Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/154

 THE ARTS WMERE TO STUDY MUSIC THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC The Foundation of A.ccommodation, and the Royal College at South Kensington, London — The Equipment, Staff of the College — 'i'he Course of Tuition— Scholarships and other Benefits — The Institution of Alexandra House T^HERE was a time when it was considered taught music, whether she had any aptitude for it or no. That was in the days ol " accomplishments," when the sign ol a gentlewoman was that she painted a little, sang a httle, played a httle, embroidered a Uttle, and, as a rule, did that little very badly. The idea that education draws out what is in us, and can never put into us what is not there, seems only to have struck us comparatively recently. But when, after much thought, it occurred to us, we were quick to act upon it, and to-day it is rare to find a wretched child who has no car and no feeling for music sitting at the piano practising its scales for hours. As soon as this promiscuous education ceased, accommodation for individual talent became necessary. When a girl who loved music had no longer to bend over a drawing- board or an embroidery frame, she had all the more time in which to cultivate her gift, and accordingly facilities for doing so were greatly needed. THE FOUNDATION OF THE ACADEMY The Royal Academy of Music was opened in 1823, but it p~ — - ■-'^-^— V ■. - '. « ' ' ..■-^-— Ineuw (talk)^,^^-.-.-^ could not pro- ' vide for the increasing! numbcrof musically in- ch ned men and wo men who wanted first- rate instruc- tion and a definite course of post-scho- lastic guidance. King Edward VU., then Prince of Wales, who always took a great interest in music, made the suggestion that another school was needed, and, at his instance Royal College of Music South Kensinpton and through his exertions, the Royal College of Music at South Kensington came into being in 1883. The building was given by the late Sir C. J. Freake, Bart. Eleven years later, its Royal founder opened with state ceremony, on behalf of Queen Victoria, the magnificent building in which the college is at present housed, in Prince Consort Road. The late Mr. Samson Fox, M.I.C.E., built the present college at a cost of ^48,000. The objects of the college, in the words of the original charter, are three. " First, the advancement of the art of music by means of a central working and examining body charged with the duty of providing musical instruction of the highest class, and of rewarding with academical degrees and certificates of proficiency and otherwise persons, whether educated or not at the college, who on examination may prove themselves worthy of such distinctions and evidences of attainment. " Secondly, the promotion and supervision of such musical instruction in schools and elsewhere as may be thought most conducive to the cultivation and dissemination of the art of music in the United Kingdom. " Lastly, generally the encouragement and promotion of the cultivation of music as an ' ^ -' -^ ' ■■- — '— -^ art through- out our do- minions." THE ACCOMMO- DATION AND STAFF Everything is done for the comfort of the four hundred odd students at the college. The building includes a rest room, where food can be obtained very cheaply. There are two gardens open to the students, and a magnifice n t concert hall which can seat a thousand y. »'"y'« <*• Co.. Ltd.
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