University News Last updated 05 September
Head of Historical Performance, Senior Lecturer and Instrument Curator Martin Perkins shares his recent projects including performing music from Shakespeare’s time in his birthplace in Stratford upon Avon.
What are the core skills or areas of expertise that you bring to RBC?
I spent the first 10 years of my career as a freelancer doing all sorts of music-related things: Playing harpsichord and directing, teaching in the Junior Conservatoire and RBC, being an orchestral librarian, tuning harpsicords, being an orchestral fixer and repetiteur, etc. I continually draw on this diverse experience in my RBC roles, which helps students to see the bigger picture of what our courses are training them for. In more recent years, I have added strings to my bow with a PhD and various articles, books and research projects, all related to historical performance and musicology.
What have been your highlights since you started at RBC?
Highlights for me have been when we have taken our students out into the real world. Recent projects performing music from Shakespeare’s time in his birthplace in Stratford upon Avon, and Jacobean music at Birmingham’s Aston Hall – exactly where it would have been heard – have been a real privilege.
When I come across graduates in the real world, it’s always a highlight – there’s a feeling of ‘yes, another one we helped make it to the profession’.
What have been the most challenging issues that you’ve had to take a view on so far?
Moving to our new building in 2017 was a big challenge, particularly as the transition was not smooth. It seems a lifetime ago, particularly as the new Paradise development is almost finished and there is a huge office block where the Adrian Boult Hall once stood. Having our concert hall demolished while we were still working in the building was dramatic, and the subsequent logistical issues of moving and storing millions of pounds’ worth of instruments before our current building on Jennens Road opened were complicated. The global pandemic was also difficult: It was distressing seeing a generation of students having to go through such disruption and trauma at such a critical stage of their lives.
What are your ambitions for RBC?
I hope we can continue to grow as an institution while retaining the friendly and supportive environment in which our students learn their trade. It’s all about the people!
What do you do outside of the role when you are not working?
I enjoy walking and listening to podcasts, often at the same time! I’ve been taking on more freelance playing work since my children have flown the nest, and that always feels like a treat.