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Welcome to RBC This Week, at the end of a long and immensely productive spring term. Our students now have a short break before they return for their end-of-year recitals and a string of public performances to round off the academic year – and for some, their time at RBC.

The Learning and Participation (LEAP) Ensemble recently performed to more than 2,600 primary schoolchildren through an ongoing partnership between RBC and Leicestershire Music.

Student Oscar Abbott (left) will perform the world premiere of Liam Taylor-West’s piano concerto Ring Out! with the National Open Youth Orchestra, the world’s first disabled-led national youth ensemble.

Meet Applied Performance in Community and Education alumnus Liam Fletcher, who shares what it’s like to live away from home for more than eight months of the year on a cruise ship.

Get to know who is driving Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, in this regular feature, Meet the RBC leadership team. Prior to joining RBC, Head of Keyboard Studies Professor of Music John Thwaites worked at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. 

Next month (May 2025), Birmingham City University (BCU) will host Serendipity Arts Festival, a four-day arts extravaganza celebrating South Asian arts and culture, and free tickets are available to book now.

The Learning and Participation (LEAP) Ensemble recently rehearsed and performed alongside 450 young musicians through a new partnership between RBC and the Bristol Cathedral Schools Trust.

BMus student Michelle Amezcua performed her final project, México Mágico, with dancers, musicians and storytellers, as well as the Ambassador of Mexico to the UK Josefa González.

Secondary school students from Lordswood Boys’ School paid a visit to Royal Birmingham Conservatoire recently to discover the life and music of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges as part of RBC’s French Season.

Get to know who is driving RBC in this regular feature, Meet the RBC leadership team. Vice Principal Professor Shirley Thompson has held several different roles since 2001 when she joined RBC. She is the first and only woman to be Principal, an interim role that she held for three years.

Alumna, soprano and Festival Director Abigail Kelly was honoured recently with a Royal Philharmonic Society Impact Award for Re:Discover Festival.

Welcome to RBC This Week, a week after we welcomed 500 movers and shakers from across the classical music world to RBC for the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Awards.

Players from Royal Ballet Sinfonia, the orchestra for Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB), visited RBC recently to take part in a side-by-side rehearsal with 60 students.

Get to know who is driving Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in this weekly feature, Meet the RBC leadership team. Vice Principal Acting Professor Stephen Simms brings two decades of experience as a professional actor to RBC working at the Royal Shakespeare Company and in the West End.

Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Performance graduate Henry Reavey will hone his skills as a répétiteur on the Young Artists’ Programme at the National Opera Studio.