Jazz

The Junior Conservatoire of Music has been teaching young musicians for more than 50 years here in the centre of Glasgow. Now, we have more than 300 young people travel from across Scotland and the north of England every Saturday to access this renowned training programme and to work with our expert teachers.

This Jazz programme is an intensive course in which you will learn from one-to-one lessons, ensemble work, performance and musicianship classes. Our aim is to help you develop into the best musician possible and, for one day a week, immerse you in conservatoire life.

You will also have a busy performance schedule, with Junior Conservatoire concerts taking place inside the Royal Conservatoire most weeks throughout the academic year.

You will benefit from learning within a conservatoire environment and have the opportunity to take part in Bridge Week, an interdisciplinary celebration where students from across the Junior Conservatoire come together to devise and perform new work within one of the Royal Conservatoire’s professional venues. As the national conservatoire of Scotland, we have strong partnerships with the professional industry and you may benefit from performing opportunities or masterclasses with undergraduate and postgraduate students or visiting artists.

By studying on this Junior Conservatoire programme, you will:

• learn from expert staff from the Royal Conservatoire
• work with students from other disciplines across the Junior Conservatoire
• develop your performance skills and have many opportunities to perform publicly on stage
• take part in prize competitions
• learn across a broad curriculum including world music, composition, conducting and jazz

Entry to the programme is by audition only and we don’t have a minimum grade requirement we look for the potential and dedication of every applicant.

The programme runs from September to June each year, and you can apply to join at any point of your secondary school education.

Please note, we are only able to accept applications from students who are currently receiving instrumental lessons in their chosen principal study.

To apply for a place on one of our Junior Music courses in academic session 2024/25, please complete the below forms:

Audition Payment

Application Form

Applicants must complete both of the above forms by the deadline of Monday, 5 February 2024 in order to be scheduled for an audition. The application fee is £45.00.

If you have any queries regarding this process, please email us at juniorsmusic@rcs.ac.uk.

As a Junior Conservatoire jazz musician you will learn from leading jazz musicians. You will study practical musicianship, repertoire class, ensemble training (forming part of the Big Band ensemble) and take part in specialist masterclasses with industry professionals.

RCS is renowned for producing world-class jazz musicians through its BMus Jazz degree programme — the only programme of its kind in Scotland. Studying jazz at the Junior Conservatoire will give you an insight into what it takes to become a full-time conservatoire student and a professional jazz musician as you’ll be introduced to the essentials of chord-scale harmony, ear training, improvisation and arrangement.

Through this course you will undertake the following curriculum:

• 1-1 principal study lessons
• Jazz theory and musicianship
• Jazz rhythm and aural training
• Transcription study
• History and listening
• Jazz composition
• Ensemble
• Repertoire class
• Junior Conservatoire Big Band

• One-to-one instrumental tuition for 45—60 minutes per week
• The option to have a further 30—45 minute one-to-one lesson in a second study
• Participate in a wide variety of ensembles and orchestras, such as Big Band, Chamber Groups, String Ensembles, Sinfonia, Symphony Orchestra and Wind Orchestra
• Receive your own personalised timetable, allowing for individual needs across one-to-one tuition, group lessons, choir, ensemble work and performing opportunities
• Compete in internal and external music prizes and competitions, such as, the Junior Conservatoire Gilbert Innes Prizes, Traditional Music Prize, BBC Young Musician of the Year, Inspire Young Composers’, Rotary Club and local Music Festivals
• Develop your aural skills in one of the Junior Conservatoire choirs
• Attend weekly Practical Musicianship classes which support and develop subject areas, such as theory, musicianship, composition, history of music and analysis skills
• Work towards ABRSM Grade 5 theory/NYCoS ‘Going for Gold’ qualifications
• Have the opportunity to work towards and sit ABRSM Grade 8 theory exam (optional)
• Receive support with preparation towards SQA instrumental music exams
• Receive formative feedback reports twice a year, in addition to weekly feedback from one-to-one lessons, to ensure you are achieving the most out of your studies

The Junior Conservatoire of Music has a wide and varied range of professional educators who work on a weekly basis with our students. The staff are all experts in their field and include the following musicians:

Staff include:

• Tom Gibbs (piano)
• Brodie Jarvie (bass)
• Peter Johnstone (trumpet and piano)
• Doug Hough-Stewart (kit)
• Konrad Wiszniewski (saxophone)

We want to make the performing arts as accessible to everyone as possible. Anyone who faces financial barriers to participate in the Junior Conservatoire can apply for a bursary or scholarship. As soon as you have been made an offer, you will be sent a link to the bursary and scholarship application form.

These funds are currently supported by the generosity of individuals and charitable trusts and foundations including:

• James McAvoy Drama Scholarship
• Agnes Allan Bursary
• ABRSM Junior Scholarship UK
• Wolfson Foundation Scholarship
• Stevenson Scholarship
• Miss Nancy Williamson Bursary
• William R MacFarlane Scholarship
• Savoy Scholarship
• John McIntyre Memorial Scholarship

Entry to Junior Conservatoire is by audition only, and progression through the levels is not automatic — students will be assessed each year if they would like to continue with their studies.

We do not ask for any minimum grade — instead the panel will be looking for applicants of great potential who demonstrate they have the commitment and ability to work hard and become the best performer they can be.

The audition for principal study jazz musicians (not including jazz drums) will consist of the following four areas:

1i) The performance of a Jazz standard of your choice which includes improvisation, which you feel shows you to the best of your current ability.

1ii) An improvised performance of a 12 bar blues in concert F, or concert Bb. A backing track can be provided for this in advance if requested. Bass players should also demonstrate a walking bass line on the blues.

2. Jazz scales and Modes will be asked, appropriate to your current standard.

3. Sight-reading will be given, appropriate to your current standard (Chords/and or notation)

4. A selection of Interval and Chordal tests appropriate to the standard of the principal instrument, in order to ascertain current level of general musicianship.

The audition for principal study Jazz drummers will be asked to:

1. Demonstrate a medium tempo swing feel accompaniment to a 12 bar blues (accompaniment provided in audition).

2. Demonstrate a number of standard jazz related skills and grooves, including performing at different tempos in:

·  a swing rhythm in both 4/4 and 3/4 time signatures.

·  a basic bossa nova beat and basic funk beat.

3. Sight-reading may be given, appropriate to your current standard (Drum Kit and/or snare)

4. A selection of Interval and Chordal tests appropriate to the standard of the principal instrument, in order to ascertain current level of general musicianship.

We want to ensure everyone has an opportunity to apply for the Junior Conservatoire Music programme so we will audition everyone who applies ahead of the application deadline.

Please note, we are only able to accept applications from students who are currently receiving instrumental lessons in their chosen principal study.

When to apply

To apply for a place on one of our Junior Music courses in academic session 2024/25, please complete the below forms:

Audition Payment

Application Form

Applicants must complete both of the above forms by the deadline of Monday, 5 February 2024 in order to be scheduled for an audition. The application fee is £45.00.

If you have any queries regarding this process, please email us at juniorsmusic@rcs.ac.uk.

Audition Dates

Auditions will be scheduled to take place at the RCS in February/March 2024.

Open Day

Please see our Junior Conservatoire Open Day page for more information on our upcoming open days.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the Junior Conservatoire or the application process, please don’t hesitate to contact us at juniorsmusic@rcs.ac.uk

Term Dates 2023/24

Induction Day: Saturday, 2 September 2023

Term 1: Saturday, 9 September – Saturday, 9 December 2023

Mid-term break: Saturday, 14 October and Saturday, 21 October 2023

Term 2: Saturday, 6 January — Saturday, 16 March 2024

Mid-term break: Saturday, 10 February 2024

Term 3: Saturday, 20 April — Saturday, 8 June 2024

Tuition Fees 2023/24

The Junior Conservatoire course fee for 2022/23 begins at £2,490 for 30 weeks of tuition. In addition to your weekly 45-minute principal study lesson, this course fee is inclusive of all timetabled classes: jazz theory and musicianship, ensembles or performance coaching, composition, repertoire and aural training. In addition to these classes, students may be able to opt into a number of elective courses, according to availability and in agreement with the Head of Junior Conservatoire.

Students can choose to enhance their study combinations by learning a subsidiary study instrument, or by increasing their weekly one-to-one lesson time at an additional cost.