Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama: History, Mission and Operation

ROYAL WELSH COLLEGE OF MUSIC AND DRAMA: HISTORY, MISSION AND OPERATION

“The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama is utterly unique in Wales,
and above all it has helped thousands of people realise their dreams.”

HRH The Prince of Wales, Patron

Introduction to the College

The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama has a pedigree which stretches back some sixty-three years, during which time it has seen some of the finest performing artists pass through its doors. It is the national conservatoire of Wales and provides specialist training for around 680 exceptionally gifted young artists and theatre practitioners at any time - in Music, Acting, Stage Management, Theatre Design and Arts Management.

Typically, around 75% of our students come from outside Wales: our current cohort of students is drawn from 30 different countries.

Competition for places is intense. As an illustration, up to 1500 applicants are auditioned annually for just 20 places on our Actor training programme. The College auditions potential applicants (musicians and actors) in a range of centres internationally including China, Hong Kong, Singapore and North America.

Our students typically go on to employment in the leading companies in the UK and internationally. Recent graduates are currently employed at the Royal Opera, the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Court, Manchester’s Royal Exchange, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera and many other leading UK companies.

Our acting alumni include Sir Anthony Hopkins, Ruth Jones, Rob Brydon, Eve Myles, Kimberley Nixon and Aneurin Barnard who was recently awarded an Olivier Award within two years of graduating. The National Theatre’s recent production of Thirteen involved 7 graduates of the College including the designer, stage manager and fight director. The 2012 production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in London’s Kensington Gardens employed no fewer than 14 graduates of the College.

The College enjoys a close relationship with the leading cultural institutions in Wales such as Welsh National Opera, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, National Theatre Wales and Music Theatre Wales; our students also regularly undertake placements with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, the Donmar and Royal Court amongst others.

This is a small institution that punches disproportionately above its weight internationally. In the field of theatre design, the College is acknowledged as the leading trainer in the UK and a major international player. In September 2013 we will host World Stage Design, exhibiting the work of 100 international theatre designers and hosting over 1000 delegates.

CONTRIBUTION TO WALES’ CULTURAL LIFE

The College trains its students in conditions that replicate the wider arts industry. As a core part of its training model, the College promotes some 350 public performances a year – by students and leading international artists - and makes a substantial contribution to the cultural life of Wales.

The College provides weekly tuition for 350 exceptionally talented young musicians and actors under the age of 19 through its Junior Conservatoire and Young Actors’ Studio. 95% of all Junior students progress to full-time higher education.

The College also delivers a lively community participation programme for all ages, both year-round and through a diverse programme of Summer Schools.

RECENT INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY & CONSTITUTIONAL STATUS

The College began life as the National College of Music and Drama in 1949, based in Cardiff Castle. Since then, it has developed from a local authority institution to achieve conservatoire status and in 2002 was granted its Royal designation by Her Majesty, The Queen.

In 2007, the College entered into a Strategic Alliance with the University of Glamorgan, becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary. This was a unique arrangement in Wales designed to afford the College a more stable operating platform, provide it with a new academic quality framework and generate savings through some shared back-office operations. In recent years the College has been able to complete a magnificent development of its estate, benefitting from substantial investment by the Welsh Government via the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW), and underpinned by financial guarantees provided by the University

From the outset, all stakeholders recognised the need for both institutions to protect and enhance their respective reputations, brands, differentiated missions and operating contexts. The legal separation of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Ltd. within a wider group structure[1] was adopted specifically to ensure the retention of the College’s highly prized Royal designation and its ability to compete effectively within its international peer group.

The governance link between the University and the College (parent and subsidiary company) is made through mutual representation of the two legal entities at board level. The Chair of the College’s board also serves as a Governor of the University board, and acts as the primary point of liaison for the Royal Welsh College’s Board with the Chair and Board of the University of Glamorgan, drawing (as appropriate) on specialist sub-committees of the Board of the University. Two or more lay governors of the University also serve as directors/trustees of the College.

The Financial Agreement between the University of Glamorgan and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama sets out the terms and conditions under which the University makes payments to the College out of funds (premium funding) made available by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.

The Board of Directors of the College is accountable to the Board of Governors of the University of Glamorgan, the parent company and sole shareholder.

The Directors of the Company are also Trustees of the Charity, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Ltd. The role of Director/Trustee is defined by the Companies Act and by charity legislation respectively and all Directors/Trustees carry those statutory responsibilities equally.

ECONOMIC MODEL

The higher than average cost structure of conservatoire education is acknowledged through an enhanced level of public funding (‘conservatoire premium funding’). From September 2012, with the introduction of a new fee structure across Higher Education, the College will charge an undergraduate fee of £9,000 per annum which, combined with a continuation of premium funding provided by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, is designed to sustain the conservatoire model of training.

PEER GROUP AND RECRUITMENT MARKET

The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama is one of six designated ‘Royal Schools’ of Music and/or Drama in the UK[2]. Outside the UK, other leading national conservatoires also benefit from Royal designation. The Royal designation speaks to an international audience about the standing of these institutions in the national life of their countries.

The characteristics that distinguish these institutions include:

• a high degree of selectivity
• high achieving students
• high levels of retention
• intensive training methods based on low student-to-staff ratios, leading to
• a higher than average cost base.

The College operates in a highly competitive niche market. The College’s ability to recruit
the most outstanding students and leading staff is reliant upon:

• the perception of the College’s standing within its UK and international peer group
• its institutional and industry affiliations
• the international reputation of individual staff
• the distinctiveness and quality of its training
• the career success and visibility of its alumni.

In these institutions, competition for places is intense. The procedures for selection and expectations are adjusted accordingly. In 2010/11, the profile of the College’s student body was characterised as follows:

• above average UCAS scores
• 97% retention rate
• 88.9% of graduating students achieved first or upper second class awards
• 75% of students domiciled outside Wales
• 15% of students domiciled outside the UK.

A Strategy to Reposition the College

Since 2008, our aim has been to reposition the College within its national and international peer group of conservatoires and drama schools through a raft of initiatives designed to increase the ambition and quality of the College’s provision. Key landmarks include:

• an innovative deal with Steinway to provide 62 new Steinway pianos, through which the College became the first All-Steinway Conservatoire in the UK;
• the appointment of five International Chairs in Music to enhance our teaching - they include internationally renowned lyric soprano Barbara Bonney and baroque violinist Rachel Podger;
• the introduction of a suite of new Masters courses under new artistic leadership – these include an MA in Opera Performance, delivered in collaboration with Welsh National Opera;
• an enhanced relationship with our Royal Patron, HRH The Prince of Wales and Capital Campaign Patron, Bryn Terfel;
• performances by students at high-profile arts festivals in the UK and internationally.

The early success of this development is evidenced by an increase in the quality and volume of applicants to train at the College (an increase of 50% in both Music and Drama between 2006 and 2010). International recruitment has risen each year, with China and the USA being particular growth markets.

The previous five year strategy focused on enabling the College to reach a point at which it could compete internationally and we made significant progress – academically organisationally and in terms of the College’s facilities. The next five year phase (2012/13 to 2016/17) is designed to ensure that the College can:

• compete successfully at the forefront of its UK and international peer group
• achieve its full potential as a world class cultural institution
• make a distinctive contribution to the cultural and economic life of Wales and enhance the ‘Wales brand’ on an international stage
• continue to deliver its unique mission against the backdrop of a Welsh HE sector that is undergoing reconfiguration.

DEVELOPING NEW FACILITIES

A central focus of the College’s development in recent years was the realisation of a long-held ambition to develop state-of-the-art rehearsal and performance facilities on a single site. A £22.5 million development, completed in June 2011, has transformed the College’s facilities and training provision. The key elements are:

• the Richard Burton Theatre – a 180-seat proscenium-arch theatre with fly tower, dedicated to Wales’ greatest actor and delivered with the support of Burton’s family
• the Dora Stoutzker Hall - a 400 seat chamber recital hall with a world class acoustic
• the Linbury Gallery – to display the College’s award-winning theatre and costume design work
• four full-sized, double-height rehearsal and training studios
• a public Foyer, Café/Bar and Terrace.

The College recently completed its first year of activity in the new facilities which have transformed its operation in myriad ways. The development has won numerous architectural awards and within a year of opening has enabled the College to make a significant contribution to the wider civic and cultural life of Cardiff and South East Wales. In a recent citation, the Arts Council of Wales wrote:

“The Royal Welsh College has had a tremendous opening year in its new award-winning building. This has been visible in its core remit of being a conservatoire, but even more so in becoming a truly public-facing and engaging attribute in civic and cultural life in Cardiff through adventurous and high-quality programming across the arts.”

This transformation has helped the College to significantly advance its profile in Wales and the UK.

The Capital budget was made up of a combination of grants, commercial loan finance and philanthropic gifts from Trusts and individuals. The first philanthropic donation to the project was by the Royal Welsh College’s own Student Union which, through its wholly-owned business activities, generated and donated £100,000. A major gift by the philanthropist, Ian Stoutzker, is recognised in the naming of the concert hall.

We received significant donations from the Linbury Trust, the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Foyle Foundation, the Wolfson Foundation, the Coutts Charitable Trust and many others, as well as individual gifts from many Fellows and friends of the College.

The climax of the fundraising campaign was a Royal Gala at Buckingham Palace in April 2010, generously hosted by the College’s Patron, HRH The Prince of Wales. College students performed to an audience of international guests including Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Dame Shirley Bassey, Lord Lloyd Webber, David Frost, Michael Parkinson and many other leading figures from the arts industry.

KEY PERSONNEL

PatronHRH The Prince of Wales

PresidentLord Rowe Beddoe

Vice PresidentsSir Anthony Hopkins CBE

Dame Gwynneth Jones CBE

Dr. Geraint Stanley Jones CBE

Captain Sir Norman Lloyd Edwards

Menna Richards OBE

Lady Anya Sainsbury of Preston Candover

Edward Thomas

Board of DirectorsGareth Williams (Interim Chair)

John Andrews

Hilary Boulding

John Cranmer

Michael Lawley

Julie Lydon (Vice Chancellor, University of Glamorgan)

Helene Mansfield

Chris Moorsom

Dame Janet Ritterman

Luke Sweeney

Mark Taylor

Haydn Warman

Huw Williams

PrincipalHilary Boulding

FURTHER INFORMATION

Further information about the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama can be found at:

[1]The Glamorgan Group comprises the University of Glamorgan, Merthyr Tydfil College and the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.

[2]The others comprise the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music, the Royal Northern College of Music, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).