The RNCM's 1975 production of Aida. An opera by Verdi.

The RNCM's 1975 production of Aida. An opera by Verdi.

The RNCM's 1975 production of Aida. An opera by Verdi.

The RNCM's 1975 production of Aida. An opera by Verdi.

The RNCM's 1975 production of Aida. An opera by Verdi.

The RNCM's 1975 production of Aida. An opera by Verdi.

The RNCM's 1975 production of Aida. An opera by Verdi.

Just gonna leave this here for Manchester Pride 2017...

(Newly discovered photograph of RNCM's 1993 production of Britten's 'Midsummer Night's Dream. Ref: RNCM/14/4)

Shows Royal Manchester College of Music orchestra seated on a dais in the College's concert hall on Ducie Grove, Manchester. Famous concert violinist and principal of the College, Adolph Brodsky, is about to conduct. Carl Fuchs, concert 'cellist and tutor at the College, can be seen half hidden behind the music stand.

A young Ida Carroll, later principal of the Northern School of Music in Manchester, writes her letter to Santa in 1914.

Reference: Carroll/WC/3
Carroll collection owned by the Ida Carroll Trust

A political poster designed by polymath Thomas Pitfield (Professor of Composition at the Royal Manchester College of Music).

Pitfield was an amazing man with many talents and very self-aware. This poster was designed for the anti-war campaigners in 1937.

This photograph is, as far as we know, the only image of staff and students together as a school photograph from the early days of the Royal Manchester College of Music (founded 1893). You can see the overwhelming majority of female students (so many bonnets!). This is because even though Sir Charles Hallé founded the College to be a professional conservatoire to rival London's institutions it actually started out as a sort of specialist finishing school. Despite best intentions, the majority of students were middle-class young ladies from the suburbs who weer send here to learn "an accomplishment" as it were. Singing, violin and piano were all considered to be very gentile tricks which a young lady could cultivate in order to be brought up "proper". (Because as we all know, in order to attract a husband, one must learn to play the piano.)

Reference: Man-Mus/72

This is photograph shows the Hallé Orchestra in the early 20th century conducted by the famous Hans Richter (pals with Wagner).
We aren't sure of the date, nor are we sure of the venue. Since it is the Hallé, and their performance space was chiefly the Free Trade Hall during that period, this has been an educated guess. However, if anyone can advise differently, that would be super!

Reference: CF/2/7

This isn't actually taken at the RNCM. It was taken in the Ruhleben camp for English prisoners of war in Germany, 1916.
The story is that Carl Fuchs, a 'cello professor at the Royal Manchester College of Music (1893-1973) visited his mother in Germany in the summer of 1916. When WW1 broke out he was detained in the camp since he had a British passport.
However, since he had completed his national service in Germany in his youth, he was released after a handful of months and was able to continue his performing career but only in Germany.
Whilst he was in the camp, however, he worked together with a few fellow prisoners and founded an orchestra (as you do). This photograph was taken of the orchestra after Fuchs has left the camp and sent to him as a greeting card.

Reference: CF/2/10

Adolph Brodsky, principal of the Royal Manchester College of Music, in his Peugeot 5HP single cylinder automobile, with his wife Anna. There are around 15-20 examples of this vehicle, made between 1902-1904, still known to exist. Sadly, we're not sure what happened to this one!

Information on the car was kindly supplied by Dr. Horner from the Manchester Centre for Regional History.

1985-1988
This is another of John Ogdon's (1937-1989) opera arrangements from a fantasy novel. This time, he has focused on the famous queer Gothic novella "Carmilla" by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. This scene here directs one of the most famous parts of the novel, the supposed dream encounter that Laura has with a black panther like creature in her bedroom only to look for it and see the figure of young women by her bed instead. The stage directions to the right of the page are precise and animated, and tell us what Ogdon's vision for the scene would have been.
As far as I know, Carmilla nor his operatic account of "The King of Alsander" were ever performed.

Reference: JO/034

c.1965.
This photograph actually shows members of the Northern School of Music (1920-1973). The NSM specialised in training music teachers, not just performers. It was founded by the wonderful Hilda Collens and then spearheaded by the indefatigable Ida Gertrude Carroll (seated in the photograph on the left of the sofa).

This is the autographed menu card from Lady Hallé's dinner she hosted in honour of Queen Alexandra. The dinner was held at the Hallé's home in Linden Gardens in London. It is relevant to Manchester because, as legend has it, this dinner was the first time that Sir and Lady Hallé approached anyone important about the idea of starting a music conservatoire in Manchester. We can see that the guest list was pretty impressive. We've got autographs here not just from the Queen herself but also from Clara Schumann and Olga Neruda.
It was only a few years later that the idea of the Royal Manchester College of Music was presented to the public.

Reference: Man-Mus/9

c.1950
These are members of the Northern School of Music (1920-1973). We think they're on one of their summer school trips. The building behind them is not the NSM (we're not sure what it is). The original NSM was a couple of rooms on Deansgate and then a couple of rooms on Oxford Road and then a whole building on Oxford Road before being demolished in the 1970s (where Mancunian Way passes over near Oxford Road).

Ref: Carroll/IGC/11

1978-1984
This is the cover for John Ogdon's attempt at making an opera of "The King of Alsander", by J.E. Flecker. The story itself is an odd fantasy novel from the early 1900s. Ogdon (1937-1989) was a famous pianist in his day and one of famous Manchester Group. The Manchester Group was a network of young composers studying at the Royal Manchester College of Music in the 1950s. they worked on new music, breaking away from traditional styles and were interested in new works coming out of different countries. At the time, the Royal Manchester College of Music was very conservative in its tastes for study, rather traditional and old fashioned. Ogdon experimented with different styles and expressions, including teasing new operas out odd stories like this one.

What is really interesting about the cover of this manuscript, however, is his absolutely frantic scribbles. It's not uncommon for Ogdon's manuscripts to have doodles, notes, telephone messages or shopping lists scribbled on the covers. Nor is it a rare sight to see at least two drafts of a work on the same manuscript, superimposing one over the other in different coloured ink. They become rather colourful works of art.

Reference: JO/022

This rather charming chap is Sir Herbert Hamilton Harty (good name). To Manchester, he was one of the most successful conductors of the Hallé Concerts Society. He was employed at the Hallé in 1920, the same year that this photograph was taken.
Here he is ready to perform at Glastonbury Festival. Not the Glasto of more recent legendary fame but the original Glastonbury Festival, founded in 1914 upon socialist, liberal and Utopian values in the arts. There's a rather lovely circular narrative to the story here: Glastonbury was chosen as the site for the festival because of its ties with the ancient legend of King Arthur. Harty is here dressed as Uther, fabled father of King Arthur, for the opera "The Birth of Arthur". This opera was written in 1909 by Rutland Boughton and Reginald Buckley who, in 1914, founded the Glastonbury Festival. Lovely.

Reference: AB/215

c.1950
Similarly to the image of Northern School of Music (1920-1973) members with the invisible instruments, this image is not taken at the School itself. This image of School members having a lark is taken possibly in the summer school. It is from the archive of Ida Gertrude Carroll (second principal of the Northern School of Music). Many people I've talked to about the School comment on its friendly atmosphere and familial sense of camaraderie through the decades. This photograph shows a little of that, I think.

Reference: Carroll/IGC/11

c.1970.
This is an image of the Northern School of Music in its final premises. It bounced around quite a bit over the years.
in 1920, the school opened in premises over Hime & Addison's music shop on Deansgate. In 1923 it moved to the Tudor Galleries at 79 Deansgate - from a single room to three. Early in 1927 the school moved, again along Deansgate to no.260. A steady growth in numbers saw the need for the school to move again, in 1933 to Oxford Road (no.s 93A and 95) above Boosey & Hawkes. In 1945 an urgent appeal was begun to extend the school buildings: with the end of the war and demobilisation, the number of applicants for admission increased. Premises adjoining the building in Oxford Road were adapted, and the extensions were ready in September 1947. In January 1955 the recently established pension fund was used to purchase no.93 Oxford Road at auction (it was being sold by the freeholder without the knowledge of the occupants). In 1958, however, there was an immediate threat to the buildings by a proposed new road (now the Mancunian Way), the line of which was planned through no.91 Oxford Road. No. 91 was demolished in 1964, the NSM having moved into no.99 where it remained until the end of its independent life.