RNCM partners with English National Opera, BBC Radio 3 and Manchester Collective
The RNCM is launching three exclusive creative partnerships to support modern careers in the music industry with English National Opera (ENO), BBC Radio 3, and groundbreaking ensemble Manchester Collective.
The new partnership projects will provide innovative opportunities for students and recent graduates to develop core skills in opera, contemporary performance, and broadcast media.
The RNCM, placed No 5 in the world for music in the 2024 and 2025 QS World University Rankings, will roll out the schemes from Spring 2025 as part of RNCM Innovate – the College’s mission to define the future of music and provide real world access to a broad range of today’s professions.
The ENO Creative Incubator Scheme will support early career artists to write new operas, bringing fresh voices and narratives to the artform. Open from 2026 to Greater Manchester-based recent graduates, the year-long scheme provides mentoring and financial support, plus workshop and performance spaces for artists to compose and present their new work.
Manchester Collective builds on its recent creative residency at the College with the RNCM Manchester Collective Studio, launching this Autumn. The one-year pathway will support postgraduate strings students to take a holistic approach to contemporary performance, including composing new music, and culminate in a public project with Manchester Collective.
A new collaboration with BBC Radio 3 at its base in Audio North, Salford, will demonstrate alternative career paths in classical music by offering undergraduate students studio production and presenting experiences, and will extend the College’s relationship with the station following the announcement earlier this year of the RNCM/BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Fellow scheme. Current RNCM alumni at Radio 3 include Tom McKinney and Linton Stephens, while BBC 6Music’s Stuart Maconie is an Honorary Member.
The latest projects deepen the College’s relationship with the industry by growing the internationally unrivalled list of close professional partnerships and experience schemes open to RNCM students, including with the Hallé, BBC Philharmonic, Opera North, and Manchester Camerata. Speaking about the latest partnerships, Deputy Principal (Performance and Programmes) Manus Carey said: ‘It is a privilege to be able to work with three of the region’s most important cultural organisations to offer RNCM students and alumni these essential professional experiences.
‘We want our students to not just become fantastic, rounded, contemporary musicians, but to have great ideas about the future of the music world. We’re creating a culture where innovation can happen, where students are bringing through ideas supported by the teaching staff, where we allow them to experiment in the first place, and where students are thinking creatively about how they want to engage with their music. In that atmosphere, anything can happen.’
Annilese Miskimmon, Artistic Director of ENO: ‘ENO is delighted to be partnering with RNCM to support new artists in the opera industry. By co-creating this scheme, we hope to amplify the voices in the city-region and create new work that speaks to the diverse experiences of the creators and audiences in Greater Manchester.’
Gill Farrington, Head of BBC Audio North: ‘Radio 3 is thrilled to be partnering with the Royal Northern College of Music as we strengthen our roots in Salford, working with students and graduates taking their first steps in the creative industries.’
Linda Begbie, Chief Executive of Manchester Collective: ‘We will be looking for emerging artists who are brave and ready to push their own boundaries – thinkers and explorers, as well as fine instrumentalists. We strive to create space for risk, always looking for that expressive spark of something visceral and honest. There’s something distinctly northern – Mancunian even – about this approach, and so it makes perfect sense for us to build something special with the RNCM and its students.’
16 April 2025
