Changing Faces

Royal College of Music Director to retire

Robin Cantrill-Fenwick
1 min read

Professor COLIN LAWSON, Director of the Royal College of Music (RCM), is to retire in August 2024.

Lawson, the tenth director of RCM, has led the college for almost two decades.

During Lawson’s tenure, the RCM delivered a £40m campus redevelopment project, which included new performance spaces and an interactive museum open to the public. 

The college has also developed international partnerships, such as the Global Conservatoire, and established a digital presence consisting of concerts and online masterclasses with musicians. 

RCM’s Chairman Lord GUY BLACK called Lawson a “distinguished director, eminent musician and respected academic”. 

“His leadership throughout the pandemic has been essential to steering the Royal College of Music through the biggest crisis of our times and he brought the institution through it stronger than ever before,” Black added.