The Royal Hamilton College of Music was a Canadian music conservatory in Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

 that was actively providing higher education

Higher education

Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

 in music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

 during the late 19th century and 20th century. The college was founded as the Hamilton Conservatory of Music in 1897 by . L. M. Harris],] who served as the school's first director through 1907. From 1904 until its closing in 1980 due to financial reasons the school was located at premises on James St South. In 1906 the school became affiliated with the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

 through which the school awarded Bachelor of Music

Bachelor of Music

Bachelor of Music is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree; the majority of work consists of prescribed music courses and study in applied music, usually requiring a...

 degrees through 1918. The school also offered its own associate, licentiate, and fellow diplomas and offered bachelor degrees through the University of Trinity College

University of Trinity College

The University of Trinity College, informally referred to as Trin, is a college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Trinity was intended by Strachan as a college of strong Anglican alignment, after the University of Toronto severed its ties with the Church of...

, thereby offering three different examination systems during its history. In 1907 J. E. P. Aldous

J. E. P. Aldous

John Edmund Paul Aldous was a Canadian organist, conductor, composer, and music educator of English birth. His compositional output includes many short pieces for piano, organ, choir, and voice...

, Bruce Carey

Bruce Carey

Bruce Anderson Carey was a Canadian choir conductor, baritone, and music educator. He began his career in Hamilton, Ontario where he notably founded the Bach-Elgar Choir in 1905...

, and W. H. Hewlett

W. H. Hewlett

William Henry Hewlett was a Canadian organist, conductor, composer, and music educator of English birth.-Early life and education:...

 became co-directors of the college. Hewlett became sole director in 1918, a position he held until 1939. Other directors of the college included Cyril Hampshire (1939-44), Reginald Bedford (1944-8), Reginald Godden (1948-53), Lorne Betts

Lorne Betts

Lorne Matheson Betts was a Canadian composer, conductor, organist, and music critic. A member of the Canadian League of Composers and an associate of the Canadian Music Centre, many of his original scores and writings are part of the collection at the National Library of Canada...

 (1953-59), Harold Jerome (1959–67), Gladys Whitehead (1967–74), and Jonathan Watts (1974–80).