The College takes delivery of 62 new pianos from
the Steinway factory in Hamburg
With superb facilities, world-class piano training, and an open,
industry-facing approach, the Keyboard Department at RWCMD has
earned a reputation for producing highly skilled and employable
musicians, performers, communicators and educators. Our approach
promotes collaboration over competition, and we provide a creative
and challenging environment in which students can begin to develop
their own varied and exciting career paths while devoting
themselves to pianistic excellence.
All-Steinway School
The Royal Welsh College of
Music & Drama was the first All-Steinway Conservatoire in the
UK, joining only a handful of outstanding institutions worldwide to
become part of the family of All-Steinway Schools. The 62 brand-new
Steinways, handpicked in Hamburg, have made an impact on every
aspect of life at the College. They are serviced annually by
Steinway & Sons and maintained to the highest standards
throughout the year. In addition to the fleet of pianos, the
College boasts the acoustically excellent Dora Stoutzker Hall – the
first purpose-built chamber music recital hall in Wales and one of
the best in the UK – offering a performance training experience
that is second to none.
World-Class Opportunities
Our piano students benefit
from an excellent staff-to-student ratio and an outstanding level
of personal attention. Classes are small and there are many
opportunities for all students to perform and receive feedback each
term. The keyboard department curates a varied programme of
recitals and collaborative performances, often in the College’s
Dora Stoutzker Hall and at other prestigious venues in Cardiff,
London and across the UK. Working with tutors from the College’s
Drama department, pianists develop confidence in platform
presentation and verbal communication. Regular masterclasses with
some of the world’s most renowned pianists provide further
inspiration, many of these guest artists performing at the College
as part of the prestigious Steinway International Series.
A Diverse Experience
Students are exposed to a
rich variety of professional musical performance at the College and
across the city of Cardiff. Innovative study projects and playing
opportunities promote an in-depth knowledge and understanding of
piano repertoire, and we strive to offer an unparalleled range of
further pianistic training. Our aim is to broaden our students’
musical outlook, providing the basis for future specialisms and a
healthy professional portfolio. Collaborative performance projects
run throughout the year, giving all students the chance to work
with other instrumentalists, singers and composers. This encourages
them to build their future professional networks and to forge
lasting friendships through music. Performance on harpsichord and
fortepiano promotes an historically informed approach, and all
students also have opportunities to explore extended keyboard
techniques for contemporary performance, as well as jazz piano,
improvisation, and piano technology.
Producing Versatile Musicians
A rigorous curriculum
ensures a mastery of keyboard technique with the aim of enabling
our students to face any pianistic challenge with confidence.
Sight-reading skills are the most powerful currency in the
professional world, so we offer time and training in this crucial
area. We also offer in-depth harmonic and rhythmic training at the
keyboard while developing the additional vital skills of
score-reading, transposition and memorization. We strongly
encourage students to explore and enjoy piano performance in a wide
variety of contexts and settings including community projects,
orchestral performance, choral rehearsals, opera, and dance.
Pedagogy forms yet another key element in the programme and we
ensure students are able to gain practical experience of the
essential skills involved in piano teaching.
Employability
By ensuring that our
students’ pianistic excellence is fully supported by the wider
range of skills necessary for a successful portfolio career, we
have achieved an outstanding graduate employment record. We strive
to ensure that during their time at College, our students learn to
embrace the values of self-motivation, commitment and initiative
while our strong emphasis on collaborative music-making also
fosters the sort of highly developed interpersonal skills that are
essential for any successful career in music.
Promoting Creativity
We are keen to encourage our
students to learn to make confident, creative choices and to
develop a strong sense of initiative. This is evident in their
challenging and imaginative recital programmes, their approach to
keyboard improvisation, their work with composition students, and
the extraordinary artistic projects they devise. In an environment
where musicians train side-by-side with actors, musical theatre
performers and performance designers, our piano students can cross
departmental boundaries with ease, inventing ever-new opportunities
to expand their pianistic horizons and enrich their musical
lives.
Individual Studies
All keyboard students
receive weekly one-to-one lessons, participate in regular
performance workshops, concert classes, skills seminars, study
projects, ensemble coaching and practice surgeries. There is a full
range of classes in supporting musical studies, our library houses
facilities and resources for research, and students schedule their
own practice hours in College.
Postgraduate Studies
Postgraduate pianists
develop their performance skills at an advanced level through
weekly one-to-one lessons, regular performance classes and an
extensive range of ensemble opportunities and individual projects.
These might incorporate performance on historical instruments,
collaboration with student composers, concerto performances,
in-depth study of Lieder repertoire or chamber music, or repetiteur
skills. Masters students are expected to demonstrate and develop
advanced skills in sight-reading, allowing them to engage readily
in collaborative projects and all kinds of musical events. Students
are also encouraged to pursue areas of personal interest and
specialism, with the opportunity to incorporate these into their
Final Recital. The department also offers specialist postgraduate
programmes in Collaborative Piano and Repetiteurship.
Courses