The Royal College of Music’s Creative Careers Centre Celebrates 25 years of Supporting Talent and Shaping Futures
21/10/2024
The Royal College of Music’s Creative Careers Centre (formerly known as the Woodhouse Centre) was founded in 1999 to support musicians in bridging the gap between student and professional life, while constantly adapting to the parameters of an increasingly competitive and complex music industry. Now 25 years on — our mission remains unchanged, and we are recognised internationally for our innovative approach to supporting young musicians.
Crucially, the services of the Creative Careers Centre are available to RCM students for up to five years after graduation — in support of their transition from Higher Education to the industry, and longer-term career.
Each year, over 500 Royal College of Music students and alumni benefit from the Creative Careers Centre’s professional work opportunities. Partnerships with leading organisations across various industries including the Royal Albert Hall, The National Gallery, Natural History Museum, London Fire Brigade and KYN Care Homes, provide performance, composition and other freelance work.
Since February 2023, Grammy Award-winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre has been serving as the RCM’s Ambassador for Creative Careers, mentoring students and graduates in entrepreneurship, innovation, and self-promotion.
The department offers tailored resources and guidance, bespoke career advice, workshops and presentations by industry specialists, plus a broad range of professional opportunities, including performances, composition, and education work. In addition, the Creative Careers Centre delivers entrepreneurial courses for undergraduate and postgraduate students to prepare musicians for a proactive, sustainable, and fulfilling career.
Our latest pioneering scheme, RCM Accelerate, was launched in 2021, in response to the global pandemic, and the unprecedented challenges young graduates faced at that time. RCM Accelerate is intended to support graduating students and help kick-start a new creative project, social enterprise, or business idea; or develop an existing initiative. It provides a clear pathway and supportive foundation for students to launch their ideas as an extension of the department’s entrepreneurial courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Successful applicants are announced on graduation day, receive grant funding, and benefit from ongoing mentoring support after their studies to foster and encourage proactivity, creativity, and an entrepreneurial mind-set. The Corelia Project, a database created by two RCM alumni — which increases the visibility and searchability of music by women composers; and OperaEd — which exists to inspire and educate a new generation of opera-lovers who do not currently have access to the art form, are just two of many initiatives launched with this vital support.
This year, the Creative Careers Centre is celebrating 25 years of support for students and graduates. A series of 25 events planned throughout the 2024/25 academic year mark this milestone, including:
- A new commission by alumnus Liam Dougherty, commissioned by the Orchestra de Chambre du Luxembourg and supported by RCM Accelerate.
- The premiere of music by recent Composition for Screen graduate Ka Youn Yoo as part of an event celebrating the global impact of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- Professional performance opportunities for RCM musicians, such as the launch of the Science Museum’s Versailles Gallery and a series of recitals at the Royal Albert Hall’s Elgar Room.
To find out more about the Creative Careers Centre and / or to hire musicians for opportunities, please visit: www.rcm.ac.uk
Diana Roberts
Head of Creative Careers Centre and Entrepreneurship Tutor, Royal College of Music, London