We’re proud to announce the Sir Elton John Global Exchange Programme, a new scheme developed by the Academy and endorsed by @EltonOfficial enabling students from 12 of the top conservatoires worldwide to take part in educational exchanges with the Academy https://t.co/4bap5jcjW2 pic.twitter.com/AnK1awOcnf

— Royal Academy of Music (@RoyalAcadMusic) December 10, 2021

The scheme goes live in September 2022 and will promote global mobility and international collaboration between deserving and talented young musicians. Studies could vary from one week of intensive project-based work to, in exceptional cases, a full year of study. 12 other conservatories around the world have confirmed their involvement with the Royal Academy of Music so far:

• The Juilliard School, New York
• Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris
• Shanghai Conservatory of Music
• Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki
• MDW – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
• Hanns Eisler Academy, Berlin
• The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
• Sydney Conservatorium of Music
• University of Music and Performing Arts, Munich
• Reina Sofía School of Music, Madrid
• The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto
• Tokyo University of the Arts Faculty of Music and Graduate School of Music

The Academy’s principal, Jonathan Freeman-Attwood CBE, said: “In a rapidly changing global landscape, conservatoires must evolve to meet future needs and create fresh opportunities for young artists. Central to this is the free exchange of ideas without regard for international boundaries”, he adds, “Elton John, himself an Academy alumnus, has provided remarkable assistance to our international student body over the years, and is deeply committed to ensuring that young musicians are able to collaborate, innovate and develop as artists in the broadest environment. We are hugely grateful to him for lending his name to this project and offering support.”

 Elton John’s generosity has exceeded any other, in recognition of this he has been awarded the title of ‘member of the Regents’ Court of Benefactors’. He explains in a statement, “My passion is to help nurture the next generation of global artists. Music can and should transcend borders, and I am delighted to be supporting a scheme which offers high-level, tangible opportunities to talented young musicians coming together from many different countries.”

While all of this takes place, John has continued his unending string of chart successes with his most recent outing with Ed Sheeran, the simply titled “Merry Christmas”. At the moment, he and Sheeran are well in the running for this year’s Christmas number 1. Watch the music video below.

The video was produced by the same team that worked on the video for ‘Flame Of The Tyrants’, another track from ‘Death'; directed by Martin Högdal, edited by Leonard Palmestål and written by Oscar Carlquist, lead vocalist for RAM.

Speaking about the new video, Carlquist said “[The video] shows a completely different side of the cinematic vision of RAM than what we created in the ‘Flame Of The Tyrants’ video. This video displays a lot of esoteric aspects, and has many layers of symbolism that will not be seen at once. We thank everybody involved for their outstanding dedication to making flesh out of our disturbed visions.”

The album has received positive reviews, with an average of 72% on metal-archives.com. MetalSucks.net have said that the album “shines for its riffs,” with favourites being the songs “Comes from the Mouth Beyond” and “Release Me.” RAM have also been compared to “Saxon on a cocaine binge” – they have managed to avoid rehashing material from other bands while still using the same techniques laid out by heavy metal legends.

You can watch the video for ‘I Am The End’ here: