Like Nowhere Else: keeping creatively connected through a year like no other

Published: 20/05/2021

A  message from Professor Jeffrey Sharkey, Principal of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Through the months of lockdown, the RCS community has used its passion for the performing arts and creativity to unite people, make connections across continents and to bring joy and comfort to one another. We have stayed creatively connected and we have continued to produce exciting, new and inspiring work.

We have continued to deliver the highest-quality learning, teaching and research possible. Working safely and carefully within all health and safety guidelines, we’ve been able to offer on-campus ensemble opportunities, rehearsals, performances and access to our specialist facilities.

Second-year BA Modern Ballet students at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Amy Groves, Kirsten Russell (centre) and Mizuki Ito, rehearse a scene from Don Quixote under strict Covid-19 guidelines in Glasgow. © Robert McFadzean

In the past 12 months, we have premiered new works from our concert halls, streamed digital performance festivals, invited world-renowned artists to work with our students, launched new music collectives, supported student enterprise and, where possible, undertaken in-person assessments across all of our programmes. We’ve been grateful to everyone who has continued to support our students and their work.

Michael Ahomka-Lindsay, third year BA Musical Theatre student, in a scene from Violet. © Robert McFadzean

As Scotland’s conservatoire, working with artists and communities across the breadth of this beautiful country, we are also home to students and staff from more than 60 countries who are united in their dedication to the performing arts.

Once more this year, the quality and distinctiveness of our education and research has been recognised with RCS named as one of the world’s top three study destinations by the prestigious QS World University Rankings for Performing Arts education.

We also continue to prioritise the wellbeing of our students and staff who have navigated pandemic restrictions with great care. It is testament to our commitment to safety and support that we have just been shortlisted for the Supporting Student Wellbeing Award in the Herald Higher Education Awards 2021.

Studio Collective, the contemporary music consort created by soloist Daniel Pioro, acclaimed violinist and Associate Artist in Contemporary String Performance. © Robert McFadzean

As Scotland’s vaccination programme rolls out at pace, we are looking towards a new academic year with real optimism and a renewed sense of opportunity. We also approach our 175th anniversary in 2022 as our reputation as a performing arts powerhouse continues to grow.

We are still here, making performance, creating new work, pioneering digital technologies and impactful research to produce the artists the world needs now.

Explore Studying through a Pandemic, a short publication giving a sense of what it has been like to be part of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland at this extraordinary time.

Main image: A scene from As Real As Reality by Maria Monteiro, fourth year BA Contemporary Performance Practice student. Image © Jassy Earl