Vocal Studies

This programme aims to prepare you for the many and varied demands of a professional singing career. Through 90 minutes vocal tuition each week, our experienced team of tutors will work with you to individually to release the true voice healthily, establishing a secure vocal technique. This is normally delivered in two lessons of 45 minutes, thereby enabling you to work together without undesirable long gaps between lessons.

Vocal Performance requires many different specialisms, and we offer classes in Italian Song, German lieder, French melodie, Oratorio, and Opera which are explored through shared performance classes and coachings. Undergraduates may be involved in main stage operatic productions, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Chamber Choir, and larger choral works which are undertaken on a project by project basis. We recognize the need for singers to use their whole body as their ‘instrument’ and classes in movement, drama, dance, and Alexander Technique are available. Due to the nature of classical Western repertoire, language skills are clearly important and classes are given by native-speaking language tutors throughout all four years of study. Through work in these fields you’ll develop a real breadth of skills to support your development as a singer.

At the Conservatoire you start performing from day one and your vocal tutor will often observe rehearsals, concerts, and competitions to supervise progress. From a solid foundation of high-level one-to-one tuition, you’ll also benefit from opportunities to choose your own pathway; with a number of Creative and Contextual Studies modules, a second study, or the chance to create an ensemble with other singers or students from other programmes. These creative collaborations can be an exciting opportunity to shape your own performances and to develop strong working relationships with other artists. We encourage you to take risks but support you throughout.

Throughout the year we welcome distinguished visiting artists who have included Ian Storey, Siegfried Jerusalem, Malcolm Martineau, Anne Murray, Dame Felicity Lott, Barbara Bonney, Christine Brewer, Rosalind Plowright , John Treleaven, and Sir Thomas Allen, offering professional understanding and coaching in technique, roles and repertoire. We also benefit from a unique working relationship with Jane Eaglen, our International Fellow in Voice, who visits twice a year for several days to work with singers.

Glasgow is a great city with a huge range of cultural activity, including recitals, opera, oratorio, orchestras, theatre, dance and film. It’s home to the national opera company (and all but one of the national performing companies) and is uniquely placed with easy access to Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland. Many of our students sing for choral societies or with professional choruses and choral scholarships. Our students start feeling like professional musicians because they’re already working. Combined with numerous opportunities to perform and to collaborate, we’re confident you’ll have the edge to build a long a successful career.

The Royal Conservatoire shares a unique partnership with Scottish Opera, running the Emerging Artist programme, and collaborating on an annual co-production every January. In recent years the critically acclaimed performances have involved student singers performing chorus and roles with The Orchestra of Scottish Opera and on the stages of Glasgow’s Theatre Royal and Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre. Each year we also welcome Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Bayreuther Festspiele, Independent Opera at Sadlers’ Wells, British Youth Opera, and the Britten Pears School to audition annually for the opportunity of professional work. Regular Erasmus exchanges of staff and students are also in place, and in the last few years there’s been major collaborations with the Conservatoires of St Petersburg and Rostov-on-Don, the Norgesmusikhøgskole in Oslo, and the Universität der darstellende Kunst, Berlin.