Other
University of Salford (Royal College of Advanced Technology), Northern School Of Music (NSM), Houldsworth Hall
1964

Official Magazine of the Northern School of Music, covering the academic year 1963-4

With the labourers of the developing Mancunian Way providing a ‘perpetual obbligato’ of knocking and banging outside the Northern School of Music (NSM) premises, students and staff alike are forced to hone their hearing as not to defer from the beat of their playing and conducting. The construction work caused quite the controversy: Ida Carroll (1905-1995, student, secretary and then principal of the NSM) refused to let the planners knock down the NSM to make way for it, so they built the motorway around it. The curve of the motorway as it arches over the city centre gained the nickname “the Carroll curve”. Although this is contested in NSM’s history publication Northern Accent, which states the school was forced to move to 91 Ox Rd as it was being demolished and move into 99 Oxford Rd instead.

A student’s perspective on the constant developments appears in the Present Student’s Association on pg.14, capturing a positive attitude towards the changes: “You never quite know what will happen next” [the year] “has been full of surprises, with holes in the wall and new doors suddenly appearing in unexpected places! The view from the window changes daily – Manchester seems to be crumbling at one’s feet”. It can be imagined that Ida Carroll’s OBE that was awarded in this year helped uphold this atmosphere for the current students.

An insight into ‘Antipodean’ music-scene and way of life in the mid-1960s can be found on p.16-17, authored by NSM alumni Frank Beevers, who experienced success as a music specialist in New Zealand. Based in Greymouth, then a lonely but unique backwater area of New Zealand, he and his wife witnessed sights rarely seen by English couples in the early 1960s: “there we found fishing, beautiful sandy beaches, bush of the semi-equatorial type, old ghost towns from the days of gold mining”. He concludes his letter with a big “thank you” to the NSM for the “excellent training” and the patience and perseverance of the staff, that largely contributed to his success.

Pages 19-35 have been censored to protect personal data.

Ref: NSM/21

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.