Birmingham Conservatoire

Birmingham Conservatoire
UK Conservatoire in the UK's second city

UCE Birmingham Conservatoire traces its history back to 1859, as a department of the Birmingham & Midland Institute. In 1886, it was formally constituted as the Birmingham School of Music. In 1948, the school was authorized to confer graduate status on its students when they successfully completed the course. In 1963, the college became independent.

The school has been part of Birmingham Polytechnic, now UCE Birmingham, since 1971. Unusually, it retains its conservatoire status, despite being part of a university. In 1983 the school made available its first degree course, a BA degree, (later the BMus(Hons) degree).

Birmingham Polytechnic was awarded university status in 1992, when it changed its name to the University of Central England in Birmingham. The conservatoire, now part of the new University, revived its junior tuition programme, and initiated a research programme in 1993, followed by new PgDip and MA (MMus) courses in 2004.

Since 1999, UCE Birmingham Conservatoire has run an undergraduate Jazz course, and a Music Technology course was introduced in 2001 partnership with the Technology Innovation Centre. Research at the Conservatoire now includes a specialised Centre for Composition and Performance using Technology.

UCE Birmingham Conservatoire is now one of the leading music academies in Britain, with over 500 students in undergraduate, graduate and research status. There are an additional 200 junior students, ages 3-18.

The school hosts 300 musical events each year, and the music library holds 95,000 individual scores and 10,000 sound recordings. The staff train students to professional standards in solo performance, composition, chamber music, orchestral playing and jazz. There are about 200 visiting tutors, most professional musicians. This provides almost one staff member for every two students. Students on the four-year BMus(Hons) are encouraged to spend time studying in Europe or the USA, and there is also a also a BSc(Hons) in music technology available.

The school is located near the center of Birmingham, only a short walk from Symphony Hall. Teaching and performing facilities include the 518-seat Adrian Boult Hall, the state-of-the-art Recital Hall and three recording studios. In order to join the program, students usually need two A-level passes (or equivalent) and Grade VIII Associated Board exam in their instrument of choice.

The Conservatoire also offers a variety of community and outreach programs to improve the community. This includes programs to allow teachers from other schools to refresh their skills, programs to send out students and instructors to provide initial instruction to elementary students at primary schools.