Achieve the extraordinary

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Located in the great city of Birmingham and making use of the specialist facilities we have on offer, our provision across a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses is designed to prepare you for the modern profession and all its challenges. We put employability and entrepreneurship centre stage, and provide a platform from which successful and sustainable careers can be launched.

We’re passionate about empowering our students to reach their full potential, regardless of background or previous experience. Indeed, we define ourselves by our nurturing, supportive approach: we get to know every one of our students as individuals, and help guide them to discover, develop and pursue their own personal strengths and enthusiasms.

Music

Become the best musician you can possibly be, with world-class tuition and facilities. With a history dating back to 1859, the Conservatoire has a longstanding reputation for producing high calibre graduates who fulfil their creative and professional aspirations.

Music at RBC

Acting

With roots as a drama school going back to 1936, we retain the professional outlook and commitment to contemporary training that has seen our drama provision consistently rated amongst the best in the UK.

Acting at RBC

Student information

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is part of Birmingham City University. This means that you benefit from the wide range of activities, services and support that are in place to serve the university’s 24,000 students.

Student information

The Conservatoire of the future

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s £57 million teaching and performance facility is the first of its kind in the digital age and is the perfect fusion of traditional and contemporary.

Featuring 9,000 sq m of purpose-designed teaching, rehearsal and state of the art performance space, it offers world-class facilities for our students.

What's on

From great music to captivating speakers, there's something for everyone on the BCU events calendar.

Events calendar

Blog

Check out our blog where we share our experiences, stories and the latest news from our Music and Acting Departments.

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Partners

Our links with professional organisations provide our students with valuable performing experience.

Our partners

Facilities

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s £57 million teaching and performance facility offers unrivalled opportunities for our students.

Take a look

Our staff

Around 50 full-time members of staff (including support staff) and nearly 200 visiting specialist tutors work at the Conservatoire. This means that for roughly every two students there is one member of staff.

Our staff

Our graduates

Our graduates at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire go on to a variety of exciting and successful careers. We hope their stories inspire you.

Our graduates

Research

Much of our research work, beyond the major Funded Projects, tends to cluster into informal groupings.

More about our research

Learn and Participate

We work regularly in partnership with music hubs, schools and community organisations to deliver a range of opportunities including instrument specific events, workshops, masterclasses and coaching sessions.

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About us

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a world class institution providing exceptional training for the musicians, actors, stage managers and performers of the future.

About us

BMus Music

Bradley, Thomas and Maisy, students on our BMus Music degree, share their experiences of what it is like to study at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

[00:00:01] Speaker 1 When you start your time here at RBC (Royal Birmingham Conservatoire), you'll be surrounded by people who have similar aspirations to you and or want to just make great music together. So this leads to really great friendships that will last a lifetime, but can also lead to the forming of chamber ensembles with your mates and networking opportunities that you can call upon all throughout your career. Being part of the arts, design and media faculty here at BCU gives you the chance to play on video game soundtracks, film soundtracks and even art exhibitions. I was lucky enough to get my first professional seat in an orchestra called The Chinese Orchestra at the end of my second year, and RBC managed to tailor my course to allow me to go around the world and perform as a professional trumpet player. As School rep for the Conservatoire, this has  given me the opportunity to have meetings with senior staff and other students to discuss how we make the curriculum more inclusive and even how we program concerts to make sure it's as diverse as possible.

[00:01:04] Speaker 2 So I'm a music tech student. Wherever your interest lies, there is a specific room designed for that purpose. Whether that be recording, mixing, mastering or editing. We have several studios with incredible control rooms, with SSL mixing desks and live rooms with a variety of very nice mics. My confidence has risen to levels I didn't know I could reach. I think one of the greatest experiences of being a RBC has been the opportunity to join the Folk Ensemble. Once a week we meet up and we get the opportunity to tour across the UK. It's also a great place to meet people and feel integrated in the RBC community. Primarily, we play folk music, but we take influence from music all around the world and it's all fused with elements of rock, metal and jazz. The course is designed in a way that means that we get a lot of 1 to 1 time with professionals in the industry. The insights I've been given have been so amazing.

[00:02:08] Speaker 3 I have spent most of my final year looking at music education. I've focussed my major project on looking at strategies behind music education in schools and school projects, as well as delivering a music workshop in schools, in a care home and in hospitals. As the course has gone on, I've been given more chances to learn about how I best learn because of the independent study. The University facilities are right on the doorstep of the Conservatoire, and the Curzon Library is only a five minute walk away. The library is great for sheet music and it's also great for any research books we need for our projects. Every student has access to the support services at BCU and the mental health team have been a great support to me throughout my time at university. I've been president of BCUSU's LGBTQ+ Society for the last two years, where we work on improving the student experience for LGBTQ+ students and offering a safe space on campus. My time at university has helped me grow as a musician and as an individual. I'm excited to build my career using the skills that I've learned. 

 

BBC Young Musician of the Year

Music student celebrates ‘the versatility of percussion’ following BBC Young Musician win.

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More information

Accommodation

Find your home from home at BCU. We offer eight halls of residence options, ranging from on-campus to inner-city living. You can take a virtual tour of each accommodation option to find the one for you.

More about accommodation

Admissions

Read our admission FAQs to get your application questions answered. If your question isn’t covered, we have all the details of how to get in touch.

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Student Support

From disability and mental health support to CV and job interview training, BCU ensures you have all you need during your time here – and beyond – to succeed and flourish in your studies and career.

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Social Media

Follow our social media channels and discover more about life at BCU, including what the University and city will offer you if you study here.

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Open Days

When possible, the best way to explore what's on offer is to come and see us in person, and we host a number of Open Days throughout the year. Come and be taught by our trailblazing academics and study in our innovative £400m facilities.

Open days