Spring / Summer 2026 music thread

@nearlyfinishedmusicparent YES! I totally agree. Couldn't get previous teacher to do anything but tell me to make DS pass Gr 5 theory. New teacher is much more clued up and sees the value of Practical Musicianship, thank heavens. They'll get onto it when a competition in September is done...

I don’t think so although I’m sure bits will be posted on line. The final is on Saturday for the top 3 but they don’t realistically think they’ll get that far, although who knows?

To the poster struggling with g5 theory - if your child is good at aural and keyboard stuff why not do practical musicianship instead - it’s all aural and playing, there’s no writing. A bit old fashioned and not taught so much but counts as pre requisite for high grades as well.

Hi, I’m returning to these threads having been on the Nco type ones a few years ago. I have a ds in y12 who is a string player and does choral singing. He is mainly into ensemble stuff, doing A level music, very good at aural but less at written a levels, deciding between a music degree (not oxbridge) and another subject- being a bit vague as don’t want to out us! He applied to nyo for second time this year but expecting rejection any day as just not quite at the really top playing level technically- this might impact conservatoire auditions too. Does other youth orchestras and Nat youth choir though. I feel a bit worn out with it all at the moment and quite emotional that it’s the end of the music journey together but also that it will be freeing as I won’t have to worry about it all/pay for it all anymore!!

That’s fantastic Sirius

The semi finals are open to the public but I can’t go because I’m at work and have no annual leave left at all.

@Siriusmuggle- that’s amazing. Well done him. That’s a huge achievement.

Amazing, good luck and enjoy the next stage sirius! Are you able to go and listen?

So my kid and his ensemble have got through to the semi finals. The top 6 out of the 14 groups have qualified. He’s over the moon. They’re also the only British group to get through. The other finalists have very impressive pedigrees (some are full time pros) so they’ve done really well to get this far.

Ah thankyou @horseymum and @TheTurn0fTheScrew. Good thing I asked on here, I’d have been in a panic I’d missed something if things arrive so late! DS is excited about going to the ‘beautiful place’ as he calls it. Hubby worries I’ll be out shopping in Manchester every Saturday now 😁

Mine at a different JD got hers the week before starting! Nothing like being organised (and they are nothing like organised all year). Hope he enjoys it.

Hi @Charlottesweb82 - I think in previous years my DC got their JRNCM timetables in the middle of the summer holidays. In any case I have a returning student who's has nothing through this year so far. I hope your DS is looking forward to it - it's a really lovely, fun place to be.

Hi all. Back to JRNCM. Has anyone with an offer received their timetable and invoice information yet? DS (10) had his offer in May but nothing since then. He’s now sat his Grade 7 piano and looking forward to joining the school in September. Thankyou!

So pleased the new teacher is working out dithering. Sounds like you've 100% done the right thing. Having the attention for 1.5 hours at that age is just amazing, and having a teacher who recognizes that and can make space for it - gold dust.

@Compsearch sounds familiar... we did something like 18 takes for one exam where 16 were DS9 (age 7) mucking around with the talking bit....

Have to say I am LOVING the lessons with DS9's new organ teacher. He's just had a very thorough 1.5 hours on style, articulation and ornamentation in Sweelinck and Buxtehude, getting the stylus fantasticus really happening. DS was totally into it and instantly got all the points made. He is completely fried now though, given that it was basically a university level tutorial at the keyboards. I'm quite tired just having taken the notes, and I already knew the content!

Ah ok makes sense! Tbh DS’s level of humour is to refer to his “Giga”
as “Gaga” so even getting him
to introduce them correctly will be a mission 🤣

French horn one is in countryside in south Wales. They sometimes take their horns up a hill and blast out tunes. And last year DS had a go at conducting, which he turns out to be rather good at.

I'm sure our kids' paths will cross one day!

@herbaceous DD didn't want to repeat ESO either - mainly she was cross that they were ridiculously strict about concert dress and we had to bring extra with more sleeve coverage.

Enjoyed the food at Woldingham though and did make new friends.

That french horn one looks fun - DD looks longingly at a similar bassoon one in switzerland but I think you have to be 18 and she's not even 17 yet. must be nice to be with people who understand your instrument.

She's doing a tour to Spain with the LSSO - mostly hanging out on a beach I think, and her usual national youth choir residential. But mainly it's lots of academic work this summer along with the dreaded composition.

Looks like they've taken out the extra question bit. From comments on here it does sound like it might have been doing the opposite of its declared purpose to relax them! I think they were trying to replicate the bit of in person auditions where the panel say hello and a bit of friendly chat to put the auditioner at their ease.

Projects I think they mostly assign your nearest one, you don't get a choice. And a degree of balancing so they don't have 5 double basses in south London and one lonely one in north.

DS did the ESO last year too, but didn't enjoy that residential as much. So many kids, so it was harder to make friends, esp as they tended to band together in cliques of school, or whether they'd been before.

The French horn thing is only 10 of them, and he enjoyed it last year!

@678socks is this all they have to say? I can’t find anything about extra questions in the handbook, but there’s so much info I may have missed it.

We are in London - I think there is one north and one south for the weekends - we are East so imagining they would just allocate the nearer one (probably not much in it!).

@herbaceous I can’t think of a better way to spend a summer!

Residential camps are such good experiences ( for most kids, I imagine some really struggle). Mine has a non- residential one this week but might invite a friend for a sleepover to make it more like a camp! Then a residential one the week after. And was previously at a Christian camp the week before.

Just dropped DS at the station for epic journey to South Wales, where he’ll be doing a French horn summer school! Like you do.