The Royal College of Music (RCM) in South Kensington will be opening its doors to venue hire following a £40m investment. Spanning two and a half years, the project has seen a transformation of the world-famous conservatoire, which will be available to hire for events from July 2021.
Clients will enjoy a wide range of spaces for events for up to 400 guests, including performances, exhibitions, receptions, dinners, meetings and conferences. A new vast, light-filled conservatory built from a disused courtyard space leads onto a brand-new RCM museum, housing the College’s collection representing music-making over a period of more than five centuries and two new performance spaces. Designed with the highest standard of music-making in mind, the new performance spaces are purpose-built for performances with sophisticated acoustics and technology.
Famed as a world-leading institution, the Royal College of Music embarked on the ambitious development to open up the Grade-II listed building, expand access and broaden the potential for event planners to maximise the unique atmosphere. Spaces available for hire range from The Britten Theatre, a luxurious tiered auditorium, to the blank-canvas Performance Studio, and wood-panelled Parry Rooms for more intimate events, set against the splendid backdrop of the Royal Albert Hall.
The RCM has welcomed big names to the venue in recent years, including Sir Antonio Pappano, Thomas Zehetmair and Sir Roger Norrington, all of whom have conducted concerts, whilst masterclasses with international stars such as Maxim Vengerov, John Lill, Alina Ibragimova and Stefan Dohr, have also taken place.
The Royal College of Music’s in-house studio team, RCM Studios, offers a range of professional services to support and enhance events, including amplification, from a basic sound system, for announcements and speeches, through to full music reinforcement for a band, jazz group or orchestra. The in-house team can also supply HD video projection on a large screen in a range of configurations for keynote presentations, video screening and more. Through RCM Studios, organisers will also have access to a professional broadcast-quality service for the recording, filming or live streaming of events via YouTube or other platforms.
Top catering options are available from a list of accredited suppliers, and it is even possible to hire the talented students of the College as performers for a one-of-a-kind event experience. Spaces are available for hire predominately outside of term dates; however, the RCM is able to accommodate a number of events during term time.
Sam Glenister-Batey, Head of Events and Venue Hire at the Royal College of Music, says: “We are thrilled to be approaching the finale of our redesign and look forward to sharing the spaces with new and existing clients alike. The new building development has been designed to the highest quality and to be inviting and inclusive, and we are excited to see the variety of event possibilities that our versatile spaces allow for.
“As a charity and place of education, each and every event held here with us helps to support the development of the next generation of talented musicians, and it is our ambition at RCM that no student should be denied an RCM education due to lack of funds. As such, part of the money raised through venue hire goes to support the RCM Scholarship Fund.”
For more information, contact the venue hire team at venuehire@rcm.ac.uk or visit the newly launched website at www.venuehire.rcm.ac.uk
