Royal College of Music

About Royal College of Music

College in Kensington and Chelsea, UK

The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882 on a suggestion by Prince Albert, located in South Kensington, London, directly opposite the Royal Albert Hall on Prince Consort Road, next to Imperial College and among the museums and cultural centres of Albertopolis. It offers training from undergraduate to doctoral level in all aspects of Western music, from performance, composition and conducting to theory and history, conducts research in performance practice and performance science, and has trained some of the most important figures in international musical life. It has over 900 students from more than 50 countries and professors who include musicians of worldwide reputation, and is one of the four conservatoires of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and a member of Conservatoires UK. Its red-brick Victorian building with its small towers, designed by Arthur Blomfield (1894), is a landmark of the area, and two things interest visitors: its free museum, which houses instruments dating back to the 15th century with several unusual pieces, including the world's oldest surviving guitar and historic keyboard instruments, and its many performances by students, professors and visiting artists, often free even if a ticket is required. The college is an enjoyable stop on a South Kensington tour for lovers of classical music and the history of instruments.

Where:

London, United Kingdom