Applications for entry in September 2023 are now open. The closing date for applications will be Wednesday 1 March 2023.
The applications should be made on our online portal Acceptd.
Select either Junior Academy (Performance) or Junior Academy (Composition) for first study composition applicants. You will need to create an account with Acceptd to complete your application.
There is no fee for the first stage of this application. If you are invited to a live audition you will be asked to pay a £40 audition fee.
Please see the sections below to support your application.
Applications for entry in September 2023 will open in January 2023. The closing date for applications will be Wednesday 1 March 2023.
Your Composition submission should consist of:
If you are selected for a live audition you can play the same piece or choose to play a different one.
For your 2nd study instrument, please follow the video recording guidance for first study instruments.
Your video submission should consist of:
If you are selected for a live audition you can play the same two pieces or choose to play different ones.
All recordings must be recent/current.
Your pieces can be recorded with an accompanist if you would like, but it is not expected. Please do not use a backing track.
Each piece should be recorded in one take.
Please see notes at the bottom for file types accepted and maximum file sizes.
If you have mistakenly recorded at too high a quality and the file size is too large to upload, you can split the file at a sensible place in the performance and clearly label your files (e.g. Lily Chivon Part 1 , Lily Chivon Part 2)
A smartphone, tablet or similar device is perfect for recording your audition. The video quality is better than most camcorders, provided the device is placed at an appropriate distance from the performer – around two to three metres is ideal.
Ensure that the panel can easily see the working part of the instrument or person (i.e. Lips and fingers for a brass player and both hands for a string player).
Ensure that the lighting is sufficient as poor lighting and unsuitable placement of the camera/microphone are the two most common problems when filming an audition. Prop your device up on a music stand or book, or get a cheap tripod and an iPhone clip. Always record with the device in a horizontal position ('landscape' format).
The audio quality is more important than the video quality for your audition recording. If you are making a longer recording, mp4 format will have a smaller file size, making it easier to upload.
It is good to record in a room without too much reverberation (echo). Try to find as quiet an environment as possible. Turn the TV off, turn off computer notifications, silence your phone (use airplane mode), close all the apps that are running at the background, and shut the windows. Nothing kills a self-tape more than car alarms or sirens!
Try some test recordings first, to see if it is better to have the phone in a different place in the room.
Usually the microphone is on the back of the phone, point that towards you for the recording. You can check this in the phone’s user guide, normally this is available online. An external microphone for your recording, if you have one, will help improve the quality of the audio.
Make sure you have plenty of space on your phone, for example you may need to download photos and videos onto a computer or into cloud storage.
Watch your recording before uploading to be sure there were no technical problems.
But most importantly please remember that the audition panel are not assessing the quality of your recording, only the quality of your performance.
Acceptd supports a majority of file types, shown below:
Below are the size limitations on each type of file:
Lastly, here are a few helpful troubleshooting tips when uploading media:
