The Royal Musical Association (RMA) is a British

scholarly society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership may ...

and

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

. Founded in 1874, the Association claims to be the second oldest

musicological Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

society in the world, after that of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Activities include organizing and sponsoring academic conferences in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, and making awards for outstanding scholarship, notably the annual Dent Medal.

History

The society was founded by Sir

John Stainer Sir John Stainer (6 June 1840 – 31 March 1901) was an English composer and organist whose music, though seldom performed today (with the exception of ''The Crucifixion'', still heard at Passiontide in some churches of the Anglican Communi ...

and was originally titled the Musical Association with a subtitle 'the investigation and discussion of subjects connected with the Art and Science of Music'. Sir

Frederick Ouseley Sir Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley, 2nd Baronet (12 August 18256 April 1889) was an English composer, organist, musicologist and priest. Biography Frederick Ouseley was born in London, the son of Sir Gore Ouseley, and manifested an extraordinary ...

, Stainer's teacher, was the first president. The Association was registered as a company in 1904 and as a charity in 1965. The Association was renamed the Royal Musical Association in 1944 following the orders of King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

Publications

The Association publishes the '' Journal of the Royal Musical Association''. Before 1987, the ''Journal'' was known as the ''Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association'' (often abbreviated PMRA; and ), and before 1945 as the ''Proceedings of the Musical Association'' (see for print holdings from 1878 to 1986). The RMA has also published a series of

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monogra ...

s and the ''Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle'' that has generally come out yearly since 1961, published by

Taylor & Francis Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Ki ...

References

External links

*
Charity Commission Register
*Hugh Cobbe, "The Royal Musical Association 1874–1901", ''Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association'', Vol. 110, (1983–1984), pp. 111–117 * Alec Hyatt King and Julian Rushton
"Royal Musical Association"
in ''

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and th ...

'', (accessed June 15, 2010). {{Authority control 1874 establishments in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1874 Music-related professional associations Music organisations based in the United Kingdom Musicology