Other
University of Salford (Royal College of Advanced Technology), Northern School Of Music (NSM), Houldsworth Hall
1966

Official Magazine of the Northern School of Music, covering the academic year 1965-66

‘This year has been the most crowed in the life of the Northern School’ begins Ida Carroll (1905-1995, student, secretary and then principal of the NSM), ‘not only physically but also in the performance of music and drama’. For the first time ever, the school would hold a performance in one hall, whilst rehearsals take place in the other. Although onlookers may view this intense atmosphere as disorientating for students and staff, Ida reassures the close relationship of teaching and performing is essential, both complementing one another.

Ida Carroll also observes the vast growth of the Old Students Association with each year, ‘branching out to all corners of the globe’. Small regional groups of ex-students would meet to maintain contact with NSM alumni and to keep updated of their exploits, with Carroll often checking in as often as possible. This Principals Letter shows its age, being in the midst of the Space Race (1955-75), Ida playfully mentions the possibility that ‘one day we may be chartering a space-ship to contact some little student who has settled on the moon’.

The Present Student Association offers a glimpse into the social activities of NSM students on pg.16, including a dance at the Italian Club, and a football match between the NSM and the rivalled (but soon-to-be united) Royal College of Music. The School put up a good fight, winning until the last five minutes, despite having formed only a week previous.

An ‘air letter’ appeared at the school from Kikuyu, Kenya enclosed in prints of native fauna (pg. 17). The sender, Margaret Gifford, was an ex-student who in the succeeding year would start the first A-level course in music for Africans in Kenya. She writes enthusiastically of engagements with the Voice of Kenya Radio and Television. Proving that although focused on enriching musicians in the north of England, the true reach of the NSM is international.

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.