What to expect | Royal Academy of Music

We don’t want you just to play the piano well. We want you to be a complete, individual artist, with all the skills for a great career.

Here's what to expect from your time studying at the Piano Department.

Portrait of Imogen Cooper smiling to camera

MASTERCLASSES AND VISITING PROFESSORS

At the Academy, every pianist is assigned a world-class piano professor and chamber music professor. They will be your main guides, alongside your academic tutors, as you develop and grow. Each week we hold repertoire classes where you can play informally to other Academy professors and students.

We also run a very open, inclusive system of piano masterclasses, workshops and small classes; we believe you should have as much inspiring input as possible.

Every term there are extra classes and one-to-one tuition given by our dynamic visiting professors: Richard Goode, Stephen Hough, Dame Imogen Cooper, Leif Ove Andsnes, Yevgeny Sudbin, Pascal Rogé, Steven Osborne, Neil Brand (improvising to film) and Adrian Brendel (chamber music).

We regularly welcome other celebrated pianists for masterclasses and tuition, including Igor Levit, Alfred Brendel, Garrick Ohlsson, Inon Barnatan and Gabriela Montero.

DEVELOPING YOUR CAREER

We don’t want you just to play the piano well: we want you to be a complete, individual artist, with all the skills needed for a great career. The Royal Academy of Music offers unique training for pianists, with a range of classes throughout the year:

Coaching in conducting from the keyboard and working with conductors from Timothy Redmond.

You’ll also work with Head of Conducting Sian Edwards and her conducting students, as well as having concerto exams and performance opportunities.

Training on harpsichord, fortepiano and early piano with Carole Cerasi, Steven Devine and Jane Chapman, using the resources of the Academy Museum's Piano Gallery.

Regular coaching sessions with Adrian Brendel and James Baillieu, as well as other acclaimed chamber musicians.

We regularly collaborate with visual and multimedia artists to produce groundbreaking performances.

There are classes in public speaking and concerts combining words and music.

Many of our pianists are talented composers.

We provide composition lessons, a 'Piano Lab' specialising in contemporary performances throughout the year and classes in transcription.

There are classes in jazz with Dominic Alldis, improvising to film with Neil Brand, and digital skills training with Sofia Sacco.

Develop your website, social media presence and edit your recordings.

Each term there are sessions run by Head of Piano Joanna MacGregor on being resourceful and imaginative, which include: creating recordings; finding an agent; establishing your own festival and concert series; managing your diary; and finding work as a performer.

Academy pianists are taking control of their careers by running their own festivals and summer schools, creating their own ensembles, making recordings, commissioning composers and working with other artists.

A piano student performs at a keyboard, with a mixing desk on a seat in the foreground

CONCERTS, RECORDINGS AND FESTIVALS

There’s a year-round Academy Piano Series at the Wigmore Hall, as well as concerts to packed audiences within the Academy itself. We provide opportunities to perform at Steinway Hall, Southbank Centre, King’s Place, St James’s Piccadilly and many other venues. We have regular collaborations with UK festivals and music clubs and often arrange performances and interviews on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4.

Each year we help pianists make their debut recording and advise them on marketing and promotion. We also encourage them to take part in international piano competitions.

Our department runs both the Autumn Piano Festival, and the wide-ranging Summer Piano Festival. These are exuberant, multi-faceted events that both take place on-site at the Academy. More than 60 pianists took part this year, playing to large and enthusiastic audiences.

As a piano student at the Academy, you’ll become an exciting musician who is a wonderful performer, and ready for a modern and vibrant career.