Trinity College of Music, London

Trinity College of Music, London

Trinity College of Music, London. Established in 1872 to provide a comprehensive music education and, through its external examinations department, to examine and award certificates and diplomas (ATCL, LTCL, FTCL). The TCL pioneered in establishing systems for local examinations in performance and theory in Great Britain and abroad. The first centres were set up in South Africa, India, Ceylon, and Australia in 1881. Theory exams were offered in Canada in 1887, and practical examiners began their annual visits in 1908 to conduct 'impartial, thorough and efficient' appraisals of Canadian students prepared by local teachers. A TCL local centre was established in Winnipeg in 1926.

By 1978 there were 20 centres in eight provinces: 5 in Newfoundland, 4 each in British Columbia and Ontario, 3 in Saskatchewan, and 1 each in Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. These figures remained constant in 1990. During World War II resident Canadians, including Arthur Collingwood, H.A. Fricker, Henry Rosevear, and Willan, examined for the TCL. Visiting examiners after 1908 have included Ronald Chamberlain, Philip Jones, Albert Mallinson, Adolph Mann, David Robinson, Harold Rutland, and Mary Tweedie. Among the Canadians to whom the TCL has awarded honorary fellowships are Collingwood, Fricker, Lyell Gustin, Gordon Jeffery, Nellie Mould, Rosevear, and Leonard Wilson.