| Birmingham Conservatoire | |
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Adrian Boult Hall, the main concert hall of the school situated in Paradise Circus. |
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| Established | 1886 (as Birmingham School of Music) 1989 (as Birmingham Conservatoire) |
| Type | Public, School of Music |
| President | Sir Simon Rattle |
| Vice-president | Peter Donohoe |
| Principal | George Caird |
| Admin. staff | 50 |
| Students | 500 |
| Location | Birmingham, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom |
| Campus | Urban |
| Former names | Birmingham School of Music |
| Affiliations | Birmingham City University Faculty of Performance, Media and English |
| Website | www.conservatoire.bcu.ac.uk |
Birmingham Conservatoire is an international conservatoire and a major concert venue, its main platform being the Adrian Boult Hall. Prior to 1989, it was known as the Birmingham School of Music and was one of the faculties of Birmingham City University, the only one out of the nine conservatoires in the United Kingdom that was a university faculty. However, in 2008, as part of the re-organisation of faculties it became a part of the Faculty of Performance, Media and English (PME).
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Situated in Paradise Place, in the centre of Birmingham between Centenary Square and Chamberlain Square, the conservatoire was founded in 1886 as the Birmingham School of Music, which had been a department of, and stands on the original site of, the Birmingham and Midland Institute, since around 1859. The title 'Birmingham Conservatoire' was adopted in 1989, with its undergraduate diploma and award (GBSM and ABSM) renamed from 'Graduate / Associate of the Birmingham School of Music' to 'Graduate / Associate of the Birmingham Schools of Music', to reflect the internal structure adopted of the Schools of Creative Studies, of Orchestral Studies, of Keyboard Studies, and of Vocal Studies. In 1995 the GBSM degree-equivalent diploma was redesigned and revalidated to become a full-fledged Bachelor of Music (BMus) degree.
Facilities include the 518 seat Adrian Boult Hall, the Recital Hall, six recording studios and a specialised music library with around 95,000 individual scores and parts and 10,000 sound recordings. Most tutors are active professional musicians and with nearly 200 visiting specialist tutors, there's approximately one member of staff for every two students. It is currently undergoing a complete refurbishment..
Around 500 students are currently enrolled in the conservatoire's undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. Teaching exists in a wide range of options including solo performance, composition, chamber music, orchestral playing, music technology and jazz. Students on the four-year BMus(Hons) are encouraged to spend time studying in Europe or the USA.
An active Junior Department also takes place on Saturdays.
Conservatoire students perform regularly in the Conservatoire's concert venues, and also nationally and internationally under such conductors as Sir Simon Rattle, Pierre Boulez, Sakari Oramo, Paul Spicer and Jeffrey Skidmore.
The Conservatoire collaborates with other schools of music, colleges, academies and conservatoires worldwide, including participating in the SOCRATES student and staff exchange programme.
Birmingham Conservatoire offers training from pre-college level (Junior Conservatoire) to PhD.
Birmingham Conservatoire has around 50 full-time members of staff that include active professional musicians, internationally renowned performers, composers, conductors, scholars, and educators. In addition, nearly 200 highly acclaimed specialist tutors, musicians and scholars visit the Conservatoire to give master classes and guest lectures or to serve as visiting faculty members. For a full list of staff members (including support staff), see Birmingham Conservatoire Staff website
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