Royal College of Music Joins the Google Cultural Institute

Tuesday 1 December 2015

 

The Royal College of Music is the first international music conservatoire to partner with the Google Cultural Institute*, which allows visitors to discover exhibits and collections from museums and archives all around the world. We will be represented along other world-leading arts institutions including the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, The Metropolitan Opera and Musée d’Orsay, who have all opened their cultural riches to digital audiences.

The partnership comes at an opportune moment for the RCM, providing an exciting new means to access our collections while the physical Museum is closed for rebuilding. Google’s platform is designed to let people “explore cultural treasures in extraordinary detail, from hidden gems to masterpieces”. Our first digital exhibition, Treasures of The Royal College of Music - The Musical Instrument Collection, includes annotations from Museum Curator Gabriele Rossi Rognoni and high resolution photography of our instruments. Some of the exhibits include sound recordings, giving you the opportunity to hear an 18th century Broadwood piano and the unusual, vibrant sound of a 17th century pochette - rarely heard today.

The RCM is also launching virtual tours of its building. Museum View – an extension of Google’s popular Street View service – grants virtual access to important museums and cultural institutions around the world, including The British Museum, the Berlin Philharmonie and Opéra national de Paris.

This partnership between the RCM and Google represents just one part of our extensive digitisation programme. The RCM continues to invest in new ways of expanding its horizons, opening its doors to wider audiences and, of course, providing the very best resources for its students.

*Google Cultural Institute was renamed Google Arts & Culture in summer 2016.

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