Manchester
Manchester has been a leading academic destination for 200 years, and today more than 100,000 national and international students call it home.
The RNCM sits right at the heart of that community, on the Oxford Road corridor – the busiest and best-connected university hub in the country – where our 950+ young musicians study and perform, and many also choose to live.
We’re a city famous for our vibrant cultural scene. Greater Manchester gave the world Oasis, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Joy Division and New Order, M People and Take That, The Verve and Richard Ashcroft, 10cc and The 1975, and it’s also home to three world-famous orchestras – the Hallé, Manchester Camerata, and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra – as well as the northern base of the English National Opera. It’s the only city in the world with a cross-cultural biennial festival of premieres, too – Manchester International Festival, based at the multimillion pound Aviva Studios arts venue, the home of Factory International.
All of that means there’s always something going on across a vast number of live venues and theatres, from the Bridgewater Hall, Co-op Live, AO Arena, The Lowry, O2 Apollo, and The Albert Hall, to the hundreds of grassroots and specialist spaces across the region.
The RNCM isn’t just based here, though – we’re determined to have an impact. The RNCM sits on Greater Manchester’s Civic University Board and actively works to shape policy that puts music and culture at the centre of the region’s growth. Our alumni hold seats in the world’s leading orchestras, perform with prestigious opera companies, and continue to set the world of rock and pop on fire, while also taking their expertise into education, health, broadcasting, and local community settings – creating impactful initiatives that tap into Manchester’s reputation in science, technology, and innovation.
Outside of music, there’s an exciting theatre scene across Greater Manchester, from Bury in the north to Stockport in the south, including many original production houses. Our museums and art galleries lean into the region’s social, political, and industrial heritage, and the buildings they occupy tell the story of the city’s reinvention. Manchester also leads the world in football, cricket, and cycling, and is well connected to the outstanding countryside of the Peak District, Lake District, and West Yorkshire, as well as the dramatic North Wales coastline.
More than half of those who move to Manchester to study choose to stay here after they finish their degree. And that’s no surprise to us; Manchester is a truly diverse and cosmopolitan city where over 150 languages are spoken, and almost every community is reflected in our culture and our food. It’s a place built on the exchange of ideas, and that’s what makes it such an exciting environment to study in and to work in as a young professional – where you’ll benefit from Manchester’s position as one of the most significant business hubs outside London, with music, broadcasting, production, science, gaming and tech, finance, law, and education well represented across the region.