Created in 2005, when the RNCM was the only music conservatoire to become a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and housed in the newly developed Oxford Road Wing, the CYM is a fusion of well-established and new activities.

Geoffrey Reed, Director, RNCM Centre for Young Musicians, describes the Centre’s work.

The Junior RNCM provides outstanding expert tuition and specialist training for young people aged 8 to 18. Following Mark Simpson’s success as both BBC Young Musician of the Year and BBC Young Composer of the Year in 2006, more young musicians than ever are seeking to join us on Saturdays, with numbers up from 155 in 2006 to 180 from September 2008. The catchment area is very large, too, with students travelling from as far as Northumberland, Shropshire, Nottinghamshire and North Wales every week.

A rich, all-round music education is assured through the provision of a curriculum which includes principal and second study, chamber music, ensembles and orchestras, composition, theory and aural training. An exciting initiative for 2008/2009 will be the New Ensemble Workshops where JRNCM student composers will be able to work closely with their tutors and colleagues and hear their music in live performances.

Karen Humphreys, Deputy Director RNCM Centre for Young Musicians, has direct responsibility for the Junior RNCM. As she says: ‘The College positively hums with excitement on Saturdays as so many highly talented and enthusiastic young musicians gather to enjoy the Junior RNCM experience.’

Adam Taylor, trombone, speaks for many Junior RNCM students: ‘I love playing amongst like-minded people with the excellent facilities provided by the RNCM and feel that everyone is given the opportunity to develop not just as musicians but as people as well.’

Earlier this year, The Cockburn Piano Trio from the Junior RNCM visited Helsinki to take part in a weekend of chamber music with junior students from the Sibelius Academy plus a concert for the Association of European Conservatoires’ Conference on Instrumental and Vocal Teacher Education, where they played to some 80 delegates from Conservatoires across Europe. Molly Cockburn, violin, summed up the feelings of the ensemble:
‘This was a brilliant four days where we had the opportunity to learn from some wonderful musicians from one of Europe’s finest conservatoires.’

The Junior Strings Project (JSP), led by Philippa Bunting, Deputy Director RNCM Centre for Young Musicians, is also a well-established strand within the CYM and continues to be a model of excellent practice in early strings teaching offering children tuition in a bowed string instrument, supported by classes in rhythmics (Dalcroze Eurythmics), singing (Kodály musicianship) and a large ensemble session. The JSP has an open-door policy and colleagues are welcome to visit and see first hand the project in action.

The innovative CYM Summer School for Strings is an exciting new development from the JSP. Over 50 young players aged 6–13 attended the course in July enjoying activities in movement and art as well as singing and playing their instruments. The landscape art of Richard Long was one of the creative starting points resulting in very imaginative work from the children.  A popular option this year was the kick-start group for new beginners with no previous experience. Some of these children will join regular JSP classes in September.

The children and their parents were very positive about their experience:

‘Thank you very much for being my teacher. This week has been a great and very enjoyable experience.’ (Summer School participant, age 11)

‘The school was the first time that she had the opportunity of making music with other children and she clearly loved it. And the concert at the end of the week was similarly an unforgettable experience for us, too.’  (Parent)

The PGCE in Music with Specialist Instrumental Teaching (PGCEwSIT), run in collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University, is a leader in its field. Building on the outstanding success of the PGCE in Music with Specialist Strings Teaching, this new course for wind, brass, percussion and strings teachers, has proven to be popular with students and employers alike during its first two years. Employment rates are high with graduates gaining posts in schools and instrumental music services throughout the UK and abroad. A number of music services have recruited more than one graduate and the feedback is excellent:

‘…. the four ex-RNCM Newly Qualified Teachers are achieving brilliantly and you can be very proud of them. We are delighted with how much progress they continue to make since joining us last September. They’re so skilled and so professional. A real joy to have as colleagues.’

Trainees on the PGCEwSIT enjoy a full curriculum at the RNCM focusing on an integrated approach to instrumental learning and teaching. Instrumental pedagogy is supported by sessions on Dynamic Rehearsal (Dalcroze Eurhythmics), vocal training, improvisation, directing ensembles and gamelan, amongst others and taught by RNCM tutors and other distinguished leaders with national and international profiles.

The praise from a recent graduate speaks for itself: ‘I really appreciate all the sessions you planned for us over last year, it has helped me enormously to develop my skills as a Woodwind teacher. I feel more confident and am planning more exciting lessons now.’

The Junior Wind, Brass and Percussion Project (JWBPP) is another new development at the heart of the CYM, resulting directly from the College’s success at becoming a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Unlike the Junior Strings Project which takes place each week, the JWBPP runs separate events throughout the year for young wind, brass and percussion players in the Manchester area and beyond.

There is a strong focus on creativity in JWBPP activities with opportunities for young musicians to work alongside composers as well as instrumental tutors and RNCM students. Young players have created and performed their own world premières in just two hours, enjoyed sessions on sight-reading and improvisation, attended technique clinics and ensemble classes and had opportunities to explore the repertoire for graded music exams.

‘Great experience – love to study here when I’m older.’

The concluding concert of the RNCM Day of Percussion in February this year had a very special finale. RNCM Ensemble in Residence, BackBeat Percussion Quartet, were joined by RNCM percussion students and over 60 young people from Junior RNCM, Chetham’s School of Music and schools from Cheshire and Rochdale in the world première performance of Voice of the Drum by Damien Harron, commissioned by the CYM. The young performers were magnificent on the day and really enjoyed the dress rehearsal and concert. For many of them it was the first time they had been to the RNCM and they were amazed by the size and splendour of the Haden Freeman Concert Hall when they went on stage for the first time. There were audible gasps of astonishment when they realised that they were going to perform in such a wonderful hall.

Everyone was an equal partner in the performance, each contributing high quality work at his or her own level of experience. Alongside the notated parts of the composer, there was music devised by the young people themselves which included samba, broomsticks and recycled plastic bins!

Much of the work of the CYM contributes directly to the College’s Widening Participation agenda.  In the words of one tutor, commenting after the Voice of the Drum concert:

‘I think we summed things up rather well when we said that we changed a lot of young lives!!’

The CYM also co-ordinates and promotes the magnificent RNCM Gamelan and shadow puppets, which in addition to offering study and performance opportunities, allows us to pursue a key objective of providing a programme of Continuing Professional Development for practitioners. A significant event this year was the Javanese Performing Arts Day with sessions on gamelan, shadow puppets, dance and song. Over 40 teachers attended and were very enthusiastic about the day:

‘The day has been excellent.  I have learnt so much and really want to pass knowledge onto the children.’

The CYM’s diverse activities, working together, enable us to drive forward our key aims of widening participation, expanding horizons, raising standards and achieving excellence. It really is a great place in which to learn and to teach as we seek to inspire and motivate students and staff to develop their potential, work to the highest standards and know what it is possible to achieve.