We Are Appointing a New Principal the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland | We Are Appointing a New Principal
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www.rcs.ac.uk We are appointing a new Principal The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland | We are appointing a new Principal I’ve enjoyed my time at the marvellous Royal Conservatoire of Scotland enormously and intend to maintain our upward momentum over the coming year or so. My successor will be taking on one of the most stimulating and rewarding jobs in Scotland. PROFESSOR JOHN WALLACE CBE 2 The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland | We are appointing a new Principal Chairman’s Welcome Thank you for expressing an interest in the post of Principal at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. The Royal Conservatoire’s current Principal, John Wallace CBE, will retire in September 2014 after twelve outstandingly successful years in office. John Wallace will leave the Conservatoire in great shape. A new undergraduate curriculum was introduced in session 2012/13 which, at the same time as maintaining disciplinary focus and excellence, exploits the potential for interdisciplinary collaboration between and across the range of artistic disciplines offered by the Conservatoire, which includes every genre of the performing arts. Our estate is world-class and our engagements with the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education tell us that, academically, we are a well-managed and effectively led institution. Applicant demand for our programmes is buoyant and, whilst we operate in the same challenging economic environment as many other higher education institutions, the Conservatoire’s financial head remains firmly above water. The Conservatoire is now seeking an exceptional individual to succeed John Wallace, to build on his many and significant achievements and to enhance the Conservatoire’s international profile and reputation – all for the benefit of our students, current and future. We look forward to hearing from you. Lord Vallance of Tummel Chairman, Board of Governors 3 The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland | We are appointing a new Principal The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is Scotland’s national conservatoire. We are the nation’s only provider of conservatoire education in dance, drama, music, production and screen. Firmly rooted in Scotland, the Conservatoire is also resolutely international in outlook. The history of the Royal Conservatoire can be traced back to the creation of the Glasgow Athenaeum in 1847. From its inception, the Athenaeum offered classes in music and, in 1886, drama was introduced into its curriculum. Music proved to be so successful that, in 1890, a School of Music was formed as a discrete department of the Athenaeum. It was from the Athenaeum’s School of Music that the Scottish National Academy of Music was formed in 1929. Building upon that very firm foundation, the new Scottish National Academy of Music grew in prestige and, in 1944, its position as an Academy of international standing was recognized by King George VI, who approved that the prefix ‘Royal’ be added to the Academy’s title, making it the Royal Scottish Academy of Music. 1950 saw the creation in Glasgow of the College of Dramatic Art, which had the clear and focused aim of training actors and directors for the professional theatre. The College’s curriculum expanded quickly to include technical courses and, in collaboration with the University of Glasgow, diploma courses with a strong academic element. It was in 1968 that the title of Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) was adopted, reflecting the happy union of music and drama in a single institution. The 1970s saw the introduction of the RSAMD’s first degree courses which, at that time, were validated by the University of Glasgow. In 1993/94, the RSAMD became the first UK conservatoire to be awarded its own degree awarding powers for taught degrees by the Privy Council. Over the decades, new undergraduate and postgraduate programmes have been introduced so as to meet current and future needs – over the last 15 years these have included Scottish traditional music, film and television, musical theatre, jazz and, most recently, modern ballet. In 2011 the name Royal Conservatoire of Scotland was adopted to better reflect the extraordinary breadth of our curricular offer. 4 The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland | We are appointing a new Principal The Conservatoire’s physical development has kept pace with its artistic and academic development. In 1987/88, the RSAMD moved from its original Victorian home to the splendid custom built building which we occupy today in central Glasgow. Ten years later, the Alexander Gibson Opera School, which provides rehearsal and coaching rooms, together with a stunning performance space, was opened and, in 2011 we moved into the splendid Speirs Locks Studios, which accommodates modern ballet and technical production. A new phase will open at Speirs Locks in 2014, providing additional large high-specification rehearsal and practice spaces. Today, we are the UK’s only provider of conservatoire education in dance, drama, music, production and screen under the one artistic roof and one of the few conservatoires in the world to offer that range of activity. Our curricular offer extends from early years to PhD programmes. 60% of our students come from Scotland and we also recruit from some 50 countries world-wide, from New Zealand to Norway and from China to Canada. Consistently, around 95% of our graduates are in employment or further study six months after graduation. We celebrate the success of all of our graduates who make such a vital (in all senses of the word) contribution to our cultural life and to the creative industries. They are musicians, directors, singers, writers, composers, costume designers, set designers, animators, educators, actors, performance makers, producers, technicians … and more. They can be found all around the globe, in concert halls, theatres, opera houses, community and other social contexts, classrooms, film studios, production companies; indeed anywhere that performance is created. Alongside our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, we also offer an extensive range of pre-HE, access and short course provision, which represents a growing and increasingly important part of our activities. 5 The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland | We are appointing a new Principal Learning and Teaching Research Our curriculum is designed to: The Conservatoire’s distinctive research portfolio blends traditional research practices with practice- • develop excellence alongside high levels of reflection based artistic research, applied research, consultancy in all of our disciplines; and knowledge exchange. Our submission to the • foster the creative attitudes and skills needed for 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) included collaborative learning in and through practice; performances, compositions and other kinds of • enable students to take responsibility for managing scholarship in music, including applied research. The and evaluating their own learning; RAE panel found that 85% of the Conservatoire’s research • provide students with insights into a diversity of output in music artistic fields and experience of what is required to was of international ... a fantastic opportunity for BBC staff succeed in their individual arts practice; quality and 40% of to work with one of the country’s • develop the ability to use theoretical understanding that was assessed at to inform practice and practice to inform theory; either world-leading leading academic organisations and • enable students to make a contribution in the world or internationally- we have already seen the benefits in as artists, educators, advocates, and active citizens. excellent level. our programme-making from working That outcome is so closely with the staff and students of We are clear that the performing arts in the 21st century recognition of the the Royal Conservatoire. requires practitioners who are innovative, inter- cutting edge work disciplinary and collaborative artists, teachers and of our staff which, of Ken MacQuarrie technicians. Accordingly, the Conservatoire engaged course, enhances the Director, BBC Scotland in a comprehensive Curriculum Reform project which student experience resulted in a new undergraduate curriculum being through its positive introduced in session 2012/13. Our new curriculum impact on the retains the best of our traditional approach to learning curriculum. Detailed and teaching, including intense and intensive staff/ feedback on our RAE student contact time and the use of professional 2008 submission partnerships, combined with myriad performance included the following opportunities. It also offers greater opportunities for comment from the student-led artistic collaboration across and between RAE panel: disciplines; extended student choice at all levels and stages; individualised Learning Contracts, supported by “The predominant strength is undoubtedly in a network of Transitions Tutors and the opportunity of performance, where almost all the world-leading work-based learning outputs resided: this was a highly commendable and for all students. All of well-documented portfolio of practice as research. The The new curriculum will produce the indications are that strategy presents a strong case for a particularly focused independent, thinking artists who our new undergraduate approach towards research in a conservatoire context, will push the boundaries rather than curriculum is proving stressing the role of imaginative approaches towards people who will fit into an orthodoxy; to be a great success, research