Sir Stephen Hough champions RNCM bid to raise £3.8m to buy its fleet of pianos

The Royal Northern College of Music has announced plans to buy its exceptional fleet of 132 concert hall and practice pianos.

The conservatoire currently rents its entire fleet at a cost of around £480,000 per year but, with leasing costs set to rise steeply in 2025, it wants to purchase them outright for £3.8m with the help of friends and supporters. 

The RNCM has 51 Steinway Grand pianos – nine Model AS Grands, 38 Model Bs, and four Model Ds (concert hall standard) – as well as 80 Yamahas, and one Bosendorfer 214VC Grand Piano. Together, they have a market value of £3.85m, making them a capital investment for the conservatoire as well as an appreciating asset.  

Half of the purchase cost will come from the RNCM’s own funds, and now it is appealing to its supportive community to help raise the remaining £1.9m. The RNCM Piano Fleet Campaign has already received £800,000 of philanthropic contributions but is seeking to find a further £1.1m before July 2025, when the current lease on the fleet expires.  

Donors can pledge from £5,000 and their support will be celebrated through a number of special benefits, including dedication plaques on the instruments, private concerts played on the piano they have helped to buy, newly commissioned piano compositions dedicated to the donor, meet and greet events with eminent tutors and high-profile guest artists, and dinner with some of the RNCM’s esteemed alumni.  

The conservatoire is looking for 75 donors to purchase 75 of its pianos. A Platinum pledge of £100,000 will buy a Steinway Model D or the conservatoire’s Bosendorfer piano, Gold pledges of £50,000 will secure a Steinway Model B, a Silver pledge of £15,000 will purchase a Yamaha C3 Studio Grand, and a £5,000 Bronze pledge will buy a Yamaha Standard Upright piano.  

A generous £300,000 has been pledged by the Garfield Weston Foundation, a family-founded grant-maker that has given over £1.5bn to a wide variety of charities across the UK since it was established in 1958.

Speaking out in support of the campaign is world-renowned pianist Sir Stephen Hough, an RNCM alumnus and Companion, who believes the acquisition is of vital importance for the next generation of musicians coming through the conservatoire. 

Sir Stephen said: ‘An instrument is a pianist’s voice; without it we can make no sound. But unless we have access to pianos of the finest quality, we will never be able to reach beyond the boundaries of our imagination. This campaign is a fantastic opportunity for the RNCM to fill the building with magnificent resident instruments, allowing many future generations of young pianists to find and perfect their individual voices.’ 

Among the celebrated pianists who have graduated from the RNCM’s School of Keyboard Studies (SKS) after training and performing on the historic fleet are: Jonathan Starkey, Eduard Kunz, Chris Illingworth of GoGo Penguin, Alexandra Dariescu, and Peter Donohoe. 

Current SKS student Winnie Su, who recently performed at the Bridgewater Hall, says the conservatoire’s decision to ensure complete ownership of its pianos secures an essential resource for future generations of musicians. She commented: ‘Just as a Michelin-starred chef needs the sharpest, best quality knives to prepare the finest dishes for their customers, having the opportunity to play on a suite of exceptional pianos at a world-leading conservatoire allows me to prepare the most beautiful, captivating music for my audience. The piano is an extension of my body and it’s vital to all of us pianists to be able to practise, rehearse, and perform on the best instruments to undergo the best possible training experience.’ 

Recalling her own time at the conservatoire, trailblazing pianist and recording artist Alexandra Dariescu said: ‘I stepped through the RNCM doors 20 years ago with a dream, tonnes of determination and ready to start practising every morning at 6am. Thank you to my dear RNCM… you’ve truly changed my life and I shall be forever grateful.’ 

For more information about the campaign, contact Head of Philanthropy and Partnerships Eve Riley on [email protected]. 

24 July 2024