Our History
Into our third century.
As Britain’s oldest conservatoire, the Academy has a lot of history to be proud of.
The famous names who have studied and taught here since our foundation in 1822 are a constant source of inspiration.
Academy Timeline
1822
The Royal Academy of Music is founded as Britain’s first conservatoire, in Tenterden Street, Hanover Square.
1826
Carl Maria von Weber conducts our first orchestral concert.
1830
HM King George IV grants a Royal Charter.
1856
Arthur Sullivan enters the Academy.
1886
Franz Liszt visits the Academy.
1903
Aged 13, Myra Hess wins a scholarship to study piano at the Academy.
1911
The Academy moves to custom-built premises on Marylebone Road.
1915
Junior Academy is founded.
1923
Sir Henry Wood, a former student, joins as a professor.
1936
Richard Strauss visits the Academy.
1953
HM Queen Elizabeth II becomes the Academy’s Patron.
1957
Harrison Birtwistle studies clarinet at the Academy.
1961
Former student Sir John Barbirolli becomes conductor of the first orchestra.
1968
HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother opens our new library.
1969
Felicity Lott becomes a student.
1971
Simon Rattle becomes a student.
1976
The Sir Jack Lyons Theatre is opened.
1982
Evelyn Glennie becomes a student.
1991
The innovative BMus degree is launched.
The Sinfonia travels overseas for the first time, to the Republic of Korea.
1992
The refurbished Duke’s Hall reopens.
1994
Ligeti visits the Academy for the 10-year anniversary of the International Composer Festival, which has previously celebrated Messiaen, Berio, Henze and Tippett.
1997
The Academy becomes the first conservatoire to found its own recording label.
1998
HRH The Duchess of Gloucester becomes the Academy’s President.
The Sinfonia makes its first orchestral visit to Beijing and Tokyo.
1999
The Academy becomes the first conservatoire to be admitted as a full member of the University of London.
1-5 York Gate purchased for the Academy by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
2001
The two-year postgraduate Royal Academy Opera course is introduced.
The David Josefowitz Recital Hall opens.
2002
A Royal Opera House performance with Sir Elton John raises nearly £1m for the Elton John Scholarship Fund.
2005-19
Academy and Juilliard orchestras perform at the BBC Proms under Sir Colin Davis, John Adams and Edward Gardner.
2009
The Bach Cantata Series, which will run over a 10-year period, is launched.
2010
Honorary Doctorates are given to Stephen Sondheim, Pierre Boulez and Daniel Barenboim.
2011
Royal Academy Opera presents the acclaimed premiere of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’s Kommilitonen!
2012
The Privy Council grants degree-awarding powers to the Academy.
An Academy and Juilliard orchestra performs at the BBC Proms and in New York with soloist Imogen Cooper, conducted by John Adams.
2012-18
Visiting professors appointed include John Adams, Semyon Bychkov, James Ehnes, Sir Mark Elder, Edward Gardner, Richard Goode, Dave Holland, Steven Isserlis, Oliver Knussen, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider and Christian Thielemann.
2013
The Sir Elton John/Ray Cooper organ is installed in the Duke’s Hall.
2018
Student cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason performs at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The new Susie Sainsbury Theatre and Angela Burgess Recital Hall open.
2019
Hans Abrahamsen becomes the first Oliver Knussen Chair of Composition.
A joint Academy-Juilliard orchestra performs at the BBC Proms.
2019-21
Students take part in major collaborations with Tokyo Geidai, Glenn Gould School and the Czech Philharmonic.
2020
Student performances shared on social media as part of our #RAMplaysON campaign reach five million people.
2020-24
Visiting professors appointed include Lorenza Borrani, Nicky Spence, Colin Currie, Brett Dean and Hilary Hahn.
2022
Sir Elton John Global Exchange Programme is launched in collaboration with 12 partner conservatoires.
Lin-Manuel Miranda and Semyon Bychkov receive Honorary Doctorates.
2022-23
The Academy’s Bicentenary is marked with celebratory concerts, 200 new commissions and a fundraising campaign.
2023
Academy staff and alumni perform at the coronation of HM King Charles III.
2024
Dame Evelyn Glennie receives an Honorary Doctorate.
HM King Charles III becomes the Academy’s Patron.
2025
The Academy receives a record £30m donation from philanthropist Mrs Aud Jebsen to transform facilities.
2026
The Academy launches the UK’s first fully funded Foundation Year course.
A joint Academy-Juilliard orchestra returns to the BBC Proms to perform with Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Sir Trevor Nunn receives an Honorary Doctorate.
Short Stories: 200 Years of the Royal Academy of Music
To mark our bicentenary, we created a five episode podcast to celebrate and uncover some of the stories of those people, past and present, that resonate throughout our building and define the institution.
You'll hear about those working and studying at the Academy today, some of the famous people that have passed through our doors as well as those whose musical lives might have been overlooked but deserve to be told.