A final note for George Caird
Dec 10 2010 By Christopher Morley
Christopher Morley talks to the retiring principal of Birmingham Conservatoire.
After 17 years at the helm, George Caird bows out at the end of this term as principal of Birmingham Conservatoire – now thriving as the largest university music faculty in the country and a flagship for Birmingham City University.
He told me about his vision when he took up the post at what was once the Birmingham School of Music, after an oboe professorship at the Royal Academy of Music.
“I was really inspired by a number of things,” says Professor Caird. “One was the presence of Simon Rattle and the CBSO in Birmingham, and also other arts provision which I was aware of. Birmingham Conservatoire was an institution that had, for a long time, been going along its own path, but was showing signs of wanting to really emerge as an international institution.
“My expectation and excitement was to see if we could help the Conservatoire to become that, which could mirror all that wonderful activity in the city.”
“Simon and I go back to Royal Academy of Music days, when he was one or two years behind me as a young man studying conducting and I was there as an oboe student under Janet Craxton. I remember he persuaded me to give a lecture on the oboe to the conducting class – it was Simon’s organisational powers that brought that about, rather than the Academy.”
Overseas students have become an increasingly important component in the work of the Conservatoire, as George explains. “We absolutely need to prioritise looking after UK students – obviously if you’re a UK conservatoire you want to be of service to your community – but at the same time you want to be an international conservatoire because that’s how things operate now.
“With nearly 90 overseas students from outside Europe, and another 70 or more from Europe, we’ve got a very, very significant international presence now.”
All of this has raised the profile of Birmingham Conservatoire on every continent.
“The future will be about continuing that internationalism,” George adds.
Turning all of this inward attraction on its head, it’s gratifying to see how many Conservatoire students are going out into the world, carving rewarding careers for themselves, from spectacular success in X Factor (Rhydian Roberts, who was runner up in the 2007 final, is a former student) to triumphs on the operatic stage, and sterling work in top-class orchestras.
