By Niku Radan

I love the myth of a star-maker. In my ideal world, there are institutions you can move through —  regardless of class, race, looks, age, etc. — which guarantee you work and commercial success in your chosen field. They’re accessible yet selective, complete meritocracies, with an ability to grant you a form of approval that has tangible effects.

Copenhagen’s RMC is the closest match I’ve found for this myth —  you may not have heard of the Scandinavian conservatory, but you’ve heard its influence. 

Copenhagen’s Rhythmic Music Conservatory (or Rytmisk Musikkonservatorium), opened by the Danish Ministry of Culture in 1986, began as a jazz conservatory —  though 2000s graduation announcements cite students creating bodies of work in the art rock, deep electronic dub, and acoustic drone sounds, indicating an early preference for driving the contemporary music scene.

“Most contemporary music conservatories within the field of popular music use an educational concept developed at American universities from the 50s onward.

RMC, however, embraces the full spectrum of expressions within music and therefore cannot rely on a single, common curriculum. Instead, the conservatory has developed a didactic approach that takes its point of departure in each student’s individual artistic practice and uses diversity in all dimensions as a driving force for the creation of new music.” –RMC’s rektor (or principal), Henrik Sveidahl told SoundFynd.

The school takes this approach seriously, having converted to a “radical diversity”-based admissions rubric in 2009, along with the addition of their composition degree track. This has led to a distinct sound coming out of Copenhagen, often featuring wispy vocals and sparse string sections — popularized by alumni including Henriette Motzfeldt of Smerz, Astrid Sonne, and Erika de Casier. The city’s sonic influence has become undeniably global, with Spotify launching a Copenhagen-based playlist last year called “CPH+.” Artists like France’s Oklou and NYC’s Chanel Beads fit the mold, according to Spotify’s playlist editors, and the playlist has amassed over 70,000 saves. 

“What I find particularly interesting in Copenhagen at the moment is the high level of collaboration, something we also nurture at RMC.”

“We do not cultivate a particular sound, but instead focus on giving students as much diverse inspiration as possible. We aim to foster an open-minded, research-based approach that encourages and enables students to experiment and expand their musical horizons, equipping them with the tools to combine and transform their inspirations into a strong personal artistic voice.” -Associate Professor Anders P. Jensen.

The school’s animating force appears to be KUA, or peer review classes, where students come together to critique and inform one another’s work. Peer review classes are commonplace in artistic curriculums, RMC’s results are not — so what sets KUA apart?

According to Vice Principal Søren Kjærgaard, it’s the depth of the critique. The classes are small (six to eight students), meet weekly, and last three hours. 

“Students share their ongoing artistic processes in relation to each semester’s specific projects. They present their work in forms relevant to where they are: sketches, compositions, productions, improvisations, live performances, recordings, scores, videos, or process documentation. The focus is not only on the material itself, but on the underlying motivations, methods, intentions, questions, and artistic choices. We discuss both what the student is aiming toward and how the work is perceived by others. How does it sound to us as listeners? What meanings emerge? What other works or artistic practices resonate with it? In this way, the conversation opens the work toward the world beyond the classroom.”

Something else that sets RMC apart? Its student body — with only 200 slots in total (and only roughly 80 open to application annually), the school is able to focus on the cultivation of extraordinary talent, meaning it’s no surprise when a graduate finds commercial success. Furthermore, the school’s Composition bachelor program, which produced many internationally-acclaimed RMC alumni, accepts just eight new students each year. The school, publicly funded and free for locals to attend, has ties with local and international industry partners, venues, and festivals.

Although the school does not have any formal partnerships within the music industry, many of its students have gone on to sign deals with Escho Records, a Copenhagen-based DIY label co-founded by Nis Bysted and Nis Sigurdsson. In recent years, the label has produced records for RMC students and graduates like producer/composer Molina and alt-pop duo snuggle.

Ultimately, this conservatory has a student body which finds a surprising amount of international success. 

“It’s quite something, for sure. We’re happy for them! And when students do break internationally, it doesn’t feel strange because they’ve already been treated as serious artists from day one.”

Kjærgaard on seeing students move from the classroom to critically-acclaimed careers in music

“Still, we try to keep things grounded in awareness of the diverse body of students and their many different pathways. Our focus isn’t on fame. It’s on artistic direction. Some students move quickly into very visible careers. Others take longer. Some build careers behind the scenes, in niche scenes, or in experimental contexts that don’t necessarily get radio play or headlines. What matters to us is whether students are developing clarity about who they are artistically, and whether they’re learning how to move toward the contexts they want to contribute to. If that leads to world tours, amazing. If it leads to a small but deeply committed audience, or to shaping a local scene, or to pushing experimental boundaries — that’s equally valuable. The goal is cultivating a sustainable practice.”

This is a school which allows students the space to probe, experiment, and play with their music, all while being free to attend — students are even provided a stipend to cover living expenses. 

RMC is a publicly funded, yet highly selective music conservatory. One which ties itself to discovery and experimentation more than theory. And it’s the closest thing I’ve found to fit my platonic ideal of a starmaker — and yet I keep it squared away, still a myth. RMC’s track record, though stellar, provides no guarantee of success or stability. 

There’s not even guarantee of pure meritocracy — while Denmark appears more conscious than its other European counterparts of preventing discrimination (the country launched 36 anti-racism initiatives in 2025), implicit biases are all but easy to eliminate. 

However, it’s still the closest thing I’ve found. 

It’s possible that these alums were always stars in the making and it’s probable that RMC’s approach makes it an adept player at picking and developing students. With its emphasis on play, collaboration, and diversity, RMC knows extraordinary talent and allows room for it to reach its full potential on its own terms.