Spring / Summer 2026 music thread

@DitheringMusicParentWe’ve changed teachers twice - one harp, one piano. Both were upset, ignored me, have been incredibly off with my daughter - glaring at her when competing etc in a way designed to throw her off. V v poor behaviour.

Lovely to hear about Manchester and Durham. In terms of unis we looked at, Sheffield, Notts and Cardiff did not excite musically. Not really surprising given what happened afterwards in some cases as some have now been cut to the bone and I suspect are off the list anyway.

As I say, we weren't visiting for DD2, just killing several birds with one stone by taking a peek around.

and @DitheringMusicParent no. We've had the odd awkward one, but DD2 was doing sectionals with her lovely first ever bassoon teacher this week and was delighted to see her.

Yes, I thought it was normal! All the music teachers I've had have been normal and sane. DS had one "interesting" one on cello, who has been being awkward since he left her in 2022 (can't avoid her, small town), but thankfully has had an excellent teacher who behaves very professionally and communicates faultlessly, since he was 5.

Is this normal behaviour for one teacher passing a student to another teacher????

Normal music teachers respond if you contact them as a parent, full stop. If the initial contact was A saying to B can you look after this student while I'm on mat leave, it makes sense they'd have a conversation with each other as well. Not instead.

When we've changed teachers so far 2/3 cases they've been thoroughly supportive and want to stay in touch and hear about DC's progress.

Number 3/3 does have some things in common with your teacher A and made things awkward. In retrospect I wish we'd left a lot sooner, I think we had a clash of both personalities and approaches (mine and DC's).

Friend who is a senior lecturer in Music at Manchester seems to be having the time of her life and absolutely loving the place. So it seems to be thriving based on my anecdata with n=1!

A friend from here, currently organ scholaring at a large foundation on the river in Oxford, finds the composition part of undergraduate music there good, but is very underwhelmed by the rest. He'd probably have been better off at Cambridge, but he went with the scholarship...

Trifle alarmed by tales of dismal, or closing, uni music departments. The ones we've seen - Manchesteer, Durham and Cambridge - are all seeemingly thriving. And not dominated by tech.

Do you mind saying which ones you've found disappointing? So i can cross them off the list?

@thirdfiddle @northerngoldilocks @TRL thanks for those thoughts. Will look up all the possibilities for next summer in the UK...

@achangeofnameisasgoodasarest I know what you mean about the extremely depressing music departments. DS regularly bounces up to members of the music dept here with a burst of enthusiasm about something like harmony or French 1960s organ music or bowing in Bach cello suites and gets told "well, don't come here if you want to do that, you'll have to go overseas". A friend who did first year composition (went in with manuscript paper and a half written piano quintet) said 99% of the class couldn't read music and had never studied an instrument formally, but all knew their way round Garageband. And the music performance staff are now all being demoted to teaching fellows (from full academic pathway) so they'll leave and the uni can close the programme.

For anyone who remembers my original dilemma on here about DS9 moving organ teachers:

Teacher A, the one treating DS9 like an organ scholar but not really teaching him, has finally bothered communicating to Teacher B (the good teacher that she sent DS to while she was on sabbatical) that she is not interested in teaching DS. She hasn't said anything to me at all, and has ostentatiously ignored me at services and rehearsals recently. I've asked Teacher B to request clarification as to what this means for DS9's access to the organ, organ scholarships, ability to play in services etc.

Is this normal behaviour for one teacher passing a student to another teacher???? i mean, I've no problem with Teacher A talking to Teacher B, but zero communication to the parent or student who suddenly seems to fall out of favour and get sent to another teacher with no discussion whatsoever? And Teacher B has to act as the intermediary? Weird.

Would say pro corda are very good at looking after small children but timetable wise it's a lot more complicated than an orchestra thing. And if your Suzuki things were anything like I did as a child, they also have a lot of different people going in different directions for different sessions.

Simplest logistically has probably been things like string orchestra days, mostly all in one place and at worst there might be a cello sectional where they'd all trail off together in the wake of the tutor.

@DitheringMusicParent york is on the list. Royal Holloway too. I think we got spooked by going round Russell Group unis that used to be well thought of for music where it was clear there would be no investment in music courses and they may well close - and there was also a lot of emphasis on music tech which is not DD's thing (unless it's a reed scraping knife!).

Even the students showing her round said 'don't come here' when she explained what her interests and instruments were.

We were looking round for her sister at the time, hence it wasn't the ones mentioned here we were looking at. Hopefully their music depts are faring better as this was a bit sad.

@DitheringMusicParent I haven’t noticed if this has been mentioned but Pro Corda run chamber music courses, quite small scale and lots of individual attention. Our experience with them when our children were younger was very good. Being part of a smaller group might be a good bridge for him between you being there as his Sherpa-cum-memory and him taking complete responsibility for himself on a full orchestra course?

@northerngoldilocks Thanks, that looks good.

He's done many (non-residential) Suzuki camps with me acting as secretary/ pack-horse/ note-taker/ teacher-interpreter etc., since he was 4, but what he needs now is something where I'm not there all day with him.

@achangeofnameisasgoodasarest He hasn't yet done any residentials of any sort - not even school camps. Good idea. When one of the orchestras finishes for the year in September (runs in Terms 2 & 3 only), I'll send him to cubs on a Thursday evening and see if he can cope...

@Londonmummy66 thanks, that RSCM idea is a great one. We could come over next year for the RCO Summer course and then head to Bath...

@herbaceous you may well be right. But all the 9 year olds I know seem to be hyper-mature, resilient, organised, sensible (and they're all sporty and mostly uninterested in music). We need some more nerdy muso type friends with absent-minded professorial children.

@northerngoldilocks thankyou, I'll check out NCO - hadn't considered it as we're non resident, but if citizenship meant he'd be eligible that'd be amazing.

@horseymum great to hear the Benedetti foundation is still going. We did a couple of their online things back during lockdowns in 2020. I'll check out what they have to offer.

@achangeofnameisasgoodasarest your DD sounds ideal Oxbridge material. Both DH and I used to do admissions for our colleges so we got to see who got in and thrived. But there are many other options. Is York still good for music?

@achangeofnameisasgoodasarestmine is summer born too and we also have a level history in the mix. It’s really hard work isn’t it? He came from
a low gcse (was allowed to take history as did well in English lit) and mocks still have room for improvement but slowly ticking up. The nea is a lot of work so this will be the focus over next few months. Royal Holloway has a lot of joint courses with music and choral/orchestra scholarships - it’s not oxbridge but a strong music department nonetheless, I don’t know if they do joint with english though. And of course a lot of pro musicians don’t study music at undergraduate level and just do conservatoire masters!

@Compsearch I'm sure I am silly - it's a stressful time (even third time round) trying to get them to find a uni and course that will suit them. The financial outlay attached to getting it wrong nowadays makes it even worse. A gap year is a good idea.

But I really mean that she wouldn't have handled both NYO (even auditioning, no matter getting in) and her A Level year at the same time, but these teens obviously can! They must be so organised and resilient. She would have just been overstressed and worried.

Durham has a bit more flex @QueenMabby - I agree that it looks good and it is high on the list for DD. I did joint honours myself because I couldn't make up my mind so I understand the desire to do lots of different things. Especially for your DD with so many interests.

DD informs me there's no way she'll look at a US uni in the current climate. Interesting that others are though.

@DitheringMusicParent has he done short residentials that aren't musical? DDs used to do PGL - so I could use my childcare vouchers. At least that way he'd see if he enjoyed staying away from home with no pressure.

@achangeofnameisasgoodasarest- I reckon she’d thrive at Oxbridge. She’s a busy bee and they like that. No good if the course doesn’t tick the boxes though of course!
When we looked at Durham dd (going for a stem subject) was thrilled to learn she could take one module from any other department (timetabling permitting) so she was hopeful for a music performance module, mfl or classics all of which were on offer. Maybe an option?

I think you’re being a bit silly @achangeofnameisasgoodasarest - she probably is an NYO type, but just didn’t audition! She’s at an excellent school, sounds like being very well supported across the board, and sounds exactly like the people I described - wide range of interests. It’s all a lottery anyway though - I’m sure I’ll be similarly stressed out when my kids are old enough.

Gap year could always come if she ends up wanting to have a rethink/another go. I went to conservatoire in mine which was brilliant (having deferred uni).

Durham has a combined arts degree that’s meant to be good, and Oxford has dual arts degrees but I don’t think music can be one of them though haven’t checked recently. A few of DH’s students at the JD are applying to US unis though - partly because they can do a wider range of things there and partly because (he gets the sense) they are veing directed there by their private schools who see it as a safer bet than Oxbridge.

@achangeofnameisasgoodasarest - I think she is the ideal Oxbridge candidate - engaged, interested in the academics and able to cram so much in and still achieve so she can demonstrate that she can handle the independent work load.

@DitheringMusicParent maybe look at a first residential that isn't so much of a challenge musically? The Royal School of Church Music do a residential course in Bath that takes younger choristers. He can try out the residential side without having to worry about the organisation and the lugging instruments around. You could also flag up to them that he is learning and interested in the organ and they might let him sit in on some of the organ scholar sessions (they are for older teens applying for Oxbridge). DD did staffing on one of these courses and she would have been happy to let him have a go on eg accompanying a bit of a morning sectional on piano. They are quite regimented with herding the younger boys and girls so it would be less stressful than an orchestra course for a first go. And you could have a week staying in Bath so you were near at hand......

achangeofnameisasgoodasarest she sounds very much the Oxbridge type to me - genuinely interested in her subjects and knowing her own mind. It's a wonderful place to study something else and play lots of music, if that is a direction that would interest her.

Congrats to all with auditions and commiserations to those who haven't got them. Sounds like lots of prep to do now!

@nearlyfinishedmusicparent I must admit to being a bit sad that DD didn't even have a go this time - in the same vein this year is the end for all of that and now we'll never know if she'd have got through the first round.

But I learned long ago that I cannot make her do things she doesn't want to (she turned down a place in the main NCO for example) and she was adamant on this one.

There will be opps at uni for music whatever he does, given he is post grade 8. Especially if his instrument is rarer. But i know what you mean about it being the end of an era.

I think, notwithstanding all the amazing kids I've been hearing about on this thread, it would have been hard for DD2 to have done it round year 13 stuff next year anyhow.

Her mocks were pretty impressive, but there is a lot of work that goes in to keeping her grades high - it's not as effortless for her as it clearly is for lots of the NYO kids!

English and History are not things you can do without a lot of reading and research no matter how talented you are. Getting glandular fever at the end of her school year really frightened her as suddenly she was having to 'ration' her energy and the school insisted it was all spent on playing when she wanted to make sure she could also do the academic stuff (I think she was prouder of her programme notes for Rach Symphonic Dances than she was her bassoon performance for instance).

She's gone in for LSSO sectionals today taking Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf to read on the train - she's doing his poetry for coursework but 'feels she should understand his work as a translator too'.

Last night she dragged us to the Proms for Beethoven 9 where she earnestly explained how he subverted the symphony to us and anyone around us who would listen. But at the same time informed me she had no desire to be down there playing it.

What do you do with a child like that? I really have no idea how to help direct her for uni - nowhere will let her study music and english at the level she wants both together (perhaps Durham?), and it sounds like since she isn't an NYO/national figure skating/competition winning type, she might not be Oxbridge material.

Guess we just wait and see what she picks. I'd like her to take a gap year (she's late summerborn) but she won't.

Also @DitheringMusicParent, he’s nine! I don’t know many children that age who can cope with the organisational demands you speak of, ND or otherwise.

Dithering - yes definitely agree with horsey ask what they can do to help. Orgs will really go out of their way to be inclusive, you might be surprised how much support they can offer.

What has he done in terms of pre residential activities? DD did residentials quite young but a lot of the setup was already familiar from weekly string ensembles, and one offs like day workshops, non residential weekends etc. DS wasn't interested till early teens anyway.

Even the residentials in the UK, some of them have a option of attending as a non residential pupil, is that the case near you? Might take the pressure off him and staff if you can scoop him up at the end of the day.

I guess the first thing is thinking what it is he would want to do from a musical perspective, then investigate.