Page 113 - Weiss, Jernej, ur. 2020. Konservatoriji: profesionalizacija in specializacija glasbenega dela ▪︎ The conservatories: professionalisation and specialisation of musical activity. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 4
P. 113
ir ish conservator ies dur ing the inter-war per iod
The Local Centre Examination System
An important part of the RIAM’s activities to this day is the running of the
Local Centre Examination System. This is an examination system in music
that was devised in the 1890s. In 1889 the British “Associated Board of the
Royal Schools of Music” (ABRSM) introduced an exam system that by now
operates in almost 100 countries. However, Ireland quickly decided that it
wanted its own system. The first exams were conducted in 1894. Initially ex-
aminations could only be organised in larger cities (a minimum number of
students was necessary to make it viable for an examiner to travel to the lo-
cal centre), but over time they spread to many smaller places. Today the ex-
ams are held all over the island of Ireland (North and South).
The Irish system broadly copied the British one in that it holds exami-
nations in Performance, Music Theory and more recently Speech and Dra-
ma. These subjects can be taken in twelve grades of increasing degrees of
difficulty, followed by Associate and Licentiate Diplomas in both Teaching
and Performance (ARIAM and LRIAM).15 The RIAM defines and regular-
ly redefines the standards for these levels, and also sets the exam pieces for
them. The teaching faculty initially provided the majority of the examin-
ers (this was a good way to earn some extra income), and although many
of them are still involved in examining today, the majority of examiners
are not staff members of the conservatory: 91 examiners and 2 senior ex-
aminers, the latter being employed by the RIAM to work on the syllabi for
all levels, organise workshops for teachers and examiners and collate and
edit the publications which include piano albums, aural test books, theo-
ry workbooks, sight reading workbooks and speech and drama workbooks,
as well as syllabi. Advised by the examiners, the local centres also organise
High Achiever concerts for students who meet specific criteria and marks
in the exam.
By taking on the organisation of and indirectly the quality control
over the entire system of private music tuition in the country, the RIAM
has acquired an enormous influence on the development of art music na-
tionally. In recent years there have been discussions about the representa-
tion of Irish composers and of women in the syllabi, with the result that the
presence of both groups has been increased in the exams. This means that
Irish music students at all levels now encounter a more diverse range of mu-
15 There are up to three preliminary grades (elementary, preliminary and primary – al-
though for some instruments only one of these is on offer), grades 1–8 and the senior
certificate above grade 8 (which is rarely used in practice).
111
The Local Centre Examination System
An important part of the RIAM’s activities to this day is the running of the
Local Centre Examination System. This is an examination system in music
that was devised in the 1890s. In 1889 the British “Associated Board of the
Royal Schools of Music” (ABRSM) introduced an exam system that by now
operates in almost 100 countries. However, Ireland quickly decided that it
wanted its own system. The first exams were conducted in 1894. Initially ex-
aminations could only be organised in larger cities (a minimum number of
students was necessary to make it viable for an examiner to travel to the lo-
cal centre), but over time they spread to many smaller places. Today the ex-
ams are held all over the island of Ireland (North and South).
The Irish system broadly copied the British one in that it holds exami-
nations in Performance, Music Theory and more recently Speech and Dra-
ma. These subjects can be taken in twelve grades of increasing degrees of
difficulty, followed by Associate and Licentiate Diplomas in both Teaching
and Performance (ARIAM and LRIAM).15 The RIAM defines and regular-
ly redefines the standards for these levels, and also sets the exam pieces for
them. The teaching faculty initially provided the majority of the examin-
ers (this was a good way to earn some extra income), and although many
of them are still involved in examining today, the majority of examiners
are not staff members of the conservatory: 91 examiners and 2 senior ex-
aminers, the latter being employed by the RIAM to work on the syllabi for
all levels, organise workshops for teachers and examiners and collate and
edit the publications which include piano albums, aural test books, theo-
ry workbooks, sight reading workbooks and speech and drama workbooks,
as well as syllabi. Advised by the examiners, the local centres also organise
High Achiever concerts for students who meet specific criteria and marks
in the exam.
By taking on the organisation of and indirectly the quality control
over the entire system of private music tuition in the country, the RIAM
has acquired an enormous influence on the development of art music na-
tionally. In recent years there have been discussions about the representa-
tion of Irish composers and of women in the syllabi, with the result that the
presence of both groups has been increased in the exams. This means that
Irish music students at all levels now encounter a more diverse range of mu-
15 There are up to three preliminary grades (elementary, preliminary and primary – al-
though for some instruments only one of these is on offer), grades 1–8 and the senior
certificate above grade 8 (which is rarely used in practice).
111
