The Royal Conservatory of Music — Local services in Toronto

Edit in June 2021: can’t believe I’m leaving a second negative comment to the same organisation in less than a year. I haven’t received my grade 5 piano certificates since last August’s exam. The strange thing was I took level 8 theory exam in October, but I’ve got the certificate already. Contacted RCM through email, no reply. Ask their response team on Facebook, they told me I didn’t get my level 5 piano certificate because I didn’t take level 5 theory exam (but I passed and aced level 8 theory exam🙄🙄). Told them my teacher has been teaching piano over 20 years, but I didn’t get their trust but sarcastic replies. Captured the FB responses to RCM emails, finally got a reply. Emails said I could get level 5-8 certificates as long as as the level 8 theory exam was taken within 5 years. Told the FB team that they were giving me incorrect info, “Have a nice day!” was all I get as a reply. I guess the only correct thing Their FB team has told me was that they were not the team responsible for giving out certificate haha😂

Original: My piano teacher realised that my birth date is showing as born in 1969 on her account, while I was actually born more than two decades later than that. I’m attending a piano exam today and I called them over the phone to fix it. Let alone the front desk person being rude, the way he asked me to fix it on my RCM account didn’t work. He asked me to send them an email and wait for their response, which I already did before calling them. Most ridiculous thing was the front desk person even asked me “I don’t understand how a wrong birth date would affect your exam?!”....bruh.... Not professional, no common sense. Guess I have no choice but to attend my exam as a 50-year-old today, if...

I agree with a previous review, in that dealing with this organization is "classical snobbery at its finest". They will take $600 plus the cost of books to let all into their "teaching courses", yet grade unrealistically for primary topics (ie. spending weeks on coming up with "exercises" to perfect postures at the piano, for children). Yet they lowball you on marks for this foolishness if you don't come up with exactly what they want to see. It's pompous and unrealistic, and condensed enough to make unrealistic deadlines your nightmare for the next 8 weeks, because I guess they don't consider that people have a job. I suspect this is so they can start all over again after 8 weeks and take another round of tuition fee from dozens of others. The positive feedback here is reserved to concerts and venues, and all the negative feedback has to do with exams, teachers, customer service, and what I described above. The ideologies are stuffy and pompous, and push people away from wanting to embrace conservatory studies. Like the other review said, piano is for everyone, even those who have been playing for decades but don't have all the classical instruction, hence the point of the course. Take a lesson from Glenn Gould. Be...

This rating is for their book store. It is beyond frustration that after four (4) emails that sent to the bookstore since April 30, 2023 about an issue with address. I have not yet got one single response from them and now the package has successfully returned to the bookstore ( the sender). and, since May 11, after my call to the bookstore requested refund to me (since I have never received the package), 13 days later, I still have. It seen my refund. It literally makes feel these folks work in Stone Age and completely working in isolation regardless what customers’ needs (in this case, your errors with my address, and Canada Post listed on mail Status “verifying address with sender”) yet the package got returned, and none of my urgent emails was replied. Now that I am stuck with waiting for refund. Today is May 24. I will update this review. This bookstores customer services don’t exist. Update: Andy helped me to refund my money. He followed it thorough. Did what he promised me. Thank you, Andy. Add one star (1 to 2) for him. But I will not shop at this book store in future still given the...