At the end of September, Leeds Conservatoire will bid a fond farewell to its fifth Principal, Gerry Godley.
Gerry at Graduation 2018 in Leeds Town Hall
Image credit: maskofstorrow
Gerry, who has been Principal & Managing Director of the conservatoire since 2014, has overseen bold changes and the implementation of a new strategic direction during his tenure. This period has seen the conservatoire become an independent HEI, gain a TEF Silver award, improve its NSS results, launch an ambitious Access and Participation Plan, introduce new courses and even change its name.
In 2015, the conservatoire set out its new strategic plan, which outlined our mission to provide students with an exceptional learning experience, to be a centre for a creative discovery, to embed collaboration within our culture, to develop our team to inspire and support, to provide exemplary facilities and to operate sustainably. Throughout this time, there have been many significant achievements along the way, in line with these objectives.
The conservatoire has launched a number of new courses in a range of disciplines, including Music Business, Songwriting, Film Music, Folk and Electronic Music Production; and it has branched out further afield into drama, offering Musical Theatre, Acting and Actor Musician.
The institution’s portfolio of courses has become the widest ranging of any UK conservatoire, leading to applications more than doubling over the past six years and enrolments growing by approximately 80%. Junior Leeds Conservatoire, our provision for young musicians and performers, has also grown its numbers by approximately 80% during this period.
Gerry Godley opening St Peter's Square
Image credit: Emily Knox
To meet this expansion of student numbers, the conservatoire has also increased the provision of high quality, specialist facilities. The conservatoire’s estate has grown to include a brand new library, a business hub, a newly developed venue bar, a bespoke DJ suite and a purpose-built drama campus at Playhouse Square.
The last six years has also seen a steady improvement of the institution’s NSS (National Student Survey) Results, including two record years of student satisfaction, in 2018 and 2020. Areas that were particularly commended by the conservatoire’s students on both occasions were its academic support, opportunities to collaborate with other students and its outstanding facilities.
In June 2018, the conservatoire gained HEI (Higher Education Institution) status – which is designated to institutions who demonstrate distinctiveness of provision, strong demand and graduate employability, high academic standards and performance, financial sustainability, as well as good management and governance.
June 2019 saw the conservatoire accredited with a Silver Award in the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF), which assesses excellence in teaching, as well as student outcomes in terms of graduate-level employment or further study. The TEF Silver award is testament to the high standard of industry-relevant training and bespoke tailored support on offer for musicians, performers and entrepreneurs at the conservatoire.
During 2019, we implemented an ambitious Access & Participation Plan, which aims to improve access to conservatoire education for under-represented groups, and reduce barriers to studying music and performing arts at HE level. An immediate action was the conservatoire’s removal of audition fees for all courses – a move that was celebrated by the industry.
During Gerry’s tenure, the conservatoire has forged many high-profile partnerships with some of the region’s key cultural players, including Opera North, Leeds Playhouse, Red Ladder Theatre Company and Backstage Academy, to name just a few.
The conservatoire has also secured grants from a number of charitable foundations in order to support its activities and outreach work, including significant donations from the Leverhulme Trust, Wolfson Foundation, and a number of others.
Most recently, the institution changed its name from Leeds College of Music to Leeds Conservatoire – to represent the quality and breadth of training on offer, and to support future growth.
On his time at the conservatoire, Gerry Godley said;
“These last six years as Principal of this great, durable institution have been an immense privilege. That it coincided with a period of significant change in UK HE made it all the more worthwhile, and it was both an honour and responsibility to preside over the conservatoire’s many achievements during that time – our redesignation as an independent HEI, eye-catching new buildings in Quarry Hill, the evolution of our curriculum into the dynamic offering it is today, and the increased breadth of our student community.
The coda to this period has been the recent name change, and I’ll be watching with great interest from the wings as Joe Wilson and his fantastic team take Leeds Conservatoire through the next exciting chapter in its evolution. The commitment to excellence of the conservatoire’s staff, never more so than over the last six months, has been a constant inspiration, and I thank every one of them for their support, commitment, and good spirits. I am going to miss many things about Leeds but I will be taking with me many enduring friendships and artistic experiences from the conservatoire’s brilliant students, that I will forever be indebted for."
Shaid Mahmood, Chair of the Luminate Education Group Board, said;
"Leeds Conservatoire hosted a Leeds City Council leadership conference at the conservatoire for its top team. Hard bitten, time served, politically savvy council officers all locked into the auditorium thinking about all the big city problems they were having to deal with and wondering why they were there instead of back at the office dealing with them. Gerry’s welcome address was one of the best I’ve ever heard. He completely disarmed everyone, made them feel welcome and made them all smile and laugh, got everyone into the mood, setting us up brilliantly for what was a great day."
We wish Gerry all the best for his future endeavours and thank him for his work at Leeds Conservatoire.
Professor Joe Wilson will take over as Interim Principal of Leeds Conservatoire - find out more.
