Royal College of Music Wind Orchestra

The Royal College of Music (RCM) Wind Orchestra performs a wide and diverse range of music at its home in South Kensington. Conductors in recent years have included Tim Reynish, Ben Gernon and Keith Brion. The RCM is known for its long tradition of high-quality orchestral training, helping to launch many distinguished orchestral playing careers. Close connections with leading professional orchestras is central to this success. RCM musicians regularly participate in schemes with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the English National Opera, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and its alumni are found in principal positions in orchestras around the world. Founded in 1882, the RCM moved to its present site on Prince Consort Road in 1894. Illustrious alumni include Benjamin Britten, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Dame Joan Sutherland, Sir Thomas Allen, Sir Colin Davis, John Wilson, Alina Ibragimova, Gerald Finley, Sir James Galway and Dame Sarah Connolly. In addition to its 800 full time students from more than 60 countries, the College engages with the wider community of children and adults through a dedicated range of creative activities delivered by the RCM Sparks’ education and participation projects, the RCM Junior Department programme, the RCM Museum and the Creative Careers Centre. A further development is the growing schedule of live-streamed concerts and masterclasses which can be viewed on www.rcm.ac.uk/live.