Leeds College of Music
Encyclopedia
Leeds College of Music, located in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

Quarry Hill
Quarry Hill, Leeds
Quarry Hill is an area of central Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is surrounded by the Leeds Inner Ring Road to the east and north. The Leeds - York / Hull railway runs just south of the district into the city centre...

 cultural quarter, is the largest music college in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, with over 1,000 full-time and 1,000 part-time student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...

s. The college is best known for its leading role in jazz education and started one of the first jazz degrees in Europe. It is also the only music conservatoire in the UK to offer both Higher
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

 and Further Education
Further education
Further education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...

 courses, ranging from BTEC
Business And Technology Education Council (BTEC)
The Business and Technology Education Council is the British body which awards vocational qualifications. Such qualifications are commonly referred to as "BTECs"....

 Extended Diploma courses to undergraduate
Undergraduate education
Undergraduate education is an education level taken prior to gaining a first degree . Hence, in many subjects in many educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a bachelor's degree, such as in the United States, where a university entry level is...

 and postgraduate
Postgraduate education
Postgraduate education involves learning and studying for degrees or other qualifications for which a first or Bachelor's degree generally is required, and is normally considered to be part of higher education...

 degrees. It was formerly known as Leeds Music Centre (1965-1971) and City of Leeds College of Music (1971-1997). Since August 2011, Leeds College of Music is a wholly owned subsidiary of Leeds City College
Leeds City College
Leeds City College is the largest Further education establishment in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with around 57,000 students, 2,300 staff and an annual turnover of £78 million. It officially opened on 1 April 2009...

.

Courses

Leeds College of Music offers an undergraduate degree course - BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 (Hons) Music - with specialisms/pathways available in Jazz, Classical Music, Popular Music and Music Production. A Combined pathway will also be available from September 2011 (i.e. Jazz & Classical; Pop & Production). A Foundation degree
Foundation degree
The Foundation Degree is a vocational qualification introduced by the government of the United Kingdom in September 2001, which is available in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

 is available in Music Production. The BA and FD are validated by The University of Bradford.

In January 2011, the College launched a two year BA (Hons) Music (Accelerated) degree for 2011/12 entry. The College will make available 30 additional places across the BA Music (Popular Music) and BA Music (Production) pathways, for students who wish to enrol on the accelerated programme. The BA (Hons) Music (Accelerated) is validated by The University of Bradford.

Launched in February 2011, a brand new Foundation Certificate awarded by Leeds College of Music is designed to provide students with the necessary skills and knowledge for successful degree level study at a specialist music institution.

The College also offers a Postgraduate Diploma
Postgraduate diploma
A postgraduate diploma is a postgraduate qualification awarded typically after a bachelor's degree. It can be contrasted with a graduate diploma...

/MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

/MMus in Performance and a Postgraduate Diploma/MA/MMus in Composition. These two brand new postgraduate degrees are validated by The University of Bradford for 2011 entry.

Further Education courses available include BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Music (Classical, Jazz and Pop pathways) and Music Technology
Music technology
Music technology is a term that refers to all forms of technology involved with the musical arts, particularly the use of electronic devices and computer software to facilitate playback, recording, composition, storage and performance. This subject is taught at many different educational levels,...

.

Until September 2011 the College's Further & Continuing Education Department attracted around 1,000 part-time students to the College, participating in a range of evening instrumental, vocal and technology courses and ensembles.

Notable alumni

  • Jazz
    Jazz
    Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

     Pianist
    Piano
    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

     — David Newton
    David Newton (pianist)
    David Newton is a Scottish jazz pianist and composer.His collaborations include Stacey Kent, Martin Taylor and Carol Kidd.-Discography:* Eyewitness with Dave Green, Allan Ganley...

     (1979)
  • Jazz
    Jazz
    Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

     Saxophonist
    Saxophone
    The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

     — Alan Barnes
    Alan Barnes (musician)
    Alan Barnes is an English Jazz musician.- Career :Alan Barnes attended Leeds College of Music between 1977–80 where he studied saxophone, woodwinds and arranging before moving to London. In 1980 he played with the Midnight Follies Orchestra and the following year was with the Pasadena Roof...

     (1980)
  • Jazz
    Jazz
    Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

     Composer
    Composer
    A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

     and Trumpet
    Trumpet
    The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

    er — Richard Iles
    Richard Iles
    Richard Iles is a trumpet player and jazz composer. As a member of the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra, he gained valuable experience in jazz...

     (1980)
  • Jazz
    Jazz
    Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

     Trumpeter
    Trumpet
    The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

     — Chris Batchelor
    Chris Batchelor
    Chris Batchelor is a jazz trumpeter and composer. He gained his first professional experience with Dudu Pukwana's Zila aged 17, at the suggestion of Harry Beckett. He subsequently became a founder member,composer and soloist with Loose Tubes, contributing many pieces to the repertoire of the band...

  • Jazz
    Jazz
    Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

     Composer
    Composer
    A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

     and Pianist
    Piano
    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

     — Nikki Iles
    Nikki Iles
    Nikki Iles is an English jazz composer and musician, playing piano and accordion.Iles was born in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, her parents both musicians...

     (1984)
  • Singer and Song writer — Damon Gough aka Badly Drawn Boy
    Badly Drawn Boy
    Damon Gough is an English alternative music singer/songwriter. He was born on 2 October 1969, in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. He grew up in the Breightmet area of Bolton, Lancashire, England....

     (1991)
  • Jazz
    Jazz
    Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

     Saxophonist
    Saxophone
    The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

     and Vocalist — Pete Wareham
    Pete Wareham
    Pete Wareham is a British saxophonist, known for his group Acoustic Ladyland and Seb Rochford's Polar Bear. He is a member of the London based jazz collective F-IRE.- Career :...

     of Acoustic Ladyland
    Acoustic Ladyland
    Acoustic Ladyland are a London based jazz/punk band consisting of Pete Wareham on vocals, tenor and baritone saxophone, Seb Rochford on drums, Chris Sharkey on Guitar and Ruth Goller on bass guitar....

     and Polar Bear
    Polar Bear (jazz)
    Polar Bear is a British experimental jazz band led by drummer Seb Rochford with Pete Wareham on tenor and baritone saxophone, Mark Lockheart on tenor saxophone, Tom Herbert on double bass and Leafcutter John on mandolin and electronics....

     (1995)
  • Pop
    Pop music
    Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

     Saxophonist
    Saxophone
    The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

     — Snake Davis
    Snake Davis
    Snake Davis is a session musician who has played with some of the worlds biggest artists. In the 1980s he fronted York band Zoot and the Roots....

  • Trumpet
    Trumpet
    The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

    er — Johnny Thirkell
  • Jazz guitar
    Jazz guitar
    The term jazz guitar may refer to either a type of guitar or to the variety of guitar playing styles used in the various genres which are commonly termed "jazz"...

    ist — Nick Webb
    Nick Webb (musician)
    Nicholas "Nick" Webb was an English acoustic guitarist, composer, and co-founder of contemporary jazz group Acoustic Alchemy...

     of Acoustic Alchemy
    Acoustic Alchemy
    Acoustic Alchemy is an English contemporary instrumental and smooth jazz band formed in England in the early 1980s , originally fronted by acoustic guitarists Nick Webb and Simon James...

  • Composer
    Composer
    A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

    , Pianist
    Piano
    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

     and Vocalist — Adrian Snell
    Adrian Snell
    Adrian Snell is an English pianist, keyboard player, singer and composer.-Biography:Classically trained at the Leeds College of Music and with a music diploma to his name , Adrian's musical career spans twenty-five years. During this time he has produced six major concept works and thirteen solo...

  • Trumpet
    Trumpet
    The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

    er — James Lynch of Touch and Go
    Touch and Go (band)
    Touch and Go is a British jazz-pop musical ensemble. Their most notable singles include "Would You...?", "Straight... to Number One", and "Tango in Harlem".-Career:...

  • Composer
    Composer
    A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

     and Pianist
    Piano
    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

     — Matthew Bourne
    Matthew Bourne (musician)
    Matthew Bourne is a British Jazz musician.-Childhood and education:Bourne was born in Avebury, England, and grew up in a small village situated in the Cotswolds, where he took up the trombone aged nine. In 1989, Bourne attended Kingham Hill School and began playing Cello the following year...

     (2001)
  • Saxophonist
    Saxophone
    The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

     — Jim Corry (Saxophonist for Haggis Horns, Jamiroquai
    Jamiroquai
    Jamiroquai is a British jazz funk and acid jazz band formed in 1992. Jamiroquai were initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the James Taylor Quartet, and the Brand New Heavies. Other Acid Jazz artists such as...

    , Corinne Bailey Rae
    Corinne Bailey Rae
    Corinne Bailey Rae is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist from Leeds, who released her debut album Corinne Bailey Rae in February 2006....

     & Mark Ronson
    Mark Ronson
    Mark Daniel Ronson is an English DJ, guitarist, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his band under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl....

    ) (1998)
  • Trumpeter and Perrier Young Jazz Musician of the Year 1999 — Andrew Colman
  • Saxophonist
    Saxophone
    The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

     and Composer (A Tribute To Atlantic Jazz) — James Russell (Saxophonist for Jamiroquai
    Jamiroquai
    Jamiroquai is a British jazz funk and acid jazz band formed in 1992. Jamiroquai were initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the James Taylor Quartet, and the Brand New Heavies. Other Acid Jazz artists such as...

    ) (1998)
  • Composer
    Composer
    A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

     and Pianist
    Piano
    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

     — Jamil Sherif (1998)
  • Dubstep
    Dubstep
    Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....

     Producer — Rusko
    Rusko (musician)
    Christopher Mercer, more commonly known as Rusko, is an English dubstep record producer and DJ who was born on 26 January 1985 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-History:Rusko graduated from Leeds College of Music with a degree in Music Performance...

     (2002)
  • Drummer
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

     — Michael Spearman of Everything Everything
    Everything Everything
    Everything Everything are a British indie band that formed in late 2007, originate from Newcastle, Kent and Guernsey, and reside in Manchester. The band rose to fame when they were revealed as part of the BBC's Sound of 2010 poll on 7 December 2009...

     (2008)
  • Drummer
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

     — Mark Holub of Led Bib
    Led Bib
    Led Bib are a modern jazz group from London, England. Their fourth album, Sensible Shoes, was shortlisted for the 2009 Mercury Prize.- History :...

  • Saxophonist
    Saxophone
    The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

     — Athol Ransome (Haggis Horns, John Legend
    John Legend
    John Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...

    , The Roots
    The Roots
    The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...

    , Mark Ronson
    Mark Ronson
    Mark Daniel Ronson is an English DJ, guitarist, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his band under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl....

    )
  • Spoof
    Spoof
    -General uses:* Parody by imitation* Satire, a literary technique of writing or art which principally ridicules its subject* Forgery of goods or documents* Spoof , a guessing game...

     Popstar — Rob Madin
    Brett Domino
    Brett Domino is the alter-ego of Youtube musician Rob J. Madin. As Brett Domino, he is a musician, internet celebrity and TV presenter from Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. He is best known for his YouTube videos, in which he plays mostly covers and medleys of popular songs on the Stylophone and...

     aka Brett Domino
    Brett Domino
    Brett Domino is the alter-ego of Youtube musician Rob J. Madin. As Brett Domino, he is a musician, internet celebrity and TV presenter from Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. He is best known for his YouTube videos, in which he plays mostly covers and medleys of popular songs on the Stylophone and...

  • Pianist
    Piano
    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

     and Singer — Victoria Christina Hesketh aka Little Boots
    Little Boots
    Victoria Christina Hesketh, also known by her stage name/pseudonym Little Boots, is an English electropop singer-songwriter. Her stage name comes from a nickname given to her by a friend, a reference to her unusually small feet...


Notable Staff (current & former)

  • Neil Yates
    Neil Yates
    Neil Yates is a British Jazz and Folk Musician.- Biography :Yates studied music at Salford University before moving to London to study jazz at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama...

     - Jazz Trumpet (current)
  • Nikki Iles
    Nikki Iles
    Nikki Iles is an English jazz composer and musician, playing piano and accordion.Iles was born in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, her parents both musicians...

     - Jazz Piano (former)
  • Mornington Lockett
    Mornington Lockett
    Mornington Edward Lockett is an English jazz saxophonist.Lockett began playing clarinet at age 14 before switching to tenor sax. He studied at Dartington College of Arts, graduating in 1981, then undertook further study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1984-85...

     - Jazz Saxophone (former)
  • Dave O'Higgins
    Dave O'Higgins
    Dave O'Higgins is a British jazz saxophonist.Born in Birmingham, O'Higgins first emerged on the British jazz scene in the 1980s. After playing in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra for three years O'Higgins joined the band of Jim Mullen before moving on to Martin Taylor's band.O'Higgins performs as...

     - Jazz Saxophone (former)
  • Matthew Bourne
    Matthew Bourne (musician)
    Matthew Bourne is a British Jazz musician.-Childhood and education:Bourne was born in Avebury, England, and grew up in a small village situated in the Cotswolds, where he took up the trombone aged nine. In 1989, Bourne attended Kingham Hill School and began playing Cello the following year...

     - Piano and Composition (former)
  • Omar Puente
    Omar Puente
    Omar Puente is a Cuban-born violinist and jazz musician, currently living in England.He studied classical music at the Escuela Nacional de Arte in Havana from the age of 12 and then went on to make a career in classical music, studying at the Estaban Salas and then joining the Nacional Symphony...

     - Jazz Violin and Latin ensemble director (former)
  • Dame Fanny Waterman
    Fanny Waterman
    Dame Fanny Waterman, DBE is a piano teacher, and the founder, Chairman and Artistic Director of the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition. She is also president of the Harrogate International Music Fesitval.-Life:...

     - Classical Piano (former)
  • Kathy Dyson (Jazz Educator of the Year 2010, Parliamentary Jazz Awards) - Guitar (former)

Visiting Professorships

Leeds College of Music has appointed a number of world class musicians and music technologists to Visiting Professorships. The Visiting Professorships will play a leading part in the development and dissemination of good practice in HE performance and composition. The following Visiting Professors have been appointed:
  • Dennis Rollins
    Dennis Rollins
    Dennis Rollins is a British jazz trombonist, the founder and bandleader of BadBone and Co.Rollins was born in Birmingham, of Jamaican parents, and brought up in Bentley, Doncaster and attended Don Valley High School...

     - Visiting Professor in Trombone
  • Alan Hacker - Visiting Professor in Clarinet
  • Wen Zhou Li - Visiting Professor in Violin
  • Paul Archibald - Visiting Professor in Trumpet
  • Mick Glossop - Visiting Professor in Music Production
  • Ian Capel - Visiting Professor in Music Production
  • Stuart Nicholson - Visiting Professor in Music Journalism
  • Malcolm Toft
    Malcolm Toft
    Malcolm Toft is an audio engineer and businessman who worked at Trident Studios, first as an audio engineer, then as the studio's manager, and eventually as co-founder of recording console maker Trident Audio Developments. Toft went on to form another console company, Malcolm Toft Associates,...

     - Visiting Professor in Music Production
  • Chris Watson
    Chris Watson (musician)
    Christopher Richard Watson is a Sheffield-born musician and sound recordist specialising in natural history. He was a founding member of the musical group Cabaret Voltaire, and Watson's work as a wildlife sound recordist has covered television documentaries and experimental musical collaborations.-...

     - Visiting Professor in Sound Recording

Merger proposals

It was announced that the college was to merge with Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University is a British University with three campuses. Two are situated in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England while the third is situated in Bhopal, India...

 in April 2009, however, discussions broke down due to issues with the provision of further education courses at the college. In September 2009 the University of Bradford
University of Bradford
The University of Bradford is a British university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The University received its Royal Charter in 1966, making it the 40th University to be created in Britain, but its origins date back to the early 1800s...

 announced that it was to merge with the college, with its further and higher education courses maintained. The college would retain its name and Leeds campus; provided the proposal was accepted by the Higher Education Funding Council for England
Higher Education Funding Council for England
The Higher Education Funding Council for England is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in the United Kingdom, which has been responsible for the distribution of funding to Universities and Colleges of Higher and Further Education in England since...

, the merger was to be completed by August 2010. It was later announced that this proposed merger was not to go ahead, although the University of Bradford now validates the college's degree programmes as of September 2011.

In October 2010, Leeds College of Music and Leeds City College
Leeds City College
Leeds City College is the largest Further education establishment in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with around 57,000 students, 2,300 staff and an annual turnover of £78 million. It officially opened on 1 April 2009...

 announced that their plans to enter into a strategic alliance have received approval from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). HEFCE has approved an application to the Strategic Development Fund (SDF) for funding to support the alliance, in which Leeds College of Music will become a wholly owned subsidiary within the Leeds City College group.

On 1 August 2011, Leeds College of Music became a wholly owned subsidiary of Leeds City College.

The Venue


Leeds College of Music contributes significantly to the artistic life of the region. The Venue, a 350-seat concert space based on campus, hosts the majority of the College’s Concert Season, which runs from September to May each academic year. The annual programme includes a wide variety of styles encompassing jazz, classical, contemporary, folk, popular and world music, ranging in scale from orchestras, choirs and big bands to small ensembles and solo recitals/concerts. Concerts also take place in the College’s Recital Room. Full-time LCM students are offered discounted tickets on many of the concerts in the season.

Since opening in 2003, The Venue has brought leading national and international artists to the city, ranging from established artists to newcomers including Michael Nyman
Michael Nyman
Michael Laurence Nyman, CBE is an English composer of minimalist music, pianist, librettist and musicologist, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano...

, Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.- Early...

, Courtney Pine
Courtney Pine
Courtney Pine CBE is an English jazz musician. At school he studied the clarinet, although he is known primarily for his saxophone playing. Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also playing the flute, clarinet, bass Clarinet and keyboards...

, Manchester Camerata
Manchester Camerata
The Manchester Camerata is a British chamber orchestra based in Manchester, England. The orchestra was founded in the 1971–1972 season. A sub-group from the orchestra, the Manchester Camerata Ensemble, specialises in chamber music performances....

, Soweto Kinch
Soweto Kinch
Soweto Kinch is a British jazz alto saxophonist and rapper.Born in London, England to a Barbadian father, who is a playwright, and British-Jamaican mother, who is an actress, Kinch began playing saxophone at the age of nine after learning clarinet at Allfarthing Primary School, Wandsworth, SW London...

, Tord Gustavsen Trio
Tord Gustavsen
Tord Gustavsen is a jazz pianist. Before studying music, Gustavsen finished a degree in psychology. He studied jazz at the Conservatory of Music Trondheim and jazz theory at the University of Oslo. He has toured internationally several times has been a bandleader of a trio and a later ensemble...

, Stacey Kent, Kenny Wheeler, Corinne Bailey Rae (workshop), Norma Winstone, Led Bib, IDST, Matthew Bourne
Matthew Bourne (musician)
Matthew Bourne is a British Jazz musician.-Childhood and education:Bourne was born in Avebury, England, and grew up in a small village situated in the Cotswolds, where he took up the trombone aged nine. In 1989, Bourne attended Kingham Hill School and began playing Cello the following year...

, Joanna McGregor, Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...

, London Sinfonietta
London Sinfonietta
The London Sinfonietta is an English chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble specialises in contemporary music and works across a wide range of genres, performing modern classics alongside world premieres, and includes music by electronica artists as well as folk and...

, Enrico Rava, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Solveig Slettahjell, Gaggle, Mike Gibbs, Gilad Atzmon and Claire Teal. Festivals and organisations such as the BBC, Live at Leeds, FuseLeeds, Opera North, The Leeds Jewish International Performing Arts Festival and South Asian Arts UK have programmed content in The Venue.

From January 2011, the concert season will focus mainly on the College’s flagship ensembles, free twilight concerts, a small number of high profile guest artists and concerts programmed by Leeds International Concert Season and Leeds Lieder+.

External links

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