Royal Academy of Music

The Royal Academy of Music is a music school in London, England and one of the leading music institutions in the world. It was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 and in 1830 was granted a Royal Charter by King George IV 'to promote the cultivation of the science of music and to afford facilities for attaining perfection in it by assisting with general instruction all persons desirous of acquiring knowledge thereof'. Many of the most important musicians have studied at the RAM since then.

The Academy

The Academy enjoys a prime location in central London, alongside Regent's Park. Facilities, which include the 450-seat Duke's Hall and a modern Theatre, were expanded in 2001 with the opening of a new 150-seat recital hall and the York Gate Collections, a public museum of musical instruments and artefacts from the Academy's collections. The Royal Academy of Music has a fine collection of more than 200 stringed instruments from the violin family. These have been acquired for the benefit of students and recent leavers and they are maintained in playing order by the Academy's resident luthier and include several Stradivari, Amatis & Guarneris. The library has over 160,000 items, with a large stock of books and sheet music including significant collections of early printed and manuscript materials and audio facilities. The Library also houses a Sir Arthur Sullivan archive and a Sir Henry Wood archive. Among the Library's most valuable possessions are the manuscripts of Purcell's The Fairy Queen, Sullivan's The Mikado, Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis and Serenade to Music and the newly-discovered Handel Gloria. A grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund has assisted in the purchase of the Robert Spencer Collection ? a set of Early English Song and Lute music, as well as a fine collection of lutes and guitars. The York Gate Collections now display many of these items. The Orchestral Library has about 4,500 sets of orchestral parts, constantly augmented with new acquisitions. Important collections include the libraries of Sir Henry Wood and Otto Klemperer.

Related Topics:
Central London - Regent's Park - 2001 - Stringed instrument - Violin - Stradivari - Arthur Sullivan - Henry Wood - Purcell - The Fairy Queen - The Mikado - Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis - Serenade to Music - Handel Gloria - National Heritage Memorial Fund - Lute - Guitar - Otto Klemperer

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The Academy's students, who make up a vibrant community in which over fifty countries are represented, follow diverse programmes ranging from performance to composition, jazz, media, musical theatre and Royal Academy Opera.

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