Spring / Summer 2026 music thread

thanks @achangeofnameisasgoodasarest I thought there might be a new one but couldn't find it!

Welcome @schooloflostsocks - you might want to come and join us on the Autumn thread for more traffic . My DD did LSSO last year (isn't applying this year) and I think lots of people don't have their slots yet according to the whatsapp group. But don't take my word for it!

www.mumsnet.com/talk/extra_curricular_activities/5573971-autumn-winter-music-thread-20262027?page=6&reply=155057748

It's fairly quiet here. Ds has no work on at the moment until November. Annoyingly though he has had to turn down a couple of dates playing with a well known orchestra because it clashes with his panto contract. It's the age old thing. Do you take the safe, longer contract or hold out in case something more prestigious turns up?

Hello, new on this thread, I have two teens in JD and one is planning to do conservatoire auditions, also possibly Purcell for 6th Form. I haven't read the whole thread but it looks super helpful! My first question is does anyone have string audition slots already for LSSO? We are waiting to hear and I haven't been able to get through on phone or email. Would be helpful to know.

Welcome, @NervesAreShot

Hello, I’m new to the classical music world and am looking for a community to support us through the next few years. 💖

my son is in Yr12 and has recently expressed an interest in pursuing music as a career (his primary instrument is tuba but he also plays drums, piano, baritone horn and sings). We spoke to his school who recommended applying to junior academies and he starts at RCMJD next week.

hopefully I’m in the right place 🤞
I look forward to chatting

They really are. Best of luck.

Thank you @hidingmystatus, that is really helpful. I had heard that the word counts are very constrained.

No dress code for the NYO audition. It's a long tiring day, so something comfortable and 'them' rather than trying to be anything different. Mine will probably wear jeans, a t shirt and a hoodie. It's likely to be hot in a uni as well. I'm sure I saw kids with black concert gear, though that might have been for conservatoire auditions. Whatever suits you best.
We are also tiring of the excerpts, and hoping to be rid of them. However, what will probably happen is moving seamlessly onto the next set for other auditions. The pieces might get a rest and some new ones started. Looking forward to getting some concerts in the diary for the new term.

Thank you @horseymum for NYO audition advice- super helpful! Does anyone know how smartly they need to be dressed for the assessment day? Best of luck to everyone with auditions coming up. I will be happy never to hear the orchestral excerpts again!

Thank you @hidingmystatus !

She's a composer, so the proposal is a large piece (but she also wants to research composing for voice).
Thank you!

I think they did have a good appreciation - most applications required a list of what you'd done and what you knew. We had to curtail it significantly to fit the word counts - in the end there was so much from GCSE/A-level that we restricted it to A-level only, and the non-school stuff (instruments, singing, musical theatre) was summarised very hard. DD is a composer, so performance wasn't really an issue. Theory is much better taught here than in schools there!
If you have specific questions, PM me - I'll see it quicker.

Starting here. Standards in the conservatoires are the same or lower - we said she had to get into one of the top five or she couldn't go (tuition is immense and scholarships a necessity). Universities will mean (in US) that you are spending less than 1/3 of your time on music. DD is a composition girl, not a performance one. I think performance standards are about the same, but that I don't know for sure.
I don't think the US does joint degrees as often, but we weren't looking at that. You can do classical and jazz, I think.
Job prospects...in the current climate, as good/bad as here. Depends on your instrument. Rare breeds are easier, as ever. Composers largely go for teaching with composing on the side.
If you PM me with specific questions, I'll see it sooner - I'm a bit here and there at the moment! Sorry for delay.

I’m mainly a lurker on this thread, but just jumping in to say to @Compsearchthat my Ds was (still is) a bit of an over committer in terms of all the things he wanted to keep doing at that age. The brilliant thing about cubs (which was a hassle for me also to fit into the weekly family schedule) is that it provides opportunities for residentials at a young age. Ds did nights away with beavers, cubs and scouts, which increased in duration and taught him packing responsibility, so now he’s utterly chilled at doing music residentials. He joined NCO at 13 (just after Covid) and didn’t know a soul - we are in the north and he goes to the local secondary and we’d never even heard of NCO. But he went off completely confidently and had a blast and I do think a lot of that was down to cubs and beyond. He’s been in NYOS this summer again not knowing a soul and being the only English player, and again had a great time. So I think the hassle of cubs is worth it for the skills it brings - they are more robust in their expectations of the kids than anything else they do at that age.

Yes everything is local except choir, but that’s 30 mins on the tube+10-15 min walk, and it would be straight from there to cubs 😬. I’m just surprised the cub leaders are happy to be doing it on a Friday night! All his friends from school go so I don’t think he would agree to move, even if he could get in - waiting lists are mad. Will give it a go and see if we can all cope.

Hope everyone is ready for the start of term!

I remember some days when I was little where I'd have a sandwich and change into sports kit sitting in the boot of the (estate) car en route between activities. Some parts of that might not meet with approval these days 😂 I think it lasted about a year before I decided I really wasn't very good at the sport and it wasn't worth the trouble.

I think it also depends on the commute, if everything is close by then it's less exhausting. Going on the tube from the cathedral on a Friday night is no fun tbh. Also, I found it easier if there was a short break between activities, having a snack and hot choc always helps :)

@Compsearch I'd guess you need to look at what Saturday is like, after a Friday like that... DS9 (would be going into Y5 in the UK, starting Y6 work next term here) is finally learning the value of cutting down on non-essential commitments as the intensity increases for music and schoolwork. But we had multiple years where a few days a week were a write-off because of the number of activities the day before...

Oof. That's quite an evening. Could go either way, either it'll be his favourite evening of the week, or he tries it and learns it's too much. Are there any alternative Cubs groups on different days?

Thanks all! DS is annoyingly inconsistent - will often moan about doing stuff but then will not contemplate giving anything up, and my mum is always saying she thinks he’s doing too much which makes me doubt myself.

@MockCroc I know you’re right and he has absolutely loved Beavers, but he’s moving to Cubs this term and it’s on a Friday night 7-8.30 (!) after a week of school and a 2 hour choir rehearsal…his bedtime is 8-8.30 normally. So I fear it could be challenging, but we will see!

its child specific - some cope well with lots on and others don’t. If he’s happy I wouldn’t worry about it. My youngest was in y4 last year and has more on than this and loved everything. Other kids would have been less keen. FWIW all my kids have absolutely loved beavers, cubs and scouts and got so much out of them. it can be a really nice change of pace from music and other activities that have a degree of pressure attached to them. From a personal development and sheer fun perspective they are brilliant.

I agree with see how it goes. We found DD naturally dropped things over time.

I think that’s fine. See how it goes? Sounds like my daughter’s schedule at that age!