 King Charles Court (Music) | |
Former name | Trinity College of Music |
|---|---|
| Motto | Tradition meets tomorrow |
| Type | Conservatoire |
| Established |
|
| Founder | Henry George Bonavia Hunt |
| Affiliation | Conservatoires UK |
Academic affiliation | European Association of Conservatoires[1] |
| Endowment | £6.7 million (2020)[2] |
| Chairman | Alan Davey |
| President | A. R. Rahman |
| Principal | Anthony Bowne |
| Patron | The Duke of Kent |
| Students | 1,300 (2023/24)[3] |
| Undergraduates | 950 (2023/24)[3] |
| Postgraduates | 350 (2023/24)[3] |
| Address | King Charles Court,Old Royal Naval College,Greenwich, SE10 9JF ,,United Kingdom |
| Campus | Urban |
| Website | trinitylaban |
 | |
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance[n 1] is amusic,dance, andmusical theatreconservatoire based in South East London. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions –Trinity College of Music andLaban Dance Centre. Trinity Laban provides training in all aspects ofclassical music,jazz,popular music, composition,musical theatre,contemporary dance,dance science,choreography, andmusic education. The conservatoire has 1,250undergraduate andpostgraduate students based at three campuses inGreenwich,Deptford andNew Cross.
Trinity Laban also runs a Centre for Advanced Training programme for young dancers aged 12 to 17 and a junior music department (Junior Trinity), designed for young musicians aged 3 to 19.[4]
The conservatoire has formed academic partnerships with institutions includingBeijing Dance Academy,[5]KM Music Conservatory,[6] and theUniversity of Melbourne[7] and industry partnerships includeTrinity College London,[8]Studio Wayne McGregor,[9] and thePhilharmonia Orchestra.[10] Trinity Laban is a Member of Conservatoires UK and the European Association of Conservatoires.[11] The principal of Trinity Laban is ProfessorAnthony Bowne[12] andA. R. Rahman was announced as the conservatoire's HonoraryPresident in 2024.[13]
Trinity college of music was founded in central London on 1 June 1872 byHenry George Bonavia Hunt, an ordained priest and musician whose qualifications included a doctorate in music fromTrinity College, Dublin.[14] Initially named the Church Choral Society, the organisation’s principal aim was to improve the teaching of church music. A year later, in 1873, the college became the College of Church Music, and subsequently in 1876 was incorporated as the Trinity College London. Initially, only male students could attend and they had to be members of theChurch of England. The college’s diverse activities in the early years included choral singing classes and teaching instruction in church music.
In 1880, the college moved to 13Mandeville Place offWigmore Street in central London, which remained its home for over a hundred years.[15] Following acquisition of the neighbouring 11 Mandeville Place in 1917, the two buildings were united in 1922 through extensive structural alterations, including the addition of a Grecian portico, a first floor concert hall and an impressive staircase.[16] The building is now occupied by theSchool of Philosophy and Economic Science.
The college moved toGreenwich in 2001, taking up residence in King Charles Court in theOld Royal Naval College.[17] The east wing of King Charles Court was constructed byJohn Webb as part of a rebuilding ofGreenwich Palace; it was subsequently absorbed into theRoyal Naval Hospital complex, designed in part by SirChristopher Wren, which had later become part of theRoyal Naval College (RNC). To make the buildings suitable for Trinity's use and remove the accretions of a century of RNC occupation required a substantial refurbishment programme. Work to provide new recital rooms revealed that the building's core incorporates masonry from the Tudor palace.
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Trinity College London was founded in 1877 as the external examinations board of Trinity College of Music, and administered examinations and diplomas until 1992, when the two organisations separated.[18][19] Trinity College London validated Trinity College of Music's Graduate Diploma (theGTCL) before it was replaced by the BMus model in 1997. Today, the TCL’s examinations are taken by students in over 60 countries, giving external students the opportunity to attain qualifications across a range of disciplines in theperforming arts andarts education andEnglish language learning and teaching.[20] Trinity College London and Trinity Laban maintain a partnership, with Trinity College London funding scholarships.[21]
Trinity College of Music has a historical association withFreemasonry, with the Trinity College Lodge No 1765 being founded in 1878[22] by seven early teaching members of the college who were freemasons, includingHenry George Bonavia Hunt. Trinity College Lodge is no longer associated with Trinity Laban. However, by co-incidence, the College's patron, theDuke of Kent, has been Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England since 1967.[23]
Trinity Laban: The Merger
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance was formed by a merger in 2005 between then Trinity College of Music and then Laban Dance Centre, both organisations having moved to new sites close to each other, Greenwich and Deptford, since 2000.[24] Trinity Laban became the first UK higher education institution focusing of music and dance.[25] Initially led by two principals, Derek Aviss and Anthony Bowne, in 2010 Bowne took sole leadership of the conservatoire.[25]
The Art of Movement Studio was established in November 1945, beginning with four students in Palatine Road, Manchester. By January 1946, it had relocated to 183/5 Oxford Road. Personal memoirs suggest between 8 and 17 initial students.[26] Instruction was provided byLisa Ullmann, Sylvia Bodmer, andRudolf Laban.
The founding purpose of the Studio was to serve as a teacher training institution. For the next three decades, this remained its dominant focus. However, correspondence from Lisa Ullmann suggests that the students’ interests may have leaned more towards performance than education.[27]
In 1954, the institution was renamed Laban: The Art of Movement Centre.[28]
In July 1953, the Art of Movement Studio relocated from Manchester to Addlestone in Surrey.[28] During the 1960s and 1970s, the number of full-time students averaged just under 80 per year.[29] A wider impact was made through short and summer courses, with participation reaching into the thousands.
The Studio offered a three-year professional training course and an additional supplementary course.[30]
According to Willson, the integration of the Art of Movement Studio into Goldsmiths’ College was facilitated by political negotiations and financial backing, notably a grant from the Gulbenkian Foundation.[31] Goldsmiths committed to relocating the Studio to newly renovated premises at Laurie Grove, New Cross, London, culminating in the move in September 1976.
Dr. Marion North played a significant role in the Studio’s later development. She began her association with the Art of Movement Studio in 1951 as a student and assistant to Rudolf Laban and Lisa Ullmann.[32] After leaving in 1958 to apply Laban’s methods in industrial and community contexts, she returned to academia in the mid-1960s as Head of Movement and Dance at Sidney Webb College. In 1972, she was appointed Head of the Movement Department at Goldsmiths’ College and, in 1973, succeeded Ullmann as the Director of the Art of Movement Studio.[33]
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Current and former staff include:
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