Please see Filling In Your Application For UK Conservatoires via UCAS for further assistance with this process.
The dates and requirements are for starting in September 2024.
-
Orchestral Conducting candidates should complete their UCAS Conservatoires application by 1 November, and then upload their video into Acceptd by 9am UK time on 15 November, also including:
Details about Acceptd are on our video auditions page.
Your spoken introduction video must be presented in English. First tell us your name, and then say something about your musical background and the training you’ve had, your musical ambitions and your reasons for applying to study conducting at the Academy. This should be a separate recording, between 3 and 5 minutes long.
Your video audition recordings should be a minimum of 15 minutes overall, including at least two contrasting pieces filmed from the players' view of the conductor. You can conduct a piano arrangement if you are unable to fix an ensemble.
The quality of the recording does not need to be perfect, but where possible the works shown should each start from the beginning with no cuts or other editing. The recordings can include some rehearsal as well as the actual performance.
Please upload the files to Acceptd, all candidates need to select Program Group ‘Postgraduate Application’ then “Conducting (Orchestral)" as the Program. Please note that after you have pressed Submit it is not usually possible to add or amend files. The recordings will only be assessed if there is also a complete UCAS Conservatoires application.
The recordings are assessed by the Conducting department entry panel. This is the equivalent of the first-round live performance given by a performance candidate to a panel at the Academy.
Second Round assessments: these live assessments will be at the Royal Academy of Music in London. The selected candidates are expected to be available for both dates.
You will be informed in early January whether you have been selected for the second round live assessment and the exact starting time will be confirmed in your UCAS Conservatoires Hub. The repertoire list will be sent to all selected candidates at this point; you should prepare all items, and the section/s you conduct in each stage will be selected by the auditioning panel at the time of the audition.
You should attend at the allocated time on the first day; you will be given aural tests (sorry, we cannot issue specimen tests), and will conduct a small wind orchestra. There will also be an interview with the panel, the day's assessments are expected to be complete no later than 7pm.
Candidates selected to proceed after these assessments will be contacted via email by around 9pm at the latest. If you are selected, on the following morning you will have a conducting session with two pianos and there may be a further short interview. These assessments are expected to be complete no later than 3pm.
You do not need to perform on piano or other instruments for your audition.
Your official result will be notified through UCAS Conservatoires Track after the Selection Board has met, following the end of the two days of assessments.
You are welcome to contact the Admissions Team admissions@ram.ac.uk or the department administrator conducting@ram.ac.uk if you have any queries.
Master of Arts (MA)
- there are no academic written requirements required to support your application in addition to the biography and curriculum vitae.
Master of Music (MMus), Professional Diploma, Advanced Diploma
Applicants for the Master of Music (MMus), Professional Diploma (ProfDip) or Advanced Diploma (AdvDip) course need to submit written requirements in addition to the biography and curriculum vitae, please view these at the end of the entry requirements page of our website.
All Master of Music candidates are automatically considered for Master of Arts, so if you are also interested in MA study you should only apply for MMus because there will only be one audition. We can adjust the course choice later. Similarly, Professional Diploma and Advanced Diploma candidates can also be considered for the other postgraduate conducting course choices.
You are not tied to the course choice in your application; this can be discussed and adjusted as appropriate.
We assess everyone who submits an on-time application and pays their application and assessment fee.
Information on the assessment fee and waivers can be found in the 'Your Application' pages.
