Spring / Summer 2026 music thread

[northerngoldilocks]

Time for a new thread as the old one is filling up and think we can claim its spring now!

Come and talk about music lessons, choosing instruments, exams, auditions, specialist schools, orchestras or whatever other music activities are going on. Everyone is welcome, from those with total beginners to those whose children are studying music at advanced levels. Ask for advice or share successes or struggles.

@Charlottesweb82 the timetables are individualised so one student's might not look exactly the same as another's. My eldest had a second study, and also liked to be busy and took an extra academic music class, so had a really full timetable. My younger DC is very firmly single study only, and so has more breaks. At times she's been offered additional classes (compositional analysis, a second chamber ensemble etc) but is quite clear that she prefers a lighter timetable.

A external teacher for an instrument not taken at JRNCM is completely fine. They just want to avoid a student being given conflicting advice on the dame instrument.

Thanks so much @TheTurn0fTheScrew, that is really reassuring to hear!
It makes total sense that the timetables are tailored to the individual—I think for a 10-year-old, having those extra breaks and a slightly "lighter" day in the Foundation section is probably a very good thing. I’m glad to hear the "no external teacher" rule is only for the same instrument; it's a relief to know we don't have to upend everything else just yet!

@Charlottesweb82 – it sounds like our DCs will have a very similar start. It'll be great to see how they settle into the Saturday routine!

Has anyone’s child been to this or anything similar?

https://www.gsmd.ac.uk/study-with-guildhall/short-courses-summer-schools/find-a-short-course-or-summer-school/summer-strings-course-intermediate

I still think DS is too young for a residential (he’s just turned 8) but would love him to do some ensemble playing this summer, so this seems to fit the bill.

@Compsearchmine haven’t but my friends Dc is signed up for that one. It’s new this year but run by Rachel Cooper from the Benedetti foundation who is fantastic so think it will be a good course!

Thanks @northerngoldilocks id completely forgotten that - she took DS’s group both times he did Benedetti and he really enjoyed it so that’s great!

I will report back! Just hope that there are others his age as it’s quite a wide range.

I find all these acronyms JRNCM / NCO / JD etc. completely baffling. How do you hear about all these opportunities and how to apply for them? All my DCs have had music lessons, decades of lessons between them, and I had never heard of any of these things before joining this thread.

Word of mouth for mine and social media. His school music teacher recommended he apply for a specialist school but also told us about jrncm as an alternative option.

@Compsearch it’s gr 2-6 standard so imagine it will tend towards the younger end of the age range. My friends DD and her friend who are doing it will be 10

Good point @northerngoldilocks - that should be perfect for him then.

@StuntNun if it’s any consolation, I went to conservatoire without having done any of these things except for NYO, which I only knew about because I saw it on TV (Mahler 1 at the proms in 2004!). Now my kids are going through it I randomly Google things, but this thread is genuinely one of the best sources of info out there!

I too had never heard of JDs before this thread! If I had, we may never have moved out of London and life could be very different!

From what the heads of RCMJD and JRAM said, some children travel/ have travelled from quite far away to get there - Ireland was definitely mentioned and I think France too. We are just over an hour out via train which I am very grateful for. DD knows other children at these and Guildhall JD and talked to them about it.

College Confidential and The Student Room are also really useful for information on summer programmes and courses.

After over a month off playing DD is finally back to 2 hands on the piano and playing the violin again - though still avoiding anything on piano with really big fortissimo chords but hoping they can come back soon especially as her piano solo has been rescheduled to the music concert in June so it needs to be performance ready by then. This term she has a music tour with school, a school music concert, piano in the school musical plus NCO summer residential and getting ready for Wells piano course in the summer. Also need to think about audition pieces for NCO next year too over the next month as everything has stalled a bit with no playing.

Do the parents pay for accommodation the night before? This is the bit that always confuses me. We’re in Cardiff and we can’t get there in time on the train network. Transport and hotel costs would hit the thousands.

I think that there are some families that do quite extreme journeys - either train or driving to get to a JD each week. We have friends locally who travel back from RCM JD to S london and who was saying its a bit of a long journey as it clashes with the museums closing so can be hard to get on the tube - but then has to check herself as there are people travelling from Devon who do the same studies as her DS!

I think they must@chocolateisnecessary or possibly they have friends/ relatives that they stay with in London?

Someone at RCM suggested getting on at Gloucester Road as it's quieter. I think on home days for Chelsea, we may actually travel with DD, as that concerns me more.

It depends on the timetable and can be doable without accommodation if ensembles start later in the day or you take the first train around 5am.
First lessons rarely start before 8-8:30 ime.

The London JDs try and take travel into account when setting the timetable. RAM JA specifically asks about where children are travelling from and also asks about earliest start times in their questionnaire. I understand RCMJD do too. That said, they do expect a willingness to get on early trains.

If this is RCMJD, you can ask to start at 10am if you’re coming a long way and they’ll try very hard to make that happen. When we started there, someone was flying in from Germany each week so their timetable was set to start with the earliest flight arrival time!

Bear in mind that your child might enjoy it so much that they’re begging for an 8am - 6pm timetable …. Lots of people drive/train a long distance with a very early start to fit in everything the kids want to do. But I don’t know anyone who stays overnight weekly.

Our earliest ensemble started at 8:20 and that could not be moved around unlike individual lessons or music theory so it's better to double check which ensembles have more or less fixed time and which ones are mandatory. Early ensembles are usually not the main ones, but you wouldn't really want to miss any ensembles as they're the main point in going to JD (good teachers can be found locally).

Apologies if I have asked before but for ‘NCO weekends’auditions, is just post grade 5 (cello) unlikely to be good enough?

The weekends are designed to be mixed ability and fairly mixed age (quite a lot of younger ones because the older ones also have the option of the residentials). Gde 5+ for cello sounds totally within the norm for the weekends.

not sure about Cello but DS is violin and he auditioned last year as a grade 6 and just about got in from the waiting list! Violin is the hardest though so I’d say give it a go and see what happens!

Thanks both. Year 4 currently, suspect possibly grade 6 done by the time the weekends actually happen (assuming after spring exam session).

DS is auditioning for NCO this year with grade 5 pieces on violin; he is year 3 just turned 8.

It says grade 4+ and that they take a mix across the age and grade levels, so if that’s true he must be in with a shot, but I think the prep will be good experience for him whatever. Will probs wait until a bit closer to the deadline to submit anything!