The Royal College of Music (RCM) in London was ranked the global No. 1 institution for performing arts in the 2023 QS World University Rankings by Subject and has prepared performers, conductors and composers for international careers for over 140 years. Since 1901, the College’s many musical groups have performed in Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall, a beautiful space that in 2009 received an extensive refurbishment that brought the listed building up to modern concert hall standards. More recently, a sustainable LED lighting rig of 48 Elation Fuze Pendant™ luminaires has been installed in the Concert Hall.

Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall

The Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall is the RCM’s most versatile space, accommodating up to 370 audience members and up to 120 performers on stage. Primarily used for performances by the College’s orchestras, jazz bands and RCM International Opera School, the performance space also hosts public concerts and can be utilized as a unique setting for receptions and other special events.

Commitment to sustainability

The new stage lighting system not only provides high quality, colour-temperature adjustable white or colour illumination when required, it also helps to fulfil the College’s commitment to sustainability and becoming carbon net zero by 2035. The Royal College of Music has already reduced carbon emissions by 60 percent compared to 2004/05 levels. 

The LED-based Fuze Pendant lights have replaced 64 tungsten fixtures that previously lit the stage and have significantly improved energy savings in the historic venue. “The new lighting rig will save over 150,000 kilowatt hours of energy per year. This equates to over 35 tons of CO2 when using standard power sources,” says RCM Head of Digital and Production, Richard Bland. “Many concert halls around the world are beginning to move towards using high-end LED lights, but we are ahead of the trend in the UK.” Each Fuze Pendant fixture has a max power consumption of only 230W while producing a fraction of the heat of a traditional halogen system.

Custom creativity

With each fixture individually controllable, the new rig allows for more creativity in lighting performances, allowing the venue to set scenes and change the feel of the room whenever needed. The Fuze Pendant can colour temperature adjust from a warm 2,400K to a cool 8,500K to customize ambiance, and the fixture’s full-spectrum RGBWL colour-mixing system can deliver high-quality white light or seamlessly switch between beautiful saturates and pastels. The new system can recreate the more dramatic lighting conditions seen in international concert venues, giving students real-world performance experience while creating a more visually exciting atmosphere for audiences.

Silent, fanless

One of the challenges in making the upgrade to a contemporary entertainment lighting system is the noisy fans that most stage lighting fixtures house, making them unsuitable for more noise-sensitive environments like Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall. The innovative fanless system in the Fuze Pendants however means that their new lighting system operates silently, providing a noise-free environment for performances. The passive cooling method also means there is no air circulation that could potentially carry dust into the fixture. This helps keep the lighting system cleaner and reduces the need for frequent cleaning and maintenance.

The Fuze Pendant fixtures, delivered with elegant all-white housings, were supplied to the Royal College of Music by Encore. The new lighting upgrade marks the beginning of a number of renovations in the Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall, with upgrades to the overhead chandeliers planned for the coming months.

Photos:  Danny Holland