The Royal Manchester College of Music (RMCM) was a tertiary level conservatoire in Manchester, north-west England. It was founded in 1893 by the German-born conductor Sir Charles Hallé in 1893.
In 1972, the Royal Manchester College of Music amalgamated with the Northern School of Music to form the Royal Northern College of Music.
History
The Royal Manchester College of Music was founded in 1893 by Sir Charles Hallé who assumed the role as Principal. For a long period of time Hallé had argued for Manchester's need for a conservatoire to properly train the local talent.Thomason, Geoffrey. “Hallé’s other project – the RMCM”. Manchester Memoirs, being the memoirs and proceedings of the Manchester Literary & Philosophical Society: Vol.149 (2010-2011), pp.104-123.
The RMCM opened in 1893 in a former club building on the corner of Ducie Grove and Ducie Street,At a later date the name of Ducie Street was changed to Devas Street. Another Ducie Street now runs further east of this site through Ancoats. Ducie Grove no longer exists and the site is now a car park. near Oxford Road. The building was adapted for use as a college by the architects Salomons and Steinthal, and contained a 400-seat concert hall lined with walnut wood panelling, classrooms, a library and offices. According to the Manchester Guardian, instead of a formal opening ceremony, donors were invited to a conversazione with Sir Charles Hallé and other musicians on Saturday October 7, 1893. Students were admitted in October 1893. RNCM A brief history of the Royal Northern College of Music ArchiveKennedy, Michael (1971) The History of the Royal Manchester College of Music (Manchester University Press)
In 1888 German violinist Willy Hess became leader of The Hallé Orchestra, a role he held until 1895. From its opening in 1893 he was also the principal professor of violin at the Royal Manchester College of Music.
In 1954 the Principal of the RMCM, Frederic Cox, started to explore the issue of amalgamation with the Northern School of Music. This took until 1972 when the amalgamation resulted in the founding of the Royal Northern College of Music.
Principals Sir Charles Hallé (1891–95) Adolph Brodsky (1896–1929) Robert Jaffrey Forbes (1929–1953) Frederic Cox (1953–1970)
Notable teachers John Acton, voice Wilhelm Backhaus, piano Rawdon Briggs, violin Walter Carroll, composition Arthur Catterall (violin) Paul Cropper (viola) Marie Fillunger, voice Carl Fuchs Geoffrey Gilbert (flute) Willy Hess (violin) Henry Hiles Helen Lemmens-Sherrington, voice Frank Merrick, piano Olga Neruda, piano Egon Petri (piano) Thomas Pitfield (composition) James Kendrick Pyne, organ Evelyn Rothwell (viola) Simon Speelman, violin Hope Squire, piano
Notable alumni
Harrison Birtwistle (1934–2022), composer Arthur Butterworth (1923–2014), composer Pamela Bowden (1925–2003), contralto and voice teacher Louis Cohen (1894–1956), violinist and conductor Peter Maxwell Davies (1934–2016), composer Rodney Friend (born 1939), violinist Alexander Goehr (1932–2024), composer Barry Griffiths (1939–2020), violinist Elizabeth Harwood (1938–1990), opera singer Jeffrey Lawton (1938–2018), tenor John McCabe (1939–2015), pianist and composer Martin Milner (1928–2000), violinist John Ogdon (1937–1989), piano Alan Rawsthorne (1905–1971), composer Maisie Ringham (1924–2016), trombonist Barbara Robotham (1936–2013), opera singer and voice teacher Carol Jane Seymour, accompanist. Carolyn Watkinson (born 1949), opera singer John Ramsden Williamson (1929–2015), composer Olive Zorian (1916–1965), violinist
References
Other sources
Royal Manchester College of Music Archive: National Archives