New partnership for RNCM and the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts at ECU

The RNCM has agreed a new professional partnership with Edith Cowan University (ECU), home to the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).

Professor Linda Merrick, Principal, travelled to Perth this month to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which will pave the way for student and staff exchanges, short courses and placement opportunities, knowledge sharing, research collaboration and joint performance projects.

‘The RNCM is constantly seeking new and exciting opportunities to enhance the experience it offers to both students and staff, and our professional partnerships with other world-class providers who share our passion and ethos are integral to realising this ambition,’ she said.

‘We pride ourselves on giving all of our students real-world experiences during their studies, both in the UK and internationally. Our new partnership with WAAPA will help us develop this important work, incentivise student and staff mobility, share best practice and create mutually beneficial projects and initiatives.’

ECU Vice Chancellor Professor Steve Chapman CBE (pictured above with Professor Merrick and below with WAAPA Director Professor Julie Warn AM) added that the partnership would give WAAPA students access to the RNCM’s internationally-renowned teachers as well as facilitate knowledge sharing between the two institutions.

‘It also opens the door for students from Perth and Manchester to study at either world-class school and broaden their horizons,’ he said.

Professor Merrick visited the Mount Lawley Campus on Tuesday 29 August to sign the MoU and speak at the Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Oration. Her speech – The value of performing arts education in a changing world – outlined how in an uncertain world performing arts matters more than ever before.

This new partnership is one of many that the RNCM has developed worldwide in recent years. Via The Platform, its international centre for ensemble and vocal training, the College provides over 400 opportunities each year for students to participate in auditions, education projects and public performances in the UK, Mainland Europe and China. No other UK conservatoire offers this number and breadth of professional experiences to its students.

30 August 2017