Type | Public |
---|---|
Established | 1822 |
Chancellor | HRH The Princess Royal (University of London) |
President | HRH The Duchess of Gloucester |
Principal | Jonathan Freeman-Attwood |
Students | 820 (2016/17) |
Undergraduates | 400 (2016/17) |
Postgraduates | 420 (2016/17) |
Address | Marylebone Road, London NW1, London, United Kingdom |
Campus | Urban |
Affiliations |
University of London Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music |
Website | www.ram.ac.uk |
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1830. It is one of the leading conservatoires in the world, coming top of the Complete University Guide for 2018 and Guardian University Guide for 2018. Famous Academy alumni include Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Sir Elton John and Annie Lennox.
The Academy provides undergraduate and postgraduate training across instrumental performance, composition, jazz, musical theatre and opera, and recruits the most talented musicians from around the world, with a student community representing more than 50 nationalities. It is committed to lifelong learning, from Junior Academy, which trains musicians up to the age of 18, through Open Academy community music projects, to performances and educational events for all ages.
The Academy’s museum is home to one of the world’s most significant collections of musical instruments and artefacts, including stringed instruments by Stradivari, Guarneri, and members of the Amati family; manuscripts by Purcell, Handel and Vaughan Williams; and an incomparable and growing collection of performing materials that belonged to leading performers. It is a constituent college of the University of London and a registered charity under English law.
The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas Bochsa. The Academy was granted a Royal Charter by King George IV in 1830. After many years of weak leadership the Academy faced closure in 1866 when its recently appointed Principal (and former pupil) William Sterndale Bennett took on the chairmanship of the Academy's Board of directors and established its finances and reputation on a new footing.