Autumn / Winter 2025 Music

Dd also looking at Oxbridge (sciences) and will want a college with a good “amateur” music scene. DS had a friend who wanted a uni with good choral opportunities and if I recall she ended up at Exeter where they found the director of music very helpful.

York would be perfect. But we live here, and he wants to go somewhere else!

He doesn't fancy Durham, as not 'proper city'.

However, he is only just 16. Much mind-changing may go on!

Well, I guess Oxford feels more like a 'proper city' than Cambridge does if the course suits him otherwise. Durham not so much! York is the other one I'd usually suggest, but from the sounds of things that's home and he may well not want that.

Thank you!

That was my question really - which universities (as well as Oxbridge) have good extra-curricular music.

Realise that a choral scholarship anywhere doesn't get you a place on the academic course. Which is a whole other ballgame!

what's the question, @herbaceous

yes cambridge has great choral scholarships/tradition - oxford too (I've just spent the weekend with friends whose son is an organ scholar who has been filling me in). The more 'prestigious' the college the harder they are to get, apparently, but it sounds like your DS might not find it that hard given how good he is! They don't confer any more likelihood on you getting into the uni though so people do often get the scholarships and don't get an offer, or get the offer and miss their grades and the choral singing doesn't help and they don't end up going. I know cambridge does instrumental awards as well which are nice to have but not much money. There's a good guide to the scholarships online - i think it might be post offer application for Cambridge and pre for Oxford, but can't really remember.

The more prestigious the college, the heavier the choral workload too, generally.. Some don't mind that, some resent it

DD2 is cautiously looking at Oxbridge too - but she can't decide whether she wants to study music or history/english but she would want to sing and play whichever. She has, i think, done enough at GCSE to warrant looking at an application but I've warned her that actually getting in and then actually getting the grades is very much not a given. It's a lottery of a process.

Other places suggested to her with good choral traditions include Durham and Royal Holloway.

My DH was at Cambridge, I was at Oxford. Neither of us are very musical - but people who were had a wonderful time singing and playing alongside many, many different degrees while we were there. You can sing in some of the choirs without being a scholar.

Orchestras are pretty competitive to get into, but instrument dependent.

I have a question!

DS is currently thinking he won't study music at uni, and has declared he doesn't want to go to a conservatoire. He may change his mind, but in the meantime thoughts are turning to universities that have excellent extra-curricular music going on.

He's considering Cambridge for the choral scholarship opportunitites, and other formal music stuff, but also has a yearning for a 'proper city'...

He's interests lie in the politics/philosophy end of things, not sciences.

I'm a long-standing but infrequent poster on these threads.
DS is about to start second year at conservatoire, as a cellist. He was previously at specialist music school, in NYO etc; DH and I are both professional musicians.

@chickentikkasalad - re singing technique, DS just seemed to be able to do it, but he did start his formal singing in a church choir, so probably picked up good technique, warm-ups etc.

He didn't start singing lessons until he was working on his g5.

Thanks @Londonmummy66!

My 16yo ds sounds similar to yours StuntNun! His teacher was planning for him to take grade 7 viola this term, but he’s hardly picked it up all summer. He has been playing his guitar lots though. In terms of advice, the only thing that helps is me sitting in with him and encouraging him to begin, as he finds starting so difficult. Once he’s playing, hyperfocus kicks in and he doesn’t need me there then.

He’s doing A level music so he needs to start practicing again, I’m hopeful college will emphasise how important practice is! He’s also starting a music technology BTEC and is really looking forward to it.

My 12yo DS is grade 5 piano, grade 3 Singing for Musical Theatre and we’re currently awaiting his grade 3 LAMDA exam result which he took in July. He’s supposed to be doing grade 5 theory of music and grade 5 Singing for Musical Theatre this term but he has been impossible to motivate over the summer so they will probably take longer than planned. He has suspected ADHD and he finds it very difficult to focus during practice or even to sit down and practice in the first place. He adores jazz so he’s working through some jazz piano books to improve his sightreading skills before he starts working towards grade 6 piano.

If anyone has any tips on helping young people to practice then I would very much appreciate them!

@Londonmummy66 she did have the wonderful Jo but she finished her five years last year and there is a new director this year - Lynsey Callaghan. DD was lucky enough to be involved in the year that they did the three recordings on one course with her.

In terms of intro and summary, DS is on the other side of the spectrum to most here. He’s an 8 years old violinist but also learns the piano, wishing to be a pro violinist. He’s also going to start singing lessons this term. He sings/hums ALL the time without realise he is doing it. But he doesn’t have the right technique. The piano teacher says he’s going to damage his vocal cord if he doesn’t know how to sing properly while doing it constantly. We had one trial lesson prior to the summer break and he’s improved loads already. Still singing constantly but it’s a SLIGHTLY less strained voice. Does singing comes to most your DC naturally or they have to learn the techniques as well? He might not do any grades on the singing just hoping to protect his voice a bit, as he’s already got a more hoarse voice now than say a year ago.

Just did grade 5 music theory 2 weeks ago and anxiously waiting for results - mostly worried about my room scan video…

My child is about to start 4th year at conservatoire. He’s a horn player. Going to be a tough year for him but hopefully he’ll do ok. No idea what comes next other than he wants to be a pro musician but seems mostly committed to golf and beer.

@yodaforpresident - I assume your DD has Jo Tomlinson at NYC - she's utterly amazing (my choir director too...)

My DD graduated in the summer - a lot of her friends were/are flautists. She's back for masters so if there is anything you want to know please ask away.

@horseymum it looks it - I will watch out for them next year.

@northerngoldilocks - ha. @herbaceous congrats!

yes- I have dd2 interested in music. She’s just turned 16 and is going into 6th form at the specialist music school she’s attended since year 10- boarding 100 miles away from us.

for those who know specialist schools, she picked the one with non-musicians too and still isn’t sure whether she wants uni or conservatoire in the long run. She does indeed specialise in bassoon, but also plays flute and sings- and is having a bloody good go at teaching herself the piano and saxophone.

this term’s excitement probably includes grade 8 singing as well as (she hopes) her flute diploma. She’s also determined to impress on the a levels and her epq. Lots to juggle. Mostly, at the moment, she’s engaged in buying shorter and shorter black skirts on Vinted and dyeing her hair colours that the headteacher won’t approve of.

We went to hear that in the Edinburgh festival, it was epic!

I am watching the Aurora orchestra on catch-up at the moment and there are some rather fine bassoons in there - quite the performance!

Definitely endings/ beginnings here. End of JD/ school/NYO for one, and start of conservatoire. Start of JD for next one, with a new, but not totally unknown, teacher.
We've had a lovely summer of music, hopefully more to come during this term. I've had some lovely support from parents on here, nicest bit of this website! There are no daft questions, just ask away, someone is bound to know the answer!

Well done to you DS @herbaceous. DD is looking forward to being old enough to audition.

As an intro, DD is 14 and plays cello, clarinet, piano, drums (self-taught) and sings. She is currently working on her ARSM in singing and hopes to take this in year 11 (school doesn’t allow before then in voice), grade 8 in cello and clarinet this year and grade 8 piano before the end of December. She sings outside of school with National Youth Choir as well as school, church chorister and a children’s choir. Also involved with NYMT for MT and orchestra. This year in around five ensembles at school with orchestra and chamber. She also is heavily involved in acting so balances this all with LAMDA and National Youth Theatre. All in all very busy and just starting year 10.

She is keen to do a joint stem and music degree as she wants to have something to fall back on if singing doesn’t work out.

As for Rodolfus Choir (posted on other thread too) It's an auditioned choir of about 100 16-23YOs. Members can either be from the courses, or just anyone.
You pay a small subscription, then have to commit to at least one thing per year, such as recordings, concerts in fab locations etc. So each gig isn't the full choir, meaning more exposure. They also have workshops, etc.

This Christmas they're recording evensong for the BBC's New Year's Eve!

Ah yes, summary!

DS, 16, at Quaker school, doing lots of music.
Singing - ex chorister, multiple choirs, working on diploma. Also massive musical theatre fan, and has done lots of leading/supporting roles
Piano - just done diploma, loves Chopin and working through jazz classics.
French Horn - G7 level, various school groups and gets drafted in with 'grown ups' as orchestras always seem to need horns!

He doesn't want to do music as a career or at uni, though I'm hoping he'll change his mind!