The Institute began life over 20 years ago as a small school for students of guitar and bass, based in Acton, West London. Originally known as The Guitar Institute and Basstech, the quality of the teaching, the courses and lessons and the commitment to its students soon meant that the school's reputation quickly began to grow. Although the first facilities were fairly simple, right from the outset the Institute made a commitment to its students and to the quality of its courses.

Pioneering courses, such as the one-year Diploma in Popular in Music Performance, launched in 1991,  for the first time offered students an opportunity both to follow their passion for creating and performing popular music while gaining a formally recognised qualification in the process. Students quickly became aware of the school, recognising that for the first time a school was prepared to take their interest and commitment seriously, and began to enrol in ever increasing numbers.

Between 1995 and 1999, the Institute, as it was by then universally known, was instrumental in the development of the first honours degree in contemporary music performance ever developed in the UK. This groundbreaking and visionary programme, which combined formal academic study with the development of excellence in musicianship and stage performance, has contributed over the years to the achievements of literally thousands of students from all over the world and to the rapid improvement in standards generally across the popular music education sector. By this time, students of drums and vocals were able to join their guitar- and bass-playing counterparts in the development of professional and academically recognised qualifications.  

Inevitably, as a result of the development and launch of these courses, which were proving to be in great demand, other schools and universities across the country and indeed internationally began to develop and launch their own contemporary music programmes. This has resulted in a tremendous increase in both the professionalism and the range of employment opportunities for musicians, and the Institute is proud, as the first school to have seen and developed this sector, to have been able to contribute so much!

As the Institute grew, both in size and reputation, it became clear that new vision, investment and energy was required to continue to build the future. And so, in late 2003, the Institute was acquired by a former student who had previously developed an extensive career in professional management. This change in ownership brought a new direction and new energy, together with a commitment to improved facilities, courses and administration. This commitment has been abcked up by significant investment over the last three years.  

As a first interim step, the old premises in Acton were immediately refurbished to a more acceptable standard, and the administrative management re-organised. Courses were streamlined and modernised, and the individual instrumental faculties consolidated into four focused structures - The Guitar Institute now had 3 closely-aligned sister schools, The Bass Institute (formerly Basstech), The Drum Institute and The Vocal Institute! Clear focus was placed on improving standards both academically as well as administratively, and research was undertaken as what students of contemporary music were likely to need in order to meet the demands of the future music industry.

What came out of this research was clear. Following years of growth and development in both the quantity and geographical spread of contemporary music courses, standards had been slipping and the interests of students were not being taken into account. The original BMus in Popular Music Performance had become outdated, and new and visionary academic partnerships needed to be developed. The Acton location offered little to students by way of services or access to live music, there was insufficient room for ever-increasing numbers of students and the building itself was getting old and tired. It was obvious - a completely fresh start was needed!

To this end, plans were developed during 2004/05 and financial commitments were made to relaunch the Institute, in a vibrant part of London, with brand new facilities and a rejuvenated approach to its portfolio of courses. This new building was opened during September 2006.

An innovative scholarship programme was launched to enable talented and deserving students to obtain a place on the flagship Diploma in Popular Music Performance.courses were extensively rewritten, with new courses being added to the portfolio, and a new University partner was approached with a view to validating the exciting new Institute BMus programme. In turn, this degree programme was completely rewritten to provide a more relevant and challenging pathway of study. The old programme had become stale and out of touch, and it was clear that both academic standards and the quantity of contact teaching hours received by students needed to be increased.

Finally, in recognition of the continuous development of the Institute and its commitment to the future of contemporary music education, formal permission was obtained to unite the 4 instruments faculties under a single, overarching name - and so, in late 2006, less than three years after the change in ownership, The Institute of Contemporary Music was born!

Of course, after all this time, everybody still knows us as simply 'The Institute'! But inside our new premises, located in Kilburn, just a stone's throw from central London, things have certainly changed considerably! The extensive new facilities include fully equipped performance and teaching studios, and boast acoustic drum practice booths, an iMac music technology suite and extensive practice and student recreation facilities.

To complement their studies, our students can fine-tune their playing and performing skills in our live Showcase events at the Luminaire club, a fantastic live music venue, which is just around the corner. Leading players, performers and writers from the music industry regularly drop in to give clinics and masterclasses, and we receive regular calls from established artists and managers looking for high quality musicians, performers and collaborative partners for their projects. Past or present Institute students can be found everywhere, touring with the likes of Katie Melua and Moby, playing with bands like Babyshambles and artists like K. T. Tunstall and Beverley Knight, working as teachers all over the world, creating music for film and TV or playing for high-profile west end musicals.

So what are you waiting for? Whether you want to make a career out of your playing and performing, or whether you just want to be able to express yourself and improve your skills, contact us now!