Our partnership programme aims to increase access to music making for local families and young people from less affluent backgrounds and underrepresented groups.
Below you can find further detail about current projects which align with our strategic vision and in turn offer RCM students invaluable experience of working within a variety of music education settings.
Collaborating with a broad and diverse range of educators, RCM Sparks leads activity with primary and secondary schools, delivering a programme of bespoke support to those who may especially benefit, alongside events such as our concerts for schools which aim reach as many young people as possible.
IntoUniversity and RCM Sparks work in partnership to reach local young people who may face barriers to pursuing higher education pathways. RCM Sparks deliver a termly series of workshops in partnership with five local centres: Brent, North Kensington, Hammersmith, Haringey and North Islington. In 2022-23, RCM Sparks delivered 12 practical music making workshops in the local Into University centres and the Royal College of Music involving a total of 226 participants.
Find out more about IntoUniversity
'I learnt about music and improved my confidence.'
'Staff and students from RCM Sparks always do an amazing job of engaging students and supporting them in creating their own music.'
'The best thing about the programme was the Royal College of Music because we made our own music.'
'The sessions are well-structured, age and ability appropriate, and do well in building a safe-space in which children feel confident to perform their work.'
Convo, an ambitious new work by RCM alumnus composer Charlotte Harding, commissioned by the Tri-borough Music Hub, the Royal Albert Hall and the Royal College of Music premiered at the Royal Albert Hall on 7 March 2019.
A massed instrumental ensemble of Tri-borough music hub young musicians played side-by-side with professional instrumentalists, together supporting a massed chorus of around 1,000 primary, secondary and special school pupils. The huge ensemble was led by the internationally renowned conductor Ben Palmer. The performance was the culmination of an extensive two-year project of creative music making and development across the Tri-borough music hub, which aimed to embed best musical practice as an essential part of school life, giving invaluable musical opportunities to all pupils in the area irrespective of their background.
We are very grateful to John Lyon’s Charity for their generous support of Convo.
Convo
See and hear more about Convo from the people involved, including RCM composer Charlotte Harding
Convo follows the success of Seven Seeds, a large scale performance of a newly commissioned vocal work involving 160 schools, more than 20 Royal College of Music students from and 150 music co-ordinators. In November 2015 Seven Seeds was awarded the prize for 'New Music' by the Music Education Council of Great Britiain (MEC) and shortlisted for the 'Best Classical Music Education Initiative'.
This bespoke workforce professional development programme for nursery practitioners from the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) is a Knowledge Exchange project.
Knowledge Exchange is the process of universities (in our case, conservatoires) working with external partners, in a mutually beneficial way to create a positive impact on the cultural, social and economic prosperity of the UK and beyond.
The overall objective of the RCM Sparks and LEYF partnership is to increase the musical skills of a team of practitioners, 'Music Champions', with a long-term aim to improve practice across the whole organisation.
Find out more about the project on the RCM's Knowledge Exchange page.
Watch the video.
A Tri-Borough Music Hub, Royal College of Music and ABRSM partnership project, Musical Senses focused on young people who are blind/have a vision impairment, a multi-sensory impairment, or who are deaf/hard of hearing, delivered from January 2022 to July 2023. The programme supported 15 students with bursaries, delivered training for the workforce, and culminated in a creative event at the Royal College of Music for 20 students.
Turtle Song is a Turtle Key Arts, English Touring Opera, and RCM partnership project which brings song-writing, movement and singing to people with Alzheimer’s and all forms of Dementia, and their carers and companions. In 22-23 there were 5 projects delivered in-person in locations across the country including; Liverpool, Reading and Oxford. These projects provided connection and a sustained musical experience to 75 participants and gave valuable experience to 2 RCM student ambassadors. The RCM is hosting a new Turtle Song project in 2024.
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