Royal Academy of Music Recital Hall early designs. Copyright Wright & Wright Architects
The Royal Academy of Music has received a £30 million donation from philanthropist Mrs Aud Jebsen. It is the largest gift in its 203-year history, and the biggest ever given to a conservatoire outside the USA.
It will be used to transform the Academy’s facilities. To recognise Mrs Jebsen’s support, 1-5 York Gate, a large Nash-terrace building, part of the Academy’s main site on London’s Marylebone Road, will be named Aud Jebsen House.
Mrs Jebsen is a UK-based philanthropist who has supported many music and dance-focussed arts organisations with generous gifts to the Royal Ballet School and Royal Ballet and Opera. She is committed to “ensuring the next generation of talented artists are given every opportunity to succeed”.
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Her donation will enable the Academy to embark on a three-year programme to transform the Grade II-listed Regency building. The Academy’s Museum and Collections (home to a significant collection of prestigious string instruments, including world-renowned Stradivari, played by staff and students) will be reimagined.
Royal Academy of Music Entrance Hall early designs. Copyright: Wright & Wright Architects
The adjoining hall, currently known as the David Josefowitz Recital Hall, will also receive full internal reconfiguration to create a world-class venue, with refreshed acoustic treatment, interior design and audience facilities to match the Academy’s other public performance spaces. It will be named the Aud and Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Recital Hall, in honour of Mrs Jebsen and her late husband.
Aud Jebsen said:
“I believe in supporting the very best. Students need the best teachers, and they also need the finest spaces in which to explore and extend their musical potential. I am proud to support this outstanding organisation and to contribute to the life and prospects of its students. I feel so lucky that my late husband Kristian Gerhard’s extraordinary business life enables me to make this gift.”
Royal Academy of Music Entrance Hall early designs. Copyright: Wright & Wright Architects
“In recent years Mrs Jebsen has funded scholarships and endowed the Jebsen Visiting Professorship of Piano, both of which play a significant part in future-proofing the best teaching for our young musicians. This extraordinary gift will be game-changing in enabling us to bring our York Gate building up to the high standards set by the Susie Sainsbury Theatre and other important recent developments. Together they will further cement the Academy’s position as a global leader in music performance training.”
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.
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