Facilities

As an RNCM student, you will enjoy use of the College’s excellent facilities, including world-class performance venues and a wealth of learning resources.

A major benefit of studying at the RNCM is that you will rehearse and perform in state-of-the-art venues. We recently invested more than £7 million to redevelop the RNCM Concert Hall and backstage areas, as well as £1 million to refurbish a studio space, which houses the world’s largest BOXY pod.

The College’s main performance and rehearsal spaces are:

RNCM Concert Hall (433, 598 or 710-seat)

A unique octagonal performance space with advanced technical facilities and lighting, new flooring and seating, a balcony and raised floor area

RNCM Theatre (650-seat)

One of the largest performance and recording spaces in Manchester with a reconfigured backstage area, providing a professional learning environment at industry standard

Carole Nash Recital Room (117-seat)

A modern performance space with high-quality acoustic properties and on-site recording studio

Large Studio Spaces

These include a newly-refurbished studio for use by Popular Music students with a state-of-the-art sound-proofing pod system, incorporating a fully-equipped recording studio. In addition, a new digital studio is under development for real-time interactive broadcast and collaborative work through the RNCM Ensemble+ project.

You will have access to a wealth of resources to help support your studies, including:

• Over 70 tutorial and individual practice rooms, including three brand new soundproof individual practice pods, and more than 120 pianos
• Asimut, a state-of-the-art online room booking system
• An IT Studio containing PCs with Sibelius software
• Composition labs with a suite of iMac machines
• RNCM Moodle, the College’s virtual learning environment
• Wi-Fi hotspots inside the College
• A professional recording department offering student recording services and AV equipment loan
• An award-winning library with a wide range of materials and online resources

RNCM Library

The RNCM Library has a wide range of materials to support learning, research and performance, and is a key resource for all areas of your degree programme.

Our knowledgeable library staff have vast musical expertise and will help you to make the best use of the resources available:

• 120,000 catalogued items including books and printed music and 96 current journal titles
• The College’s own archive of recordings, and 18,000 CDs and DVDs
• Online access to e-books, databases, selected journals and audio-visual streaming services
• PCs with music software, listening stations and a viewing area
• The RNCM Archives, which are of international importance
• The RNCM Collection of Historic Musical Instruments, which consists of over 300 instruments dating from the 16th to the 20th century

The RNCM Library was recently recognised for its outstanding services to our user community, as a recipient of a IAML (UK & Irl) Excellence Award for Music Libraries.