Open Day programme January 2020

A P P LY Y OU R

P A S S I O N Open Day programme Thursday 23 January 2020 10am – 4pm bcu.ac.uk/conservatoire/open-days 1

Birmingham City University

W E L C O M E T O R OYA L B I R M I N G H A M C O N S E R VAT O I R E INTERNAL MAP OF JENNENS ROAD BUILDING

FLOORS 0, 1 AND 2 Green Room Backstage

Dressing Rooms

North Stairwell

West Stairwell

Floor 2

Toilets Practice Rooms

Bradshaw Hall

Early Music

Lift

Organ

To Floor 1

East Stairwell Organ Studio

Workshops 4–6

North Stairwell

West Stairwell

Floor 1

Toilets Workshop 3

North (main) Entrance

Performance Events O ce

Lift

Workshops 1 & 2

To Floor 0

Reception East Stairwell

To Floor 2

West Stairwell

Recital Hall The Lab

Toilets

Lift

Café/Bar

South Entrance

To Floor 1

I’m delighted to welcome you to Royal Birmingham Conservatoire for an Open Day event that covers all of our Music, Acting, Applied Theatre and Stage Management courses, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.

It has been yet another extraordinary year for our institution! Since our merger to become a multidisciplinary conservatoire, RBC has gone from strength to strength.

In 2019 our Music provision received the highest overall satisfaction rating in the National Student Survey of any UK conservatoire for the second year running (92 per cent), and our drama school has been ranked in the top ten in the Guardian University Guide, as well as our BA Acting course receiving its own perfect 100 per cent rating for overall satisfaction in the NSS, and BA Applied Theatre receiving an excellent 95 per cent.

We continue our commitment to providing the highest quality training and support for all our students, which has become even stronger and more focused now that we are a combined conservatoire under the invaluable auspices of Birmingham City University.

During your visit today you will discover that our practice rooms, studios and performance spaces are hives of activity, buzzing with the creativity and hard

work of students dedicated to becoming professionals within the arts industry.

We are like one big family here at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, moving in the same direction to become the very best that we can be. I hope that you get a sense of that atmosphere as you walk round today, as this is something that I personally cherish.

We continue to be delighted to watch our graduates achieving great things – from starring in Hamilton, winning major international competitions or composing the music for the latest series of Dr Who. Their success is a mark of the careful and considered preparation they receive during their training and – of course - of their own determination to succeed!

In Birmingham itself we have longestablished links with the city’s globally renowned arts organisations, giving you not only the opportunity to learn from brilliant professionals, but also the chance to forge connections that will be invaluable for your future. There is so much going on in this region that is truly exciting, and we are proud to add to the impressive cultural landscape that exists within our city.

We look forward to welcoming you to the special community that is Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Professor Julian Lloyd Webber, Principal

Floor 0 Eastside Jazz Club

To Royal Birmingham Conservatoire @ Millennium Point

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O P E N DAY H I G H L I G H T S WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION Receive a warm welcome to our open day from Julian Lloyd Webber, who has been our Principal since 2015. Professor Lloyd Webber’s focus is on ensuring all students graduate with the skills they need to have successful careers in a rapidly changing industry, and encouraging students to reach their full potential.

A C C O M M O DAT I O N A N D FA C I L I T I E S TO U R S We know that one of the main reasons you come to an Open Day is to take a good look around and imagine what it would be like if you were a part of the action.

We are running tours of our Music and Acting facilities, and also tours to two of our halls of residence so you can check out where you could be living if you joined us.

LIVE PERFORMANCES We have performances taking place throughout the day in Boults cafe bar:

FACILITIES TOURS Music building (meeting point registration/ info desk)

Bradshaw Hall performance: 9.50 Folk Ensemble

ACCOMMODATION TOURS Regular tours are running to examples of student flats in the Jennens Court and University Locks developments throughout the day from 9am, with the last tour leaving at 3.30pm. The sign up and meeting point for accommodation tours is in workshop 5 (floor 1), where you’ll also find an information desk about the accommodation the University has available.

Times: 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm, 2.30pm, 3.30pm

Foyer performances: 9.20 Percussion 11.15 Recorders 12.00 Acting – Little Women Medley 12.45 Woodwind (Clarinet Group) 1.45 Guitar 2.30 Voice 3.15 Brass (Tuba Quartet)

Acting studios (meeting point Gallery outside the Concert Hall) Times: 11am, 11.45am, 12.30pm, 1.15pm, 2pm, 2.45pm

FREE JAZZ TICKETS TONIGHT If you’re able to stick around after Open Day it will be well worth catching highly celebrated musician Mike Williams, who has been an integral part of the Conservatoire’s Jazz Department since its inception in 1999, when we welcome him and his quartet (Simon Purcell, Percy Pursglove and James Maddren) for one of our jazz guest artists gigs taking place in the Eastside Jazz Club this evening, 6.30-9.30pm. Free tickets available for Open Day guests, just use the discount code RBCOPENDAY to get your free tickets via eventbrite: http://bit.ly/2LCZl6g Mike Williams

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R OYA L B I R M I N G H A M C O N S E R VAT O I R E O P E N D AY TIMETABLE – THURSDAY 23 JANUARY 2020 Bradshaw Hall

Introduction to RBC Folk Prof. Julian Lloyd Ensemble Webber, Dr Shirley (9.50) Thompson and Danièle Sanderson (10.15 – 10.45)

Recital Hall

Orchestral Rehearsal (12.30 – 16.00)

BMus Course Duncan Fielden (11.00 – 12.00) Undergraduate Acting Courses Danièle Sanderson/Robert Miles (11.00 – 12.15)

Applied Theatre Peter Wynne-Willson (12.00 – 13.00)

Performances in the Foyer during the day

Lab

Eastside Jazz Club

Organ Studio

Workshop 1

Workshop 2

Brass Presentation (12.20 – 13.15) Brass Workshop: Bring your instruments (13.15 – 13.45) Brass Band Performance – (13.45 – 14.15) Amos Miller

Jazz Course Jeremy Price/Andrew Bain/John O’Gallagher (11.30-12.30)

String Department Dr Louise Lansdown/ Nicholas Stringfellow (12.00 – 13.20) Postgraduate Courses (Acting) Alex Taylor (11.00-12.00) Taught Postgraduate Courses (Music) Luan Shaw/Dr Sian Derry (11.00-12.00)

MA Professional Voice Practice Alex Taylor (12.00 – 13.00) Postgraduate Research PhD & MA Musicology Dr Carrie Churnside/ Dr Sian Derry (12.00 – 12.45)

Workshop 4

Piano Department Prof. John Thwaites/ Daniel Browell (12.00 – 13.00)

Other

Percussion Course and Audition Advice Toby Kearney - Percussion Suite (Level 5) (12.00-13.00)

Unit 3B, Heanage Street

Jazz Jam Session (14.15 – 15.30)

Drama Workshop (Music Vocal Department) Jamie Hayes (13.30 – 14.30)

Organ Department Daniel Moult (14.30 – 16.00)

Woodwind Department Jenni Phillips (13.30 -14.30)

Woodwind Class: Bring your instruments Jenni Phillips (14.30-16.00)

Foundation Acting Robert Miles (13.00 – 14.00) Harp Department Rita Schindler (12.45 – 13.45) Guitar Department Mark Ashford (13.15 – 14.15)

Vocal Workshop (Acting) Robert Miles (14.30 – 15.30) Recorder/Early Music Department Annabel Knight/Martin Perkins (14.00 – 15.30) Saxophone Department Naomi Sullivan (14.30 – 15.30)

Stage Management - Meet in foyer at 11am for visit to Unit 3B, Heanage Street

Acting Workshops (School of Acting) Music

Composition Department Dr Joe Cutler (14.30 – 15.45)

Jazz Concert (13.00 – 14.00)

Vocal Department Paul Wingfield (12.00 – 13.30)

Workshop 3

Key: Acting

Music Technology Department Followed by a tour of the Studio Facilities (13.15 – 14.15)

Piano Masterclass Peter Donohoe (14.30 – 16.00)

Acting workshops open to observe: Psychological Realism (BA Acting Year 1) - Studio 8/9, Shakespeare (MA/MFA Students) - Studio 2, BA Acting Year 3 Students – Studio 1 (14.00 – 17.00) Research

Session open to all

ACCOMMODATION TOURS RUN FROM WORKSHOP 5

BIRMINGHAM HIGHLIGHTS

TRAVEL DIRECTIONS

Living in Birmingham offers you the chance to live in an exciting, diverse city with a world-class cultural scene.

Open Day registration for all conservatoire courses will be in our music building, located on Jennens road. From there, you will be directed to our Acting, Applied Theatre and Stage Management facilities if you are interested in studying any of those courses.

Birmingham is a home to more than one million people from a range of different cultures and ethnic groups, including the UK’s largest student population outside of London. Indeed, Birmingham is often dubbed the ‘youngest city in Europe’, with 40 per cent of the population aged 25 or under, making for a city that buzzes with energy.

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is situated on the City Centre Campus of Birmingham City University in the Eastside district, which is fast becoming known as the ‘Learning Quarter’ due to the concentration of universities, colleges, and the Thinktank science museum. The city’s major concert

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venues and theatres are within easy reach, including Symphony Hall, Town Hall, Birmingham Hippodrome and the Old Rep Theatre.

Birmingham is also home to many other arts venues including the CBSO Centre, mac Birmingham and the Ikon Gallery, creating an exciting cultural scene that is hard to match elsewhere.

Road and public transportation systems make Birmingham easily accessible, nationally and internationally. Situated in the centre of the UK, tutors, directors and performers find us easily accessible from around the country and across Europe, giving the Conservatoire an enviable schedule of visiting tutors, artists and directors that enrich the training our students receive.

You will find detailed instructions on how to reach us by road, rail and air on this webpage: www.bcu.ac.uk/conservatoire/ about-us/parking-and-directions Please note that the city is undergoing extensive redevelopment in parts at the moment, and we advise that you pay close attention to any diversions that are in place if you are travelling to us by car.

We advise that you follow the Sat Nav postcode B4 7AP or brown tourist signs to Millennium Point and the Thinktank Science Museum.

The Conservatoire is a short walk from the main rail stations (New Street, Moor Street and Snow Hill).

Parking Please be aware that the Conservatoire does not have its own car park so we cannot offer parking. However, there are some car parks situated nearby; the Millennium Point multi-storey car park (B4 7AP) being the nearest.

Joe Broughton’s Conservatoire Folk Ensemble performing at New Street Station

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I M P O RTA N T I N F O R M AT I O N Emergencies and first aid Our security reception can be contacted on +44 (0)121 331 5920. If you require first aid, please ask a member of staff for assistance.

Fire alarm If you hear a fire alarm, please leave by the nearest exit as quickly as possible. Follow any instructions given by our staff.

Equal Opportunities Birmingham City University promotes equality of opportunity in every aspect of its provision. Our Equal Opportunities Policy Statement can be found on the webpage: www.bcu.ac.uk/equality-and-diversity This programme is subject to change – please check www.bcu.ac.uk/conservatoire/ open-days for more information.

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C O N TA C T U S www.bcu.ac.uk/conservatoire Enquiries T: +44 (0)121 331 5901 E: conservatoire@bcu.ac.uk /RoyalBirmCons /BirminghamSchoolofActing

@BirmCons @BirmConsActing

@birmcons

Birmingham City University