The trustees of the Birmingham International Piano Competition and Birmingham City University have formally completed an agreement to transfer responsibility for the competition to Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC).
The move marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the globally acclaimed event and in the story of music in Birmingham, with the next competition set to take place in the Bradshaw Hall at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in summer 2022, including early rounds on 23 and 24 June, and the final on 3 July. The Birmingham International Piano Competition was founded in 1979 by Miss Gladys Lily Brant and named after her parents, Robert William and Florence Amy Brant.
Miss Brant had been a promising young pianist but had lacked the necessary financial support to study at an advanced level. Having followed an office-based career, she founded the competition as a way of encouraging young pianists and helping the best to continue their studies and forge a career.
Run by Miss Brant for nearly twenty years and established as a charitable trust in 1986, the competition administration was later passed to Town Hall Symphony Hall (now B:Music) in collaboration with the trustees of the charity. In 2017 the event was rebranded as Birmingham International Piano Competition before being transferred to Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in November 2021.
Colin Timms, former chair of the competition, said: “The charity known as Birmingham International Piano Competition is closed, but the competition continues. The former trustees are extremely grateful for the loyal support of the competition’s friends, donors and supporters over the years, and delighted that Royal Birmingham Conservatoire has become the home of the competition and is providing an ideal institutional basis for its future development.”
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a passionate advocate of the solo piano recital and, with the Bradshaw Hall as the Conservatoire’s flagship venue housing its exceptional fleet of concert grand pianos, the competition will continue to be staged in the city and to offer opportunities to young pianists who are resident in the UK.
Interim Principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Dr Shirley Thompson, said: “On behalf of all at the Conservatoire, I would like to thank the trustees of the Birmingham International Piano Competition for entrusting us with its future: we are extremely proud to be the competition’s new custodian and are committed to ensuring that it goes from strength to strength.”
