A NOBLE INSTITUTION.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 345, 23 February 1889, Page 6

A NOBLE INSTITUTION.

< treat interest has been excited in the Itoyal College of Music, London, since it became known that the llev. Jame? Chew was about to send his youngest daughter thither. Inquiries come from all directions respecting it, most of the inquiries having apparently confounded the Royal College, with the Royal Academy of Music. The former is a much younger institution thun the latter, as it is of many other musical establishments in the great metropolis ; but it was designed, at least, to be superior to all of them, and equal to be very best on the European continent. Its history dates only irom 1883, in which year it was incorporated, though it had been publicly advocated some time previously by the Prince of Wales and other members of the Royal Family, and by eminent representatives of the aiistocracy and gentry, as well as musicians, tlnoughout the United Kingdom. The avowed purpose contemplated was "the achancoment of the art and science of music in the British Empire (1), by aHoi cling systematic mu&ical instruction of the highest clabt> to pupils, both professional and amatour, of both sexes ; (2) by awarding certificates of proriciency, titles, and academical degrees to all persons, whether educated in the College or not, who may pro\e themselves worthy or such distinction ; (3) by becoming a centre of musical study foi the nation, to which other musical bodies maj' become alliliated ; and (4) generally by taking such steps as the Council may, from time to time, think ht for promoting the interests of music and musicians, and for otherwise advancing the study of music." Immense sums of money were gradually raised for endowing professorships and loundinsr exhibitions. Tuition was commenced in a building presented to the Prince of Wales by the late Sir C. J. Freake, Bart., situated in Kensington Gore, London, S.W., on the west of the Royal Albert Hall. Last year, Mr Samson Fox, of Leeds, generously presented to the college a sum of £30,000 to defiay the expenses of a new building 1 to meet the mci eased requirements of the institution, and to be erected on a site which has been granted by Her Majesty's Commissioners tor the Exhibition of 1851 on their South Kensington estate in Prince's Gate. The governing body consist? of the HeirAppai'ent as president, and some thirty distinguished vice- presidents ; a council ot nearly forty members (princes, at chhi&hoDS, dukes, loids, baronets, and musical notabilities) ; an Executive and Finance Committee, being selections fiom the best business and administiative talent of the Council. The staft of professors and teacheis has Sir George Grove at it 3 head, and numbers upwards of fifty tutors in the various departments. The pupils are classified as scholars, exhibitioners and paying students. Theie are two classes of scholai. ships, open and close. The open scholarships are those wh eh are accessible to all ranks of Her Ala jetty's subjects within stated ages, being obtainable by competitive examination only. At the opening of the College, no fewer than lifty of these scholarships were cieated. The close scholarships are such as are available only to the inhabitants, generally nathes, of certain localities, and which are otheiwise restricted at the wish of-tho donors, lo is gratifying to find the colonies figuiing well in this section, thieo of the ten close scholarships having been provided by colonials, namely, the South Province (of Victoria) scholarship, by the Hon. Sir William J. Clarke, Bait., Melbourne, for natives of Victoria ; the South Australian scholarship, by Sir Thomas Elder, Adelaide, for natives of South Australia ; and the Montreal Scholarship, by two gentlemen of Montreal, for natives of the city of that name, and of the neighbourhood. New Zealand does not yet appear in this honourable list ; and not until the protracted depression is entirely past may we hope for such distinction. But what a fine thing it would be for -the country, possessing unquestionably marked musical tastes and tendencies, 4 if some of her more promising son 3 and daughters had the opportunity for perfecting exceptional ability created for them by the munificence of one or more of their alHuenfcial and patriotic fellow citizens ! Is there no one in our own fair city of science and ait that will aspire to such service and renown V As for Miss Otic Chew, our first candidate for admission to the Royal College, she is as one born out of duo season, being one knows not how many years in advance of the time of such a local benevolent provision. Whether she will eventually have a chance to compete tor an open .scholarship is unknown. Whether, if the chance occur, one so young could succeed in carrying off a prize older and very capable competitors, remains to be seen. But in the meantime, the small would-be artist is receiving much encouragement, and such as mitigates the pai of parting from relatives and friends for years. Besides useful letters of introduction, including some from Government House, and one from Governor Jervois, who heard her play on his recent visit here, she is promised an enthusiastic "send-off" by the people of Auckland at her benefit concert next Thursday night. May the juvenile violinist prove a worthy representative of this Athens of the Southern Hemisphere.

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