Rented accommodation was found in the Assembly Rooms, Ingram Street, with major lectures taking place in the City Halls. The chairman at its inaugural Grand Soiree in the City Halls in December 1847 was Charles Dickens when in his opening remarks he stated that he regarded the Glasgow Athenaeum as "an educational example and encouragement to the rest of Scotland". Its Dramatic Club was formed in 1886 a year before the institution moved to purpose-built premises, inclusive of a major concert hall/theatre, in St George's Place close to West Nile Street, designed by architect John Burnet. [7]
In 1888, the commercial teaching separated to form the Athenaeum Commercial College, which, after several rebrandings and a merger, became the University of Strathclyde in 1964. The non-commercial teaching side became the Glasgow Athenaeum School of Music.
In 1893 additional premises linked through to Buchanan Street and included a new Athenaeum Theatre facing Buchanan Street designed by architect Sir John James Burnet. In 1928 the premises were substantially extended with a gift from the philanthropist Daniel Macaulay Stevenson. In 1929 the school was renamed as the Scottish National Academy of Music to better reflect its scope and purpose. [8] This major acquisition of space at the corner of St George's Place (later renamed Nelson Mandela Place) and Buchanan Street was the Liberal Club (now not required by that party), designed originally by architect Alexander Skirving and remodelled by architects Campbell Douglas and Paterson in 1907. [7] [9]
Its principal from 1929 to 1941 was William Gillies Whittaker. In 1944, it became the Royal Scottish Academy of Music.
The Royal Scottish Academy of Music established a drama department called the Glasgow College of Dramatic Art during 1950. It became the first British drama school to contain a full, broadcast-specification television studio in 1962. In 1968 the Royal Scottish Academy of Music changed its name to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) and introduced its first degree courses, which were validated by the University of Glasgow.
During 1987–88 the academy moved to its present site some two hundred yards north in Renfrew Street at Hope Street, across from the Theatre Royal, the new building having been designed by architect Sir Leslie Martin with executive architects William Nimmo and Partners. [7] [9]
In 1993 RSAMD became the first conservatoire in the United Kingdom to be granted its own degree-awarding powers. Research degrees undertaken at RCS are validated and awarded by the University of St Andrews. [10] RCS is one of four member conservatories of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.
From 1 September 2011, the RSAMD deferred to its full title The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. The name has deep roots and the change was confirmed after a long consultation process that involved the principal John Wallace and the academy's board of directors, as well as past and present students and staff, arts & academic institutions, politicians, and the Royal Protocol Unit. [11] [12]
The principal said the change was necessary as it was no longer simply a music and drama academy. Undergraduate courses in areas such as Digital Film & Television, Production Arts and Design, Production Technology and Management, Musical Theatre and Modern Ballet (in partnership with Scottish Ballet) have been added to the degrees the Royal Conservatoire offers. He felt it was best to choose a name that was representative of all disciplines offered. [13]
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland has been consistently ranked among the best schools in the world in Quacquarelli Symonds (QS)'s Performing Arts ranking since the latter was established in 2016. The Conservatoire has been in the top 10 five out of six years, reaching 3rd place in 2017 [14] and 2021. [15] In 2022, RCS ranked fifth in the world for Performing Arts Education. [16]
The Whittaker Library is housed in the Renfrew Street campus. It contains one of the largest collections of sheet music, scripts and other performing items in both the United Kingdom and the world. [17]
In 2010, RCS opened its second campus near Cowcaddens, now known as the "Wallace Studios at Speirs Locks". [18] This building was designed by Malcolm Fraser. It opened predominantly to house the Modern Ballet and Production courses, as the Renfrew Street campus was struggling to accommodate the combination of new courses and higher intake levels. In 2014, a £2 million extension to this second campus was built, creating even more rehearsal spaces and improved facilities for the students.
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is a concert and arts venue located in Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned by Glasgow City Council and operated by Glasgow Life, an agency of Glasgow City Council, which also runs Glasgow's City Halls and Old Fruitmarket venue.
Buchanan Street is one of the main shopping thoroughfares in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. It forms the central stretch of Glasgow's famous shopping district with a generally more upmarket range of shops than the neighbouring streets: Argyle Street, and Sauchiehall Street.
Cowcaddens is an area of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It sits directly north of the city centre and is bordered by the newer area of Garnethill to the south-west and Townhead to the east.
The Pavilion Theatre is a theatre in Glasgow located on Renfield Street.
Glasgow Central was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 2024. A Glasgow Central constituency existed from 1885 until its abolition in 1997. Prior to the 2005 general election, boundary changes led to a new constituency named Glasgow Central being introduced. The constituency was abolished again prior to the 2024 general election. Prior to its abolition, the seat was held by Alison Thewliss of the Scottish National Party (SNP). The first iteration of this constituency was the seat of the former Conservative Prime Minister Bonar Law, who was the shortest-serving UK Prime Minister of the twentieth century.
The Citizens Theatre, in what was the Royal Princess's Theatre, is the creation of James Bridie and playwright in residence Paul Vincent Carroll is based in Glasgow, Scotland, as a principal producing theatre. The theatre includes a 500-seat Main Auditorium, and has also included various studio theatres over time.
The city of Glasgow, Scotland, has many amenities for a wide range of cultural activities, from curling to opera and from football to art appreciation; it also has a large selection of museums that include those devoted to transport, religion, and modern art. In 2009 Glasgow was awarded the title UNESCO Creative City of Music in recognition of its vibrant live music scene and its distinguished heritage. Glasgow has three major universities, each involved in creative and literary arts, and the city has the largest public reference library in Europe in the form of the Mitchell Library. Scotland's largest newspapers and national television and radio companies are based in the city.
Scottish Ballet is the national ballet company of Scotland and one of the five leading ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet. Founded in 1969, the company is based in Glasgow, the resident ballet company at the Glasgow Theatre Royal and from 2009 in their purpose-built ballet centre in Tramway Arts Centre, Glasgow.
Sauchiehall Street is one of the main shopping streets in the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland, along with Buchanan Street and Argyle Street.
Sir David James Lumsden was a British musical educator, conservatoire-chief, conductor, choirmaster, organist and harpsichordist. After studying music at Cambridge he was a church organist, and later an academic. He was principal of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow from 1976 to 1982 and of the Royal Academy of Music in London from 1982 to 1993.
Lori Watson is a fiddle player and folk singer who performs traditional and contemporary folk music. She is the first doctor of Artistic Research in Scottish Music.
Music schools in Scotland are available at several levels. Formal music education begins at 4½ years and can progress as high as postgraduate studies. Education in Scotland is a responsibility of the Scottish Government. Music is regarded as being an integral part of the culture of Scotland.
Glasgow City Centre is the central business district of Glasgow, Scotland. It is bordered by the Saltmarket, High Street and Castle Street to the east, the River Clyde to the south, and the M8 motorway to the west and north. It is made up of the areas of Garnethill, Blythswood Hill, and Merchant City, though parts of Cowcaddens, Townhead, Anderston and Calton also fall within its boundaries.
The Glasgow Grand Opera Society, known by its members and audiences alike as simply 'The Grand', was an opera company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1906 and was wound up in 2000.
Drama UK was an advocate for vocational drama training in the UK, as well as providing accreditation for vocational drama courses, from 2012 to 2016.
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra Chorus, or RSNO Chorus for short, is a choir based in Scotland and founded in 1843. Its main role is to perform alongside the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. The chorus holds open rehearsals for potential new members, rehearses on Wednesdays in Glasgow, and has also toured around the world. It is directed by Gregory Batsleer.
The Federation of Drama Schools functions to facilitate vocational drama training in the UK. It was formed in June 2017.
J. Michael Diack was a Scottish musician, superintending the teaching of music in the Glasgow area. His activities were varied: he founded the Glasgow Bach Choir in 1906; he made English translations of choral works by Bach and Handel; he was instrumental in founding the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society and publishing their music; and, in his own compositions, he arranged nursery rhymes in the style of Handel.