Exciting collaboration for RNCM and Abbey Road Institute

The RNCM has joined forces with the Abbey Road Institute for an exciting collaboration.

Students on the Popular Music programme will have the opportunity to work with students on the Institute’s Advanced Diploma in Music Production and Sound Engineering, in addition to receiving advice from industry legends.

The Joe Keegan Band and Andy Stott

The collaboration began when Andy Stott, RNCM Head of Popular Music, took the Joe Keegan Band for a recording session at Abbey Road Studio Two with students from the Institute. The band, signed to Northern Quarter Records and comprising current students, paired up with producer and Abbey Road Institute guest lecturer Haydn Bendall (Kate Bush, Paul McCartney, and XTC) to show their peers just what can be achieved during a day’s recording. From breaking down song structure to writing Hammond organ parts, the session was a burst of creative energy, with singer Joe Keegan describing it as the ‘best day working with double Grammy Award-winning producer Haydn Bendall’.

Haydn Bendall

Andy Stott said: ‘The RNCM trains students to become professional performers and independent original artists through a combination of intensive study and real-world experience. Abbey Road is such an iconic British studio, where some of the most important and influential popular music of all time was and is still created. The session was an incredible learning experience and to be able to work with a producer of Haydn’s experience and expertise was truly inspiring. All the students got to experience a professional session with an experienced producer using some of the finest equipment in recording.’

Mike Sinnott, Abbey Road Institute London Campus Manager, added: ‘As we expand, this exciting collaboration provides the Institute with not only the chance to record new orchestras but it also increases the collaborative opportunities for our students.

The Joe Keegan Band

‘It will be a mutually beneficial experience in this new partnership. Not only will they have the opportunity to work in the iconic Abbey Road Studios, but also to cultivate creative relationships that have the potential to develop throughout their professional lives. I’m delighted that we are able to explore the synergies between our programmes and to be at the cutting edge of the future of the popular music industry by training the future leaders of our profession.’

Photo credit: Nick Redman

5 July 2019