ABSTRACT
The establishment of a national music school had been on the agenda at least since the eighteenth century, when Daniel Defoe had published his thesis entitled ‘A Proposal to prevent the expensive importation of Foreign Musicians, &c. by forming an Academy of our own’ in Augusta Triumphans. The Augusta triumph of the Society of Arts’ international exhibition of the works of all nations in 1851 had given new impetus to its endeavours in support of the sciences and arts. Bedevilled from its inception, the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) had been founded ‘without any consultation or co-operation with leaders of the musical profession’. The restoration of the RAM’s grant had incensed the music profession. In 1868,130 professional musicians petitioned the Department of Science and Art to establish a government school of music and a national opera. The musicians’ petition led the Society of Arts’ Committee on Musical Education to approach Parliament directly.
