Inside the Contemporary Conservatoire

Colin Lawson was Director of the Royal College of Music from 2005 to 2024. He has an international profile as a period clarinettist and has published widely on performance and performance practice. Diana Salazar is Director of Programmes at the Royal College of Music. A conservatoire trained flautist and composer, her research interests combine practice research in electroacoustic composition with exploration of conservatoire pedagogies and technology-enhanced learning in higher music education. She is a founder of the Global Conservatoire consortium. Rosie Perkins is Professor of Music, Health, and Social Science at the Royal College of Music. She leads the RCM’s Master of Performance Science programme and has published extensively on music and mental health, including musicians’ career development.

Acknowledgements

List of Contributors

List of Abbreviations

Foreword

Preface

Part I: Rethinking conservatoire identities and values

Chapter 1: Introduction: tracing conservatoire values past, present, and future

Colin Lawson

Perspective 1 (James Gandre)

Chapter 2: Personal realities I: What makes an artist?

Ivan Hewett, Jonathan Cole, Andrew Zolinsky

Perspective 2 (Afa Sadykhly Dworkin)

Chapter 3: Personal realities II: How Does the Conservatoire Link with the Profession?

Stephen Johns, Janis Kelly

Perspective 3 (Sarah Connolly)

Chapter 4: Reassessing musical excellence

Miranda Francis, Vanessa Latarche, Aaron Williamon

Perspective 4 (James Williams)

Chapter 5: Philanthropy at the Royal College of Music: Shaping the Future of Music Education

Lily Harriss, Rachel Harris

Perspective 5 (Susan Madden)

Chapter 6: Integrating regulation and creativity

Kevin Porter
Perspective 6 (Martin Prchal)

Part II: Evolving the teaching and learning of music in a conservatoire

Chapter 7: Reimagining the one-to-one studio

Christina Guillaumier, Gabrielle Lester, Diana Salazar

Perspective 7 (Helena Gaunt)

Chapter 8: The Musician in the Digital Age: Technology in the Conservatoire

Thom Gilbert, Diana Salazar

Perspective 8 (Peter Maniura)

Chapter 9: Dialogues with musical histories: Learning from the past

Ingrid Pearson

Perspective 9 (Lisa Colton, Ruth K. Minton)

Chapter 10: Cultivating research cultures

Richard Wistreich, Rosie Perkins

Perspective 10 (Wendy Heller)

Chapter 11: The Healthy Musician

George Waddell, David Hockings, Aaron Williamon

Perspective 11 (Emma Redding)

Chapter 12: Lifelong creative careers

Gary Ryan, Diana Roberts

Perspective 12 (Michelle Phillips)

Part III: Conservatoires of the future

Chapter 13: The physical and virtual spaces of the conservatoire

Colin Lawson, Talia Hull

Perspective 13 (Lucy Noble)

Chapter 14: Towards the civic conservatoire

Dave Camlin, Hayley Clements, Rosie Perkins

Perspective 14 (Brydie-Leigh Bartleet)

Chapter 15: Diversifying Musical Practices: How to Address the Need for Change within Conservatoire Training

Florence Ambrose, Wiebke Thormählen

Perspective 15 (Roger Wilson)

Chapter 16: The Global Conservatoire

Tania Lisboa, Diana Salazar

Perspective 16 (Joachim Junghanss)

Chapter 17: What next for conservatoires?

Diana Salazar, Rosie Perkins, Colin Lawson