Overview
The Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) in Performance is for students who want to focus on performance and build on their professional skills. The PGCert is designed as an option for postgraduate students who cannot meet the academic entrance requirements for a Master’s course.
The Ensemble Piano course (postgraduate only) allows students to develop the highest standards of musicianship and pianism through the study of ensemble repertoire.
The PGCert is designed as an option for postgraduate students who cannot meet the academic entry requirements for the MA. You are provided with the full range of MA tuition. If you meet the learning outcomes of the MA you will gain that award. The course path and length can be discussed at the entrance interview and adjusted as appropriate, you are not tied to the option you choose when you submit your application in UCAS Conservatoires.
Classes and Activities
Individual Lessons
You will receive specialist collaborative piano lessons and can also opt to receive a portion of tuition from a solo piano professor. Instrumental chamber music tuition is an integral part of the course.
Concert Performances
In addition to the weekly Accompanists at 5 concert, attended by all collaborative piano students, there are numerous external performance opportunities including recitals with the Academy’s prestigious ensemble Song Circle at the Wigmore Hall, Oxford Lieder Festival.
Masterclasses
Accompaniment students benefit from the vast range of expertise available within the Academy. Visiting Masterclasses are also given by distinguished artists such as Helmut Deutsch, Hartmut Hὂll and Graham Johnson.
Song Classes and Language Tuition
Students give prepared performances in weekly song classes (Lieder, French and English) taken by members of the Academy's Vocal Faculty. It is also possible to participate in language classes offed to vocal students.
Répétiteur Skills
Collaborative piano students have the opportunity to participate in Repetiteur Classes and to play for Vocal Faculty Opera Scenes.
Skills Test preparation
In preparation for the Skills Tests Exam in the final year, students receive tuition in Harpsichord playing, Sightreading, Transposition and Vocal Coaching.
Entry Requirements
- Performance: A performance standard at least equivalent to that of a recognised music performance diploma.
- Academic: There are no academic requirements for the Postgraduate Certificate.
See Entry Requirements for further information.
Auditions
For general guidance on auditions see: auditions.
We want you to view your audition as a recital rather than a rigid test. Our panel is looking for your unique musical personality, your technical command, and your potential for growth. Try to relax, focus on your storytelling through the instrument, and let us hear who you are as a musician.
The Master of Arts (MA) in Performance selection process for Ensemble Piano is integrated into our postgraduate audition framework, allowing candidates to demonstrate their artistic maturity, collaborative sensitivity, and advanced foundation in both vocal and instrumental partnership.
Your Audition Repertoire
For your postgraduate audition, you must prepare an advanced free-choice programme of original ensemble piano repertoire. There is no requirement to include or perform solo piano repertoire.
Repertoire Guidelines:
- Duration: Your complete prepared performance programme must last at least 40 minutes.
- Programme Balance: The selection must include a balanced mix of collaborative genres, featuring:
- At least 20 minutes of vocal repertoire (art songs, lieder, etc.)
- At least 20 minutes of instrumental music (duo sonatas, chamber movements, etc.)
- Stylistic Contrast: Your selection must include a wide diversity of character and style, as well as clear evidence of technical accomplishment. It can include individual movements rather than complete works (for instance, a single movement of a duo sonata). We suggest including music in a classical style, a Romantic work, and something 20th-century or contemporary.
Repertoire for International Audition Centres
If you are selected from your video recordings to perform in person at one of our international audition centres, you should take the same repertoire items you uploaded into your Acceptd profile.
What to Expect on Audition Day
1. Provision of Soloists
You are generally expected to provide your own soloists (singers and instrumentalists) to perform alongside you.
- Academy Provided Soloists: If you are attending a live audition in London but are unable to bring your own partners, you must contact the Academy Admissions Team no later than two weeks before your audition date. The Academy will provide professional soloists at no charge to perform the following designated repertoire:
- Instrumental: Beethoven: Sonata for Piano and Violin in C minor, Op. 30, No. 2 (complete).
- Vocal (High Key): Schubert: "Der Musensohn" and "Im Frühling"; Schumann: "Mondnacht"; Debussy: "Green"; Brahms: "Botschaft"; Barber: "St. Ita's Vision".
- Rehearsal Time: If you use the Academy's soloists, you will be allocated 60 minutes of rehearsal time with them directly preceding your audition slot.
2. Delivery Options & Practical Assessment
- In-Person (London): In the live practical room, the panel will ask you to choose one initial item from your prepared programme to open with, and they will then select any further items or extracts they wish to hear. You will also be required to complete a **sight-reading test** to demonstrate your spontaneous collaborative reactivity. Postgraduate candidates receive 1 hour of warm-up time at the Academy immediately prior to their assessment slot.
- Video Auditions: If you are auditioning remotely, you must upload recordings of your complete 40-minute programme to the Acceptd portal. It is not necessary to record the programme in a single take; individual pieces or movements can be captured in separate files.
Please note: The Postgraduate Certificate is designed for advanced pianists seeking a concentrated period of specialised collaborative study. Your ultimate course placement remains flexible; the panel can discuss alternative postgraduate pathways (such as the MMus or MA in Ensemble Piano) during your assessment if they feel a different option better aligns with your long-term academic and professional goals.