Pop music is rarely put on an equal footing with classical music in education – especially at conservatoire level. One school changing the tune on this is the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), home to the UK's only four-year conservatoire-based undergraduate degree on Popular Music.
Responsible for the degree programmes, access and participation, Jennie Henley's background is in teaching the classical flute, but she too believes pop music is an important part of the school's offering. ‘It is really important to us that we are working across classical and pop, and that they are seen as being of equal value. We've done a lot of work to make our pop students feel that they are really welcome at the RNCM and that they are important,’ she tells me. For example, in their final showcase, students on the pop undergraduate course can score for a full string or horn section, just as the classical music students can. ‘The young people know that they are on a level playing-field, and it opens up different pathways for them as they collaborate across different courses,’ reiterates Henley.
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