This year the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland celebrates its 175th birthday!

We have been teaching the performing arts in Glasgow since 1847. Building on our roots as a national academy of music, we have grown over the past 175 years to be one of the most interdisciplinary and collaborative institutions in the world and are consistently ranked within the world’s top 10 performing arts institutions. Most recently in 2022, the Royal Conservatoire ranked fifth in the QS World Rankings for Performing Arts Education.

The Royal Conservatoire is bold, ambitious and optimistic about our future as a 21^stcentury conservatoire. Our goal now, through our students, staff and graduates, is to raise the transformative power and reach of the performing arts in Scotland and beyond.

Richard Madden celebrating with graduates in 2019 when he received an Honorary Doctorate.

Our 175 Events

175: Mondays at One – The Music of Learmont Drysdale

Marianna Abrahamyan (piano), Gina McCormack (violin) and students from RCS bring to life works by Learmont Drysdale, a composer celebrated in his own time but known by few today.

175: RCS Choral Performance

Join us for a celebratory and joyous choral performance directed by Andrew Nunn. The programme includes works by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Antonio Vivaldi.

175: An Evening of Ballet & Song

This joint venture between students from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Vocal Performance and Ballet departments features a choreographed performance of French composer Maurice Ravel’s Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé.

175: Hermia’s Dream

Based on the Lover’s Scenes in Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, Hermia’s Dream throws the play’s themes into a new light using movement, dance and Shakespeare’s words.

175: Lunchtime Concert – Accordions

A group of RCS accordion students perform a programme including works by Bach, Zubitsky, and Tiensuu in this lunchtime concert.

175: Opera Screening – Les Enfants Terribles

Part of a trilogy of films written by Jean Cocteau, each of which has been translated into opera by Philip Glass, Les enfants terribles is written for four singers and four dancers and orchestrated for three grand pianos.

175: BA Filmmaking Screening – Ūhte

Filmed on the set of the BBC’s River City, the 10 minute opera film Ūhte, composed by student Henry McPherson and directed by RCS Head of Film Ray Tallan, tells the story of three magicians and the silence where magic was once found.

175: Braw Brass & GRIT Orchestra

Bennett’s music, a virtuoso fusion of Celtic, Scandinavian and Islamic traditions with techno, breakbeat and hip-hop, has been orchestrated by violinist Greg Lawson, who also conducts the performance. Comprising around 80 leading folk, jazz and classical musicians, the GRIT Orchestra is a truly unique ensemble.

Over our ‘175 Week’ we put on some incredible events showcasing the work of students and staff at RCS. Thanks to these performances, we managed to raise £4,527.95 for our scholarship fund. Thank you to everyone who attended!

Celebrating at the Scottish Parliament

In November, students, colleagues, governors, MSPs, partners and a wide range of external guests met in the unique surroundings of the Garden Lobby of the Scottish Parliament to mark our 175th anniversary.

It was particularly special that our host and sponsor for the evening, Michelle Thomson MSP, is both an alumna of RCS and the Convenor of the Scottish Parliament’s Cross-party Group on Music. Michelle spoke about the vital importance of the arts in her life and within society generally.

It was a lovely evening, made even more special by the wonderful performances of traditional music students, and of the accordion quartet Ryan Corbett, Sofia Ros Gonazalez, Melia Simonot and Ciorstaidh Chaimbeul. The Principal pointed out that our quartet was composed of people from Glasgow, the Isle of Skye, Spain and France, showing how Scotland and the wider world come together through our art forms.

175 Years of History

1847 – Royal Conservatoire of Scotland opens as Glasgow Athenaeum

1886 – Drama is added to school curriculum

1929 – Scottish National Academy of Music is formed from the School of Music

1944 – King George VI approves the prefix ‘Royal’ in recognition of the school’s international standing, making it the ‘Royal Scottish Academy of Music’. His wife, Queen Elizabeth assumed the role of Patron, a role she continued as Queen Mother until 2002

1950 – The Glasgow College of Dramatic Art is created

1962 – First television studio located within a UK drama school

1968 – The school is renamed the ‘Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama’

1994 – RCS becomes the first UK conservatoire to be awarded its own degree-awarding powers by the Privy Council

2001 – First research students are recruited

2002 – Upon the death of the Queen Mother, HRH, The Prince Charles assumes the role of Patron

2011 – The institution becomes the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to reflect our national growth and the degrees offered across the whole of the performing arts

2021 – RCS is ranked in the world top three for performing arts education in the QS World University Rankings

2022 – 175 years old!

175 years – shop our new collection

In celebration of 175 years, browse our merchandise and take home a special anniversary keepsake.

Visit our shop

Raising the Curtain

As part of our celebrations, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland: Raising the Curtain, hit bookshelves on 7 December and is published by Luath Press, showcasing 175 years of magic and memories at the nation’s conservatoire.

This page-turning new book turns the spotlight on the fascinating history of a world-renowned performing arts school and a jewel in Scotland’s cultural crown.

You can purchase your own copy at the RCS Shop.

THE ARCHIVE

Dive into our Archives and Collections

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland has amassed an archive of international acclaim that boasts more than a million items, including one of the world’s most significant collections of musical instruments with nearly 1000 pieces.

A visit to Archives and Collections is like taking a step back in time, at every turn there is something new and exciting to discover; interesting and unusual treasures from performance programmes, press cuttings and photographs alongside student and staff records, manuscripts and artworks.

Our archives are preserved by Stuart Harris-Logan, Keeper of Archives and Collections at the Royal Conservatoire.

The archive recently turned ten years old, explore ten highlights from our collection.

A Campus Built For The Performing Arts

Explore the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in our 360 virtual tour. You’ll be able to see our rehearsal and practice rooms, professional performance venues, production workshops, editing suite, ballet studios and more.

Here’s to the next 175!

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Visit our Support Us page to find out how you can help.

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175 Years

Join us as we celebrate our 175th anniversary

Richard Madden celebrating with graduates in 2019 when he received an Honorary Doctorate.

Our 175 Events

175: Mondays at One – The Music of Learmont Drysdale

Marianna Abrahamyan (piano), Gina McCormack (violin) and students from RCS bring to life works by Learmont Drysdale, a composer celebrated in his own time but known by few today.

175: RCS Choral Performance

Join us for a celebratory and joyous choral performance directed by Andrew Nunn. The programme includes works by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Antonio Vivaldi.

175: An Evening of Ballet & Song

This joint venture between students from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Vocal Performance and Ballet departments features a choreographed performance of French composer Maurice Ravel’s Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé.

175: Hermia’s Dream

Based on the Lover’s Scenes in Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, Hermia’s Dream throws the play’s themes into a new light using movement, dance and Shakespeare’s words.

175: Lunchtime Concert – Accordions

A group of RCS accordion students perform a programme including works by Bach, Zubitsky, and Tiensuu in this lunchtime concert.

175: Opera Screening – Les Enfants Terribles

Part of a trilogy of films written by Jean Cocteau, each of which has been translated into opera by Philip Glass, Les enfants terribles is written for four singers and four dancers and orchestrated for three grand pianos.

175: BA Filmmaking Screening – Ūhte

Filmed on the set of the BBC’s River City, the 10 minute opera film Ūhte, composed by student Henry McPherson and directed by RCS Head of Film Ray Tallan, tells the story of three magicians and the silence where magic was once found.

175: Braw Brass & GRIT Orchestra

Over our ‘175 Week’ we put on some incredible events showcasing the work of students and staff at RCS. Thanks to these performances, we managed to raise £4,527.95 for our scholarship fund. Thank you to everyone who attended!

Celebrating at the Scottish Parliament

175 Years of History

175 Years of History

175 years – shop our new collection

Raising the Curtain

THE ARCHIVE

Dive into our Archives and Collections

A Campus Built For The Performing Arts

Here’s to the next 175!

BA Acting

Undergraduate Courses

Open Days

Junior Conservatoire

Short Courses

Junior Conservatoire.

Auditioned courses for students aged 1—18

Short Courses.

Open access courses for students aged 1-18

175 Years

Join us as we celebrate our 175th anniversary

Richard Madden celebrating with graduates in 2019 when he received an Honorary Doctorate.

175: Mondays at One – The Music of Learmont Drysdale

Marianna Abrahamyan (piano), Gina McCormack (violin) and students from RCS bring to life works by Learmont Drysdale, a composer celebrated in his own time but known by few today.

175: RCS Choral Performance

Join us for a celebratory and joyous choral performance directed by Andrew Nunn. The programme includes works by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Antonio Vivaldi.

175: An Evening of Ballet & Song

This joint venture between students from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Vocal Performance and Ballet departments features a choreographed performance of French composer Maurice Ravel’s Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé.

175: Hermia’s Dream

Based on the Lover’s Scenes in Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, Hermia’s Dream throws the play’s themes into a new light using movement, dance and Shakespeare’s words.

175: Lunchtime Concert – Accordions

A group of RCS accordion students perform a programme including works by Bach, Zubitsky, and Tiensuu in this lunchtime concert.

175: Opera Screening – Les Enfants Terribles

Part of a trilogy of films written by Jean Cocteau, each of which has been translated into opera by Philip Glass, Les enfants terribles is written for four singers and four dancers and orchestrated for three grand pianos.

175: BA Filmmaking Screening – Ūhte

Filmed on the set of the BBC’s River City, the 10 minute opera film Ūhte, composed by student Henry McPherson and directed by RCS Head of Film Ray Tallan, tells the story of three magicians and the silence where magic was once found.

175: Braw Brass & GRIT Orchestra

Over our ‘175 Week’ we put on some incredible events showcasing the work of students and staff at RCS. Thanks to these performances, we managed to raise £4,527.95 for our scholarship fund. Thank you to everyone who attended!

175 Years of History

175 years – shop our new collection