Birmingham School of Music

Birmingham Conservatoire is an international conservatoire and a major concert venue in Birmingham, England. Its main performance space is the Adrian Boult Hall, and in addition it houses the 150-seat Recital Hall and the 100-seat Arena Foyer. It is the only one of the nine conservatoires in the United Kingdom that is also a faculty of a university, in this case Birmingham City University. In 2008, as part of the University’s reorganisation of faculties, it became a part of the Faculty of Performance, Media and English (PME), which has now merged to become the Faculty of Arts, Design and Media. It was originally founded in 1886 as the Birmingham School of Music. The Conservatoire can be found in the centre of a major international city known for its world class concert venues and vibrant music scene. In addition to the Conservatoire, Birmingham is also home to two of the world’s finest concert venues – Town Hall and Symphony Hall. As a result, Birmingham Conservatoire experiences a constant stream of distinguished visiting soloists and tutors. A conservatoire education is heavily weighted towards practical learning and performance, and the opportunity for each student to use the specialist professional training on offer to develop a successful career in music is unique to the conservatoire environment. The location of Birmingham Conservatoire favours this professional development, as students are able to take part in collaborations made available by links with the major concert venues in the city, not least of which is the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO).