Trinity College of Music

For other institutions named Trinity College, see Trinity College (disambiguation).

Trinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.

The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren. The College also owns the nearby Blackheath Halls — concert halls in nearby Blackheath village.

The Old Royal Naval College, on the south bank of the river Thames in Greenwich, London viewed from the north side. The Queen's House in the middle of the picture. The Royal Observatory visible in the background.

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Trinity College of Music
Established	1872
Patron	The Duke of Kent
Students	744
Undergraduates	592
Postgraduates	152
Location	London 51.4834°N 0.0069°W / 51.4834; -0.0069
Campus	Urban
Website	www.trinitylaban.ac.uk

History

Trinity College of Music was founded in central London in 1872 by The Rev'd. Henry George Bonavia Hunt to improve the teaching of church music. The College began as the Church Choral Society, whose divers activities included choral singing classes and teaching instruction in church music. Gladstone was an early supporter during these years. A year later, in 1873, the college became the College of Church Music, London. In 1876 the college was incorporated as the Trinity College London. Initially, only male students could attend and they had to be members of the Church of England.

Royal Naval College, Queen Mary building

In 1881, the College moved to Mandeville Place off Wigmore Street in Central London, which remained its home for over a hundred years. The college took over various neighbouring buildings in Mandeville Place. These were finally united in 1922 with the addition of a Grecian portico, and substantial internal reconstruction to create a first floor concert hall and an impressive staircase. However, other parts of the college retained a complicated layout reflecting its history as three separate buildings. The building is now occupied by the School of Economic Science.

1922 Woodcut of Mandeville Place

Trinity moved to its present home in Greenwich in 2001. King Charles Court was constructed by John Webb as part of Greenwich Palace, subsequently absorbed into Wren's Royal Naval Hospital complex and more recently was part of the Royal Naval College. To make the buildings suitable for Trinity's use and remove the accretions of a century of RNC occupation required a substantial refurbishment progamme. Work to provide new recital rooms revealed that the building's core incorporates masonry from the Tudor palace. The overall cost of the move to Greenwich was £17million.

Trinity College of Music offers a pre-eminent teaching faculty, with many principal players, soloists, choristers and composers from the international stage. A surge of interest in Trinity's new location has brought about increased levels of application, making the College one of the most popular institutions of its kind.

Many of the college's staff also teach at the Junior Trinity, a Saturday music school for talented young musicians who are keen on pursuing a musical career. Trinity was the first music college to create such a department, and many conservatoires have now followed in Trinity's steps.

The current Patron of Trinity College, London is HRH The Duke of Kent, KG. The principal is Derek Aviss. Trinity's current Presidents are the distinguised Australian conductor Sir Charles Mackerras CH AC CBE, and Dr Marion North CBE.

Trinity College of Music and Trinity College London

Trinity College London is the international external examinations board of Trinity College of Music. Both Trinity College London and Trinity College of Music belong to the Trinity College Corporation.

Trinity College London is also one of the traditional validating authorities for Trinity College of Music, the others being the University of London and the University of Westminster.

Trinity College London is based at 89 Albert Embankment in central London.

Notable alumni

• Troy Banarzi – composer
• Granville Bantock – composer
• Terry Barber – countertenor
• Sir John Barbirolli – conductor
• Nicola Blackwood – Conservative MP for Oxford West and Abingdon
• Thomas Bowes, violinist
• Edith Coates
• Avril Coleridge-Taylor
• Vincent Crane
• Joan Cross
• Stephen Devassy – composer and performer from India
• Dai Fujikura
• Heather Harper
• Ilaiyaraaja – composer from India
• Harris Jayaraj – composer from India
• James Judd
• Fela Kuti
• Chantal Leverton
• David Lewiston
• Tim Mead – countertenor (junior music school)
• Mehli Mehta – conductor/violinist, and father of maestro Zubin Mehta
• Salim Merchant
• Mickey J Meyer – composer from India
• Lauren Moore
• Fisher Morgan
• J. H. Kwabena Nketia
• John Powell
• Margaret Price
• A. R. Rahman – composer from India
• Karthik Raja – composer from India. Son of Ilaiyaraaja.
• Jim Rattigan
• Alexander Rudd
• Hugo Sheppard – member of progressive metal band To mera
• Simon de Souza
• Philip Turbett
• Paul Turner – BBC Philharmonic
• Alison Turriff
• Luke Walsh
• Gan See Wee – classical guitar professor
• Ed Welch
• Debbie Wiseman – (junior music school)
• Patrick Wolf
• Barry Wordsworth – (junior music school)
• Martin Yates
• Reynaldo Young

Notable staff (current & former)

• Richard Arnell – Former Professor of Composition
• Mulatu Astatke – conga drums
• Issie Barratt – Composer
• Wissam Boustany – Former Professor of Flute
• Nicholas Clapton – Singer (Former Professor of Singing)
• Natalie Clein – Cello
• Christine Croshaw – Professor of Piano, Chamber Music and Accompaniment
• Alison Crum – Professor of Viola da gamba, member of the Rose Consort of Viols
• Meredith Davies – Principal 1979–88
• Graham Anthony Devine – Classical Guitar
• Terry Edwards – Conductor
• Philip Fowke – Piano
• Henry Geehl – Conductor, composer, pianist
• Rivka Golani – Viola
• Richard Jackson – Baritone (Former Professor of German and French Song)
• Philip Jones – Former Professor of trumpet (founder of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble)
• Mark Lockheart – Jazz saxophonist
• Joanna MacGregor – Piano (honorary Professor)
• Oren Marshall – Pioneering electric and acoustic Tuba player
• Stephen Montague – Composer
• Anna Noakes – Professor of Flute
• Andrew Poppy – Composer
• Simon Purcell – Head of Jazz
• Daryl Runswick – Composer
• Yonty Solomon – Pianist (Professor of Piano)
• Stephen Stirling – Horn
• John Tavener – Composer (Former Professor of Composition)
• David Thomas – Singer (bass)
• Philip Turbett – Bassoon (modern and historical)
• Gan See Wee – Classical Guitar
• Simon Young – Piano

Trinity's long association with Freemasonry

The College has a long association with The Masonic Order. In 1878, just three years after the college was incorporated as the Trinity College of Music, the Trinity College Lodge no 1765 was founded by seven members of the college who were Freemasons, including The Rev'd. Henry George Bonavia Hunt. Ever since that time, Freemasonry has been an important, though private feature in the life of the College, amongst both members of staff and increasingly the undergraduate and postgraduate men of the college through the Masonic University Outreach Scheme. Trinity College Lodge is still a thriving masonic lodge, but it is no longer associated with the college, since no men of the college belong to it. HRH The Duke of Kent, the Patron of the College, is Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England. A generation ago, there were few -if any- male Trinity students and staff that did not belong to the Masonic Order.

External links

• Trinity College of Music – Official website
• Trinity College — Speech & Drama, Music, Drama & Dance, TESOL
• CUKAS – Admissions system website
• Music Tools Direct — MP3 piano accompaniment for Trinity Guildhall exam pieces