Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall

The newly refurbished Amaryllis Fleming concert hall

Since it opened in 1901, the RCM’s much-loved Amaryllis Fleming concert hall has played host to some of the major names in classical music including to name but a few: 

Richard Strauss
Jean Sibelius
Adrian Boult
Malcolm Sargent
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Benjamin Britten
Bernard Haitink
Vladimir Ashkenazy

With hundreds of concerts, competitions, masterclasses, rehearsals and other events taking place every year, it is one of the busiest concert spaces in London .

By 2008 the hall was in need of refurbishment, and the RCM seized the opportunity to go far beyond a simple refit and undertake a dramatic £5 million programme of transformation.

In addition to visible improvements such as new carpet, seating and decorations (restoring the colour scheme to the 1901 original) the following transformations have taken place:


  • the hall has been soundproofed
  • acoustic technicians have dramatically improved the acoustics for performers and audiences
  • a brand new air-conditioning and temperature management system has been installed
  • new state-of-the-art lighting and a “one-touch” recording system (linked to the RCM’s award-winning studios) have been introduced
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..making this a venue fit for the 21 century, and new modes of concert presentation.The aim has been to preserve the look and atmosphere of one of London’s best-loved and most historic performance spaces. It is the “behind the scenes” transformations that will radically improve the concert-going experience to match the supreme talents of RCM musicians, who are some of the best young performers in the world.

These improvements have only been possible thanks to the generosity of the RCM’s donors and supporters. The RCM is extremely grateful to the large number of individuals, trusts and foundations who have supported this project, and in particular to the Amaryllis Fleming Foundation, who have made a major donation to the transformation project.

It is very fitting that we should be renaming the concert hall the Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall. The daughter of painter Augustus John and the half-sister of James Bond creator Ian Fleming, Amaryllis Fleming (1925–1999) won a scholarship in 1943 to study at the Royal College of Music. Her immense talent was quickly recognised, and in the 1905s she became one of Europe ’s foremost cellists, performing concertos with many of the leading conductors of the day. She later became renowned for her chamber music performances, and in the 1970s she returned to the RCM as a professor, and her many students included Raphael Wallfisch.

The opening of the new hall is being celebrated with a series of special events (see attached information), culminating on 19 and 20 June with Bernard Haitink’s visit to conduct Mahler’s mighty Ninth Symphony with the RCM Symphony Orchestra. Beyond that, the hall will be hosting “Proms Plus” events, based around every single one of this seasons BBC Proms concerts.  We’re delighted that this will give an expected 12,000 visitors a chance to experience a thrilling addition to London ’s list of concert venues.