Timpani and Percussion Department (Undergraduate)
Timpani & Percussion is a vibrant department where you can develop your style as a percussionist, collaborate with experienced teachers, and gain the experience you need for your future career.
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Overview
The Timpani and Percussion department is a close-knit and supportive environment where collaboration with your teachers and visiting professionals is prioritised. We offer a wide range of performing opportunities that are key in preparing you for a career in professional music.
You will work with a team of highly experienced tutors and visiting professors who have a wide range of professional experience as top performers. The department offers 40 hours of one-to-one tuition each year, with the option of adding additional hours through related studies, such as baroque timpani, drum kit and more. As a student, you will be able to select which teachers you would like to work with and tailor your tuition. Through our regular department repertoire classes, students will receive further input from all our specialist teaching staff throughout the year, covering a wide range of music and repertoire.
During the course of their studies at RCS, timpani and percussion students will be able to perform in many different settings, including symphony orchestra, musical theatre, contemporary music, chamber orchestra, opera, solo performance and more.
Students also have the unique opportunity to learn alongside Scotland’s top orchestras and ensembles – taking part in professional experience schemes with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, as well as collaborations with Scottish Opera, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Red Note Ensemble.
The department has a large collection of timpani and percussion instruments available for all your practice time, lessons and performances. These include our two new sets of Lefima symphonic timpani equipped with calf heads, three 5 octave marimbas, many professional quality snare drums, cymbals, drum kits, alongside many other instruments.
The important details
UK Applicant Deadline:
1 October 2026
International Applicant Deadline:
1 December 2026
Course Start Date:
20 September 2027
Institution Code:
R58
Programme Code:
Performance - 300F OR Joint Principal Study - 301F
Audition Fee:
£65
Application Fee:
£34.50
Meet the Staff
Additional Teaching Staff by Instrument
Masterclasses
As part of our Timpani and Percussion course you will take part in different clinics, workshops, and masterclasses with visiting lecturers we welcome from around the world.
Some of these Masterclasses include:
- Colin Currie – International Percussion Soloist and Clinician
- Sam Walton – Eminent Percussionist
- Birger Sulsbrück – Internationally Renowned Cuban Percussion Expert
- Leigh Howard Stevens – Internationally Famous Marimbist and Clinician
- Yasmin Kolberg – Internationally celebrated Marimbist and Clinician
- Kroumata – long established Swedish percussion ensemble
- Dame Evelyn Glennie – International Percussion Soloist
- Joe Locke – World-renowned Jazz Vibraphonist
- David Searcy – Principal Timpanist La Scala Milan and International Clinician
- Simon Carrington – Principal Timpanist The London Philharmonic Orchestra
- Keith Aleo – Avedis Zildjian Company
- Neil Grover – Boston Symphony orchestra
- Neil Percy – Principal Percussion London Symphony Orchestra
- Louise Goodwin – Principal Timpanist Scottish Chamber Orchestra
- Mick Doran – English National Opera
- Jack McCarthy – hand drumming specialist
- Alex Neal – BBC Symphony Orchestra
- Henry Baldwin – Royal Opera and Ballet Orchestra
Why Study Timpani & Percussion With Us?
Individual lessons
You will receive 40 hours of one-to-one individual lessons or more, when you select a related study. Our faculty is formed with specialist from various instruments and musical genres such as timpani, percussion, drum kit, Latin American percussion and marimba, among others.
Large instrument collection
The department has a large collection of percussion instruments, which includes an extensive range of professional quality percussion, snare drums, cymbals, orchestral percussion, Larin American percussion and drum kits.
Visiting specialists
We have regular visits from world class marimba player, Eric Sammut and drum kit and Latin American percussion specialist Dave Hassell. We also welcomed Timpanist Nick Woud and Percussionist Andy Barclay as our Visiting Professors.
The department also hosts masterclasses with esteemed artists. Past guests include Mick Doran, Jack McCarthy, Sam Walton, Alex Neal and Henry Baldwin.
Regular performances opportunities.
Timpani and percussion students perform regularly in RCS ensembles, orchestras and musical theatre bands, solo playing and percussion ensemble performances. These opportunities can be tailored to suit your interests and talents. Students can also apply for the professional experience schemes with Royal Scottish National Orchestra and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
Facilities
The timpani and percussion department comprises three large studios for exclusive use by timpani and percussion students, equipped with a huge collection of timpani and percussion instruments. We can accommodate the practice of all percussion disciplines with ease within these rooms, from snare drum solos to complex multi-percussion setups. We own two sets of Lefima pedal timpani with calf skins will add to our collection of baroque, classical and modern timpani, matching the wide range of instruments encountered in professional orchestras in Scotland and beyond – this is also increasingly important when preparing for timpani auditions worldwide. Additionally, we have plastic head timpani by Ludwig and Yamaha, and 5 octave Marimbas by Concorde, Malletech and Kolberg, among others.
The RCS has excellent performance spaces, where you will gain experience performing with RCS orchestras and ensembles in addition to solo and chamber music performances in percussion concerts and recital examinations. The RCS has excellent recording facilities and a superb music library.
Graduate Destinations
The Timpani and Percussion department has a long-established tradition of producing graduates who hold prominent positions both in the UK and abroad.
Alumni include:
- Louis Abbott – Admiral Fallow
- June Binnie – Sinfonia Finlandia
- Richard Buckley – Orquestra Sinfonica Portuguesa
- Ruari Donaldson – Scottish Opera
- Alan Emslie – Baroque specialist
- James Gorman – Freelance, currently on the UK tour of Evita
- John Poulter – Royal Scottish National Orchestra
- Gordon Rigby – BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
- Philip Hague – Admiral Fallow
- Calum Huggan – First British student accepted onto the Advanced Solo Marimba course at the Royal College of Music
- Tom Hunter – Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
- Alasdair Kelly – Bologna Opera
- David Lyons – BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
- Kate Openshaw – Camerata Ireland
- Louise Paterson – Real Orquesta Sinfonica de Sevilla
- Martin Willis – Scottish Ballet
Programme Structure
The programme structure for your studies will depend on whether you choose to undertake [instrument] principal study as part of BMus (Hons) Performance or BMus (Hons) Joint Principal Study. The content and modules for each programme are available on their respective pages:
How to Apply
More information about how to apply, including entry requirements and tuition fee & funding information, is available on either our BMus (Hons) Performance page, or BMus (Hons) Joint Principal Study page, depending on which pathway you are interested in. The specific audition requirements for Timpani & Percussion principal study are detailed in the section below.
Audition Information
In-person auditions are planned to take place at various locations across the world. Should you apply on time, an audition time slot will be sent to you via Acceptd. You must create an Acceptd account and submit an Acceptd application regardless of your audition location. An interview will form part of your audition; this is a chance for the panel to find out more about you and is also an opportunity for you to ask questions about the programme.
Audition Repertoire
Undergraduate Timpani and Percussion applicants are asked to present the following at their audition:
Tuned percussion: One piece of your own choice, minimum grade 8 standard ; 2 or 4 mallet
Snare drum: One piece/study of your own choice, minimum grade 8 standard
Timpani: Nick Woud, Symphonic Studies for Timpani – No. 16 or 18 or 24 or 29 (This book is available from Southern Percussion)
Glasgow Auditions
Our Glasgow auditions will take place at RCS from 2-6 November 2026.
All in-person auditions will be given a twenty-minute warm up slot prior to their audition. Please see the audition repertoire requirements above for guidance on what to perform in your audition.
Overseas Auditions
Unfortunately, we are unable to offer live overseas auditions to Timpani and Percussion applicants. If you are applying from overseas, please see our recorded audition information on what to prepare.
Recorded Auditions
We highly recommend that you audition for us live in person in Glasgow or at one of our overseas locations, as this will give you an opportunity to meet some of the teaching staff here at RCS. However, if you are unable to attend an audition, please select the Recorded Submission option your application.
Following review of the recorded submission, applicants may be invited to a live online audition/interview at the discretion of the relevant Head of Department. You may be asked to perform additional repertoire or complete a small aural task as part of this process. If you are recalled, further details and meeting links will be sent to you.
All recorded submissions should contain a spoken introduction in English. Please tell us:
- Your name
- A bit about your musical background and training you’ve had till now
- Your musical ambitions
- Your reasons for applying to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
This video should be no longer than 3 minutes long and separate to your performance video.
Your recorded audition must be submitted to Acceptd by the listed application deadline (2 October for UK applicants, 1 December for International applicants).
You can read our guidance and top tips for recording your audition on School of Music Recorded Audition Guidelines
Contact Us
If you have any questions about the audition process for your relevant location, you can contact us at the following:
- Glasgow & Recorded Submissions: admissions@rcs.ac.uk
Timpani & Percussion Photo Gallery
More from the Timpani & Percussion Department
Timpani and Percussion Performance Work
Watch our Timpani and Percussion students in an edited selection of performance work.
Ambassador for Timpani and Percussion: David Kerr
Learn about our Ambassador for Timpani and Percussion: David Kerr
Book a music advice lesson
One-to-one Principal-Study lessons are at the heart of any conservatoire course. An advice lesson here at RCS gives you the chance to experience the RCS working environment and assess your suitability for conservatoire education. It can also be used as a mock/advice audition.
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Why RCS?
We are the only place in Europe where you can study all of the performing arts on the one campus. There is a distinctive creative energy at RCS and you’ll be made to feel part of our inclusive and diverse environment from the very beginning of your studies.
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At RCS, students develop not just their art but their power to use it.
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