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.

@Comefromaway Hope it goes well, it seems like so much pressure on one performance but I'm sure he will be well prepared. I take it you won't get to see it at this short notice!

Hope it goes well @Comefromaway - such a big milestone!

I'm not even sure that it is open to anyone outside the conservatoire. He has had to scale his original idea down a bit. He was going to perform with a full band but due to being away (working on a professional show) it is just him and singer now.

It made me laugh that he has been practising one particular very tricky piece (by a theatre composer called Jason Robert Brown) then watched a video of the composer playing it live and even he doesn't play all the notes as written!

good luck to your DS @Comefromaway - not being allowed to watch is actually the better option. I've had 2 degree recitals from DD and have another coming up next month. Sitting there is excruciating. She's currently agonising over the running order and which of the 2 instruments on stage she'll play each piece on.

Best of luck to your DS @Comefromaway ! It's nerve wracking for parents but your DS has been building his career already so lots to look forward to!

Hope your DD's recital goes really well!

Good luck also to your DD @Londonmummy66! I have literally sobbed the few times I’ve watched DS play so cannot imagine I’d cope in something like a final recital!

DH has been examining them this week and said that he was moved to tears by one he heard yesterday - pretty lovely job for him!

After some end of year showcases, I realised I suffer from post show blues - was feeling nearly depressed for quite a while. Does your DD keep dancing @Comefromaway ? I nearly felt like grieving that DD had to stop dancing to focus on music...

She isn't really dancing at the moment. I hope that one day she will redisover her love of dance but a lot has happened.

Dance is even harder than music... 😞
We're of Romani descent so amateur dancing never goes away and of course there are lots of classes to maintain structured training, but there are not so many performing opportunities in adult life...
Anyway, I digress :)

Dancers are also paid far worse than musicians too.

Oh well, no one is in the arts for the money, I guess 😂

Good luck @Comefromaway
we’ve just got home from my kid’s final year recital. I was really nervous! He definitely relaxed as he went along and the final (very difficult) piece went as well as he’d hoped. His tutor, head of department and other professor of his instrument came to watch which was great but also nerve wracking. It was good to see so many of his friends supporting him too, can’t believe that’s his last bit of assessed work done.

True but you still need to live.

one of the problems was having to keep paying London rent whilst out on tour. Dogs were provided, but the pay just wasn’t enough.

I know. That's one of the reasons I was reluctant for DD to prioritise dance, the others being extreme competition, injuries and short career...
It still feels sad though, irrationally.

That should of course should read digs, not dogs.

And I was seeing him on a park bench cuddling up to a couple of labs for warmth.... no doubt where DD will end up.

😂 My overworked and depressed brain was not imaginative enough :))

DD's former violin teacher says he was happiest in Japan - very well paid 100% secure job, family accommodation provided and classical musicians revered by the Japanese... not sure if that's universal though as her Japanese teacher was not supported at Japanese school and actively discouraged from doing music instead of academics 🤷‍♀️

Hope all final year recitals are going well and best of luck to those with exams next half-term.

Super grateful for any advice re 1st round NYO video auditions: do intro and both pieces need to be in 1 take with 2 excerpts in the other (as for NCO) or can you submit eg 5 videos with intro/ piece 1/ piece 2/ excerpt 1/ excerpt 2 separately? Thank you!

@CelloMumFlums I've no idea, all I know was there was much hilarity as older one was 'helping ' younger one. Not sure any actual usable takes got done yesterday! I think they can all be separate but I leave her to do it. The staff are pretty helpful though if you get in touch.

I was certainly under the impression from the video submission guidance that they can submit it in as many or as few videos as they like.

Thank you @horseymum and @thirdfiddle and best of luck to your DC. We always seem to end up recording auditions on the hottest day of the year here!

I definitely recommend doing them spread out over at least a couple of weeks where possible but definitely a few days. Make multiple ones and choose the best. It will probably be the first one!!

@BBLY My DD got accepted to the Chineke! Junior Residential this August. Do you know anything about the repertoire/ how the orchestra works. And do orchestra members get to meet each other before - my daughter is a bit nervous

That’s great! My son is going again this year, he loves it! You can dm me and I’m happy to share anything I know!