Queen grants title to city conservatoire as students move in
THE new £57 million home for the Birmingham Conservatoire opened its doors to students on Monday as the performing arts institution was granted the ‘Royal’ title by The Queen.
Now part of Birmingham City University’s city centre campus, the music and drama academy will be renamed the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, joining a select list of performing arts institutions bearing the Royal imprimatur.
Principal of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, internationally renowned cellist and conductor Professor Julian Lloyd Webber, said: “With our new name and suitably magnificent new home we intend to set the global benchmark for music and drama education and performance.
“This is a hugely significant moment for music and drama education in the UK.
“The ‘Royal’ title bears testimony to the value the Conservatoire rightly places on the importance of the performing arts in all our lives.”
Students starting their studies this week will continue a tradition dating back to 1859.
The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is one of the leading music and drama academies in the country.
Birmingham City University vicechancellor, Professor Philip Plowden, said: “The ‘Royal’ title not only indicates the Birmingham Conservatoire’s national and international repute but also its transformative impact on people’s lives.
“It has both nurtured the talent of many household names and developed a programme of widening music participation that has benefited thousands of young people and their families from diverse communities across England, much like the university of which it is part.
“The title has been achieved as a result of substantial efforts from Professor Julian Lloyd Webber and his dedicated team over the past year, and we are all extremely proud of this extraordinary accolade.”
Permission to use the title is granted by the sovereign, acting on the advice of her ministers and following careful consideration.
The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s new building officially opened earlier this month and boasts five new public performance spaces, including a 500-seat concert hall, a 150-seat recital hall and a 100-seat organ studio.
The new building also includes The Lab, a cutting edge, completely flexible black-box studio, and the first permanent jazz space in any UK conservatoire – the 80-seat Eastside Jazz Club.
Alongside private rehearsal rooms and dedicated teaching spaces for musicians, the five-storey high building has more than 70 teaching practice rooms.