Guildhall School of Music and Drama

The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz along with drama and production arts. The school has students from over seventy countries. It was ranked first in both the Guardian's 2022 League Table for Music and the Complete University Guide's 2023 Arts, Drama and Music league table. It is also ranked the third university in the world for music in the 2025 QS World University Rankings, as well as third in performing arts globally for 2026. Based within the Barbican Centre in the City of London, the school currently numbers just over 1,000 students, approximately 800 of whom are music students and 200 on the drama and technical theatre programmes. The school is a member of Conservatoires UK, the European Association of Conservatoires and the Federation of Drama Schools. It also has formed a creative alliance with its neighbours, the Barbican Centre and the London Symphony Orchestra. Notable alumni of the school include Sir Bryn Terfel, Sir James Galway, Michaela Coel, Daniel Craig and Sir George Martin. History 1880–1977 The Guildhall School of Music first opened its doors on 27 September 1880, housed in a disused warehouse in the City of London. With 64 part-time students, it was the first municipal music college in Great Britain. The school quickly outgrew its first home, however, and in 1887 it moved to new premises in John Carpenter Street in a complex of educational buildings built by the Corporation of London to house it and the city's two state schools. The new building was completed by 9 December 1886 and the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Reginald Hanson, attended the opening ceremony. Teaching continued under the first principal of the school, Thomas Henry Weist Hill, who eventually had some ninety teaching staff. The new site, designed by the architect Sir Horace Jones, comprised a common room for professors and 45 studios, each surrounded by a one-foot thick layer of concrete to "deaden the sound". Each room contained both a grand piano and an upright piano. Additionally, there was an organ room and a "practice" room, in reality a small concert hall which was used for orchestral and choir rehearsals. The practice room was also the venue for the fortnightly school concerts Initially, all tuition was on a part-time basis, but full-time courses were introduced to meet demand in 1920. Departments of speech, voice, and acting were added, and by 1935 the school had added "and Drama" to its title. 1977–2005 The school moved to its present premises in the heart of the City of London's Barbican Centre in 1977 and continues to be owned, funded and administered by the City of London. In 1993, the Corporation of London leased a nearby courtyard of buildings that in the 18th century had been the centre of Samuel Whitbread's first brewery, and renovated and converted this to provide the school with its hall of residence, Sundial Court. About three minutes' walk from the school, Sundial Court offers self-catering single-room accommodation for 178 students. In 2001, the Secretary of State, Baroness Blackstone, announced that the Barbican Centre, including the Guildhall School, was to be Grade II listed. 2005–present In 2005, the school was awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize for its development and outreach programme, Guildhall Connect, and, in 2007, it won a further Queen's Anniversary Prize in recognition of the work of the opera programme over the last two decades. The school was rated No. 1 specialist institution in the UK in the Guardian University Guide 2013 and 2014. The most significant investment in the Guildhall School's future came to fruition via the £90 million redevelopment of the neighbouring Milton Court site. The new building, which opened in 2013, houses three new performance spaces: a concert hall (608 seats), a theatre (223 seats) and a studio theatre (up to 128 seats) in addition to drama teaching and administration spaces. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programs as well as the Junior Guildhall, a Saturday school serving students from 4 to 18 years of age. The school was awarded a further Queen's Anniversary Prize in 2007 in recognition of the achievements and work of the Opera Programme. In August 2014, the Guildhall had a logo change to a more minimalist modern style. It was changed due to the school thinking that it needed to reflect its types of teachings. Programmes The Guildhall School was awarded taught-degree awarding powers in 2014 by the Privy Council. Doctoral degrees are validated by City, University of London. Music The Guildhall offers a four-year undergraduate program for musicians along with the Guildhall Artist Masters in performance or composition and the highly advanced Artist Diploma programme. Students can specialise in classical or jazz performance (either as an instrumentalist or vocalist), composition, historical performance and electronic music. At master's level, vocal students are able to specialise in Opera Studies. In addition to this, the school offers postgraduate degrees in opera writing (in association with The Royal Opera) and in music therapy. Drama The Guildhall School offers a three-year BA Honours in Acting and the MA in Acting preparing students for the world of professional theatre. The School also delivers the BA Honours in Acting Studies in partnership with the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing. A full time, four-year programme with two years of training at each institution, the BA Honours in Acting Studies takes in a cohort of students every other year, exploring cross-cultural approaches to acting. Production Arts The School also offers a three-year vocational degree in production arts where students can specialise in either Stage Management, Costume, Theatre Technology or Design Realisation. The school is one of a handful to offer specialist training in stage automation, with computer controlled flying installations in three of the venues provided by TAIT, based upon their eChameleon platform. Youth Learning Guildhall School offers a Saturday school for advanced young musicians under the age of 18. In addition to this, the school became the UK's largest provider of music education to under 18s by incorporating the Centre for Young Musicians (CYM) and creating new music "hubs" in Norfolk and Somerset; the school achieved recognition for Guildhall's music outreach and opera programmes through two Queen's Anniversary Prizes (2005 and 2007). Admission Admission to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama is by a highly competitive audition. The School holds auditions for their music programmes in London, New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo and from 2021 drama auditions will be held in cities across the UK (including London, Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds and Nottingham) along with international auditions in New York. For the Production Arts course, admission is through interview at the school's Milton Court building in London, or at the United States Institute of Theatre Technology conference held each year, where prospective students meet and take part in various activities which simulate the teaching offered on the course. In the year 2018/19, the Acting course had 2,610 applications and awarded offers to only 1% of the applicants, giving it one of the lowest acceptance rates for any U.K. higher education institution. Unlike other UK conservatoires, Guildhall operates a separate applications procedure and applications are made directly to the school, as opposed to through UCAS Conservatoires. Facilities The Milton Court Concert Hall is a 608-seat professional concert venue, with the largest audience capacity of any of the London conservatoires. The school works in association with the Barbican Centre to stage public performances from world-renowned ensembles, such as the Academy of Ancient Music and Britten Sinfonia within Milton Court. In addition to Guildhall's flagship concert hall, the Milton Court building also contains a 223-seat proscenium arch theatre, a flexible 128-seat studio theatre and several rehearsal rooms. The school's Grade II listed Silk Street building houses a 308-seat drama and opera theatre, along with a second smaller concert hall, a recital room, theatrical workshops and labs, electronic music studios, recording and sound studios, and over 40 teaching and practice rooms. The school also owns the John Hosier Annexe, a nearby building with a further 44 teaching and practice rooms. The Guildhall School library (located within the Silk Street building) houses one of the most extensive specialised collections of music and drama print in Europe. The Guildhall Symphony Orchestra and Chorus perform regularly in the neighbouring 1,943-seat Barbican Hall, whilst chamber musicians give recitals there as part of the acclaimed LSO Platforms: Guildhall Artists series. Alumni Music Some distinguished alumni of Guildhall School's music department include: Singers Sir Bryn Terfel (born 1965), bass-baritone Dame Felicity Palmer (born 1944), mezzo-soprano Sir Geraint Evans (1922–1992), bass-baritone Roderick Williams (born 1965), baritone Alice Coote (born 1968), mezzo-soprano Owen Brannigan (1908–1973), bass Katharine Fuge (born 1968), soprano John Rhys Evans (1930–2010), baritone Linda Anne Hutchison (born 1945), soprano Anne Sofie von Otter (born 1955), mezzo-soprano Wynne Evans (born 1972), tenor Claire Rutter (born 1972), soprano Sophie Karthäuser (born 1974), soprano Nathan Berg (born 1972), bass-baritone Susanna Andersson (born 1971), soprano Alison Hagley (born 1961), soprano Konrad Jarnot (born 1972), baritone Ruby Helder (1890–1938), contralto Toby Spence (born 1969), tenor Kate Royal (born 1979), soprano Juliette Pochin (born 1971), mezzo-soprano William Shimell (born 1952), baritone Rebecca Caine (born 1959), soprano and musical theatre performer Myleene Klass (born 1978), singer and pianist Buddug Verona James, mezzo-soprano Mark Milhofer, tenor Peter Bording (born 1965), baritone Pacie Ripple (1864–1941), tenor Adam Smith, tenor Anna Steiger, mezzo-soprano Charles Childerstone (1872–1947), tenor Benjamin Appl (born 1982), baritone Zara McFarlane (born 1983), jazz singer and songwriter Camden Stewart (born 2004), tenor Instrumentalists Sir James Galway (born 1939), flautist Paul Lewis (pianist) (born 1972), pianist Jacqueline du Pré (1945–1987), cellist Alison Balsom (born 1978), trumpeter Gareth Owen, pianist Tasmin Little (born 1965), violinist Sa Chen (born 1979), pianist Jess Gillam (born 1998), saxophonist Maxim Rysanov (born 1978), violinist Clare Hammond (born 1985), pianist Joan Havill, concert pianist and piano tutor Jennifer Pike (born 1989), violinist Dave Holland (born 1946), jazz double bassist Shabaka Hutchings (born 1984), jazz saxophonist and band leader Jason Rebello (born 1969), jazz pianist and songwriter Florian Ross (born 1972), jazz pianist, composer and arranger Jim Tomlinson (born 1966), tenor saxophonist and clarinetist Arisa and Honoka Fujita of the Fujita Piano Trio Rachel Podger (born 1968), violinist Marie Dare (1902-1976), cellist Harri Kahlos (born 1969), pianist Composers Thomas Adès (born 1971), composer Debbie Wiseman (born 1963), film score composer Sir George Martin (1926–2016), composer and record producer Harry Gregson-Williams (born 1961), film score composer Richard Mills (born 1949), composer and conductor John Ivimey (1868–1961), composer and organist Sir Noël Coward (1899–1973), playwright and composer Mica Levi (Micachu) (born 1987), composer and singer-songwriter Dobrinka Tabakova (born 1980), composer Adiescar Chase, multi-instrumentalist and composer Marie Dare, cello and chamber music Conductors Paul Daniel (born 1958), conductor Jules Buckley (born 1980), conductor Albert Horne (born 1980), conductor and chorus master Noël Tredinnick (born 1949), conductor Howard Williams (born 1947), conductor Richard Farnes (born 1964), conductor David Arch, conductor and musical director Musicologists Katharine Ellis, musicologist Gold Medal of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama; list of winners of the Gold Medal Drama Some notable alumni of Guildhall School's drama department include: Naveen Andrews – (Lost, The English Patient) Hayley Atwell – (Captain America: The First Avenger, Agent Carter, The Duchess) Kingsley Ben-Adir - (Barbie, Bob Marley: One Love) Edna Best - (The Man Who Knew Too Much, Intermezzo: A Love Story, Swiss Family Robinson) Samuel Blenkin - (Black Mirror, Atlanta, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) Orlando Bloom – (The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean) Peter Bridgmont – (The Mousetrap, The Great War or Z-Cars) Michaela Coel – (I May Destroy You, Chewing Gum, The Aliens) Daniel Craig – (James Bond, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) Peter Cushing – (Star Wars, Dracula) Michelle Dockery – (Downton Abbey, Non-Stop) Monica Dolan - (Appropriate Adult, A Very English Scandal) Kenny Doughty – (Vera, Elizabeth) Kurt Egyiawan - (A Real Pain, House of the Dragon) Shaun Evans – (Being Julia), (Gone), (Princess Kaiulani), (The Take), (Endeavour) Joseph Fiennes – (Shakespeare in Love, Enemy at the Gates) Freddie Fox – (The Riot Club, Cucumber, White House Farm) Tom Glynn-Carney - (Dunkirk, House of the Dragon) Conleth Hill – (Game of Thrones) Ellis Howard – (What It Feels Like for a Girl) Lennie James – (Snatch, The Walking Dead) Lily James - (Cinderella, Downton Abbey, Baby Driver, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again) Anya Chalotra - (The Witcher, The ABC Murders ) Toheeb Jimoh - (Ted Lasso, The Power) Sarah Lancashire - (Coronation Street, Last Tango in Halifax, Happy Valley) Gwilym Lee - (Bohemian Rhapsody, Midsomer Murders) Damian Lewis – (Band of Brothers, Homeland) Mirren Mack - (Sex Education, The Witcher: Blood Origin) Ewan McGregor – (Moulin Rouge!, Star Wars) Alfred Molina – (Spider-Man 2, Chocolat) Lesley Nicol - (Downton Abbey, East is East) Miriam Petche – (Industry) Joseph Potter (Interview with the Vampire, The Poltergeist) Simon Russell Beale – (Penny Dreadful, Into the Woods) Marina Sirtis – (Star Trek, Gargoyles) David Thewlis – (Fargo, Seven Years in Tibet) Dominic West – (The Affair, The Wire, The Crown) Jodie Whittaker - (Doctor Who, Broadchurch) Phia Saban – (The Last Kingdom, House of the Dragon) Matthew Broome – (The Buccaneers, My Fault: London) Technical Theatre Some notable alumni of Guildhall School's technical theatre department include: Neil Austin, lighting designer Judy Craymer (born 1957), producer Eric Fellner film producer and co-chairman of Working Title Films Tim Lutkin, lighting designer on Broadway and in London's west end. Creative consultant for Disney Parks & Resorts and artistic director at Dronisos done company. Adam Taylor, freelance sound designer and operator. Working across the world in theatre and corporate events. But by night: successful DJ under the name 'Adam Fabulous', a craft he would regularly exhibit in the Guildhall student union bar 'the basement'. References External links Official website City selects preferred Milton Court developer (June 2006) Guildhall School seeks new extension (February 2006) Trinity Guildhall at the Trinity College, London