Archive for the ‘RNCM’ Category
Jonty is a ‘cool cat’!
I’m sure the new principal of the RNCM was delighted with the headline above his interview with the Guardian: he is a ‘cool cat’ in a conservatoire! That aside, the interview is an interesting account of the work that Jonty Stockdale has been involved in and gives a few hints about the direction that the RNCM might take over the next few years. His background in electroacoustic music, his interest in jazz and popular music and his desire to redefine the notion of a conservatoire bode for an interesting future for the RNCM. This is what he had to say towards the end of the article:
“The RNCM is an innovative, dynamic institution. From the outside, some may see it for what they want to see. But we have to take labels like conservatoire and redefine them. The RNCM is in the vanguard in some respects but not in others, and we have to be realistic about that.
“I have been fortunate enough to visit conservatoires around the world. Some are very cutting edge indeed. They are upholding the great traditions but they are also allowing jazz, improvised music and popular music to develop in the same institution. They are heavily investing in research. They are looking at the relationship with other disciplines. This is what we should be doing. This is what we owe to students.”
Well said.
Independent on Sunday article about the RNCM
There is a nice article in the Independent on Sunday about the RNCM and the recent innovations that have been going on. You can read it here. Our new PGCE in Music with Specialist Instrumental Teaching gets a mention although they missed a trick in not talking about the new QTS pathway that is part of the RNCM’s BMus degree programme this year.
