MMus/MA Strings

• Hector Scott

• Pedro de Alcantara

• William Chandler
• Ruth Crouch
• Francis Cummings
• Bernard Docherty
• Tamás Fejes
• Professor Andrea Gajic
• Donald Grant
• Katie Hull
• Maya Iwabuchi
• Gongbo Jiang
• Greg Lawson
• Daniel Pioro
• Angus Ramsay
• Laura Samuel
• Justine Watts

• Jane Atkins
• Dr Lev Atlas
• Scott Dickinson
• Tom Dunn
• Duncan Ferguson
• Sophie Renshaw

• Aleksei Kiseliov
• Martin Storey
• Betsy Taylor
• Professor David Watkin
• Alison Wells

• Tom Berry
• Ana Cordova
• Iain Crawford
• Nikita Naumov
• Graham Mitchell (Visiting Teacher)

• Dorian Bandy
• Ruth Slater

• Alfonso Leal

• Alison McGillivray– Principal, English Concert/ Concerto Caledonia

• Liivi Arder

• Jane Atkins
• Dorian Bandy
• Robert Irvine
• Greg Lawson
• Maya Iwabuchi
• Sophie Renshaw
• David Watkin
• Joseph Swensen

All students have an opportunity during their time at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to take part in workshops and masterclasses with some of the world’s most renowned performers, including:

• Pedro de Alcantara
• Nicola Benedetti
• Simon Fischer
• Ilya Gringolts
• Rinat Ibragimov
• Alina Ibragimova
• Lutsia Ibragimova
• Ralph Kirshbaum
• Lawrence Power
• Joel Quarrington
• Rachel Roberts
• Jacqueline Shave
• Joseph Swensen
• Raphael Wallfisch
• Pieter Wispelwey

Applications are made through UCAS Conservatoires website. The UCAS Conservatoires application system is separate from the main UCAS undergraduate application system. If you wish to apply to conservatoires and universities within UCAS, you will need to register for both services.

There is a UCAS application fee of £26 to register to use UCAS Conservatoires.

To begin a new UCAS Conservatoires application, you will need to register. You can read the UCAS Conservatoires’ advice on completing the UCAS Conservatoires application.

If you need assistance with your application, you can contact UCAS Conservatoires team by telephoning (Monday to Friday, 8.30 — 18.00). Phone 0371 468 0470 from within the UK or +44 330 3330 232 if you are calling from overseas.

Application deadline date

The deadline dates to apply and submit your audition recording can be found in the table below –

*For USA Applicants, to guarantee consideration for our first round of scholarship awards, you should submit your application and recording by 1 November 2020.

Once you submit your UCAS Conservatoires application, please then upload your audition recording to Acceptd – https://app.getacceptd.com/rcs.

If you submit your application after this date, we cannot guarantee that your audition recording will be reviewed by the audition panel. If you do want to submit a late application, you must contact admissions@rcs.ac.uk in the first instance to check we are accepting late applications. Late applications will be considered on a case by case basis and will not be considered in the first round of scholarship allocation.

We do not offer deferred entry. If you wish to commence in 2022, you must apply next year.

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland institution code is R58.

MMus Performance (2 years) – 890F

MA Performance (1 year) – 801F

Book an advice lesson with one of our Music tutors (faculty)

An advice lesson gives you the chance to experience having a lesson at the Conservatoire and provides a great opportunity for you to gain some expert advice. If you are unsure of what programme you wish to apply for, we recommend booking an advice audition with a teacher who can assist gauge which programme you may be suitable for. Advice lessons normally take place late August to early October and are dependent on staff availability.

Book an advice lesson.

There is a UCAS Conservatoires application fee of £26. In addition to the application fee, each conservatoire charges an audition assessment administration fee. For RCS, the audition assessment administration fee is £65 per programme applied for. Fees are not refundable. The fees are paid via the UCAS Conservatoires website and not directly to RCS.

Audition Assessment Administration fee

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland charges an audition assessment administration fee of £65 per course.

We recognise that auditioning and interviewing for conservatoires, drama and ballet schools can be costly. The audition assessment administration fee charge allows us to offer a thorough and positive experience to all applicants and we encourage you to get in touch to ask the panel questions and find out more about the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to see if it is the best place for you.

We are committed to ensuring fair access to a conservatoire education for students who have the talent and potential to benefit from it, regardless of their background. In support of this, audition fee waivers are offered to applicants whom financial hardship may be a barrier to auditioning. Please see the audition fee waivers document for more information.

It is your responsibility to ask two separate referees to write references and ensure that these are sent to RCS.

The references must be written by two different people and we will not accept references from family, other relatives or close friends. You can submit your UCAS Conservatoires application form and send your references at a later date, but they must be received prior to your audition date.

UCAS Conservatoires provides reference forms for you to download and send to your referees for completion.

Applicants who apply on time invited to upload their audition recording to Acceptd. The deadline dates can be found below –

*For USA Applicants, to guarantee consideration for our first round of scholarship awards, you should submit your application and recording by 1 November 2020.

If you submit your audition recording after this date, we cannot guarantee that your audition recording will be reviewed by the audition panel.

Please note that the Conservatoire is obliged to offer one audition recording per application. If you are unable to submit your audition recording by the deadline date above, you must email us immediately stating the reason. We have a specific period allocation to audition and all on time applications will receive a decision before Christmas (week commencing 14 December). If your audition recording is delayed, there is a risk that places will already have been taken and your application may not be considered in the first round of scholarship allocation.

Applicants are selected first and foremost on the basis of merit and potential. However, due attention is also paid to the range of Principal Studies accepted in order to ensure the optimum experience for each student and to sustain the critical mass required for curricular activities, such as the symphony orchestra and choral activities.

With the safety of our students, applicants and staff as our priority, all School of Music auditions will take place via audition recording. The deadline dates to apply and submit your audition recording can be found in the table below –

*For USA Applicants, to guarantee consideration for our first round of scholarship awards, you should submit your application and recording by 1 November 2020.

Once you submit your UCAS Conservatoires application, please then upload your audition recording to Acceptd – https://app.getacceptd.com/rcs.

Once you submit your audition recording, this may be followed up with an interview. Interviews will take place the week of the 30 November 2020.

All decisions will be posted on UCAS Conservatoires following your audition via UCAS Conservatoires track (you will need your username and password). We aim to post outcomes before Christmas (week commencing 14 December 2020).

Through audition, applicants will be required to demonstrate:

• a high degree of technical competency on the instrument or voice in the service of specific repertoire
• an ability to demonstrate a considerable degree of understanding of the repertoire performed
• an ability to perform specific repertoire convincingly
• a considerable degree of self-confidence and creativity with respect to the repertoire performed
• a degree of self-sufficiency, initiative and independence in selecting, preparing and performing a particular programme
• a developing musical personality

Recording Guidelines:

• When setting up for your video recording, your body (typically, from about the waist up) and instrument should be the focal point of the frame. The committee wants to be able to see not just your face but how well you navigate your instrument.
• The video recording should be provided in ONE continuous shot without separate tracks for different musical pieces.
• Please begin the recording by introducing yourself to camera and stating what you will be performing. You can take a little time between pieces so long as your body must remain in the frame.
• For any pieces that were written for your instrument and piano accompaniment, you are encouraged to perform with piano accompaniment (whether live or pre-recorded) if practical for you. Be assured, however, that if this is not possible for you, then you will not be disadvantaged in any way.

Please prepare the following for your audition recording –

Violin

Any two movements from Bach’s Sonatas or Partitas, or equivalent piece (Bartok, Hindemith, etc) for solo violin and a movement from a major concerto (Beethoven, Brahms, Bartok, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Barber etc.) or a major performance piece (Chausson, Bartok Rhapsody, Ravel Tzigane, etc).

Viola

Any two movements from Bach’s Cello Suites, Violin Sonatas or Partitas, or equivalent piece (Ligeti, Hindemith etc) for solo viola and a movement from a Major concerto (Walton, Bartok, Schnittke, etc.) or a major performance piece or one or two movements from a sonata (Enesco Concertpiece, Schumann Marchenbilder, or Brahms Sonata etc).

Cello

Any two movements from Bach’s Cello Suites, or equivalent piece (Britten, Crumb, etc) for solo cello, and a movement from a major concerto (Dvorak, etc.) or a major performance piece or sonata.

Double Bass

Any movement from a major concerto and a contrasting performance piece.

All decisions will be posted on UCAS Conservatoires following your audition via UCAS Conservatoires Track,  (you will need your username and password). You will also receive notification from UCAS Conservatoires when decisions on all your choices are available.

UCAS Conservatoires Codes

Guaranteed Unconditional (GU) RCS is satisfied from the information you have given, that you have already met the conditions for entry. Unless your application and/or qualification are subsequently shown to be fraudulent, a guaranteed unconditional offer is binding.

Guaranteed Conditional (GC) RCS has made the offer subject to you meeting certain conditions such as examination results. Conditions can be viewed via UCAS Conservatoires Track. Unless your application and/or qualifications are subsequently shown to be fraudulent, the offer is binding if you accept the offer and meet the conditions. You must meet the conditions of the offer by 31 August 2021, unless an earlier date is specified. If your conditions include obtaining IELTS (English Language test), you must meet this condition by 31 May 2021.

Reserve Unconditional (VU) RCS is satisfied from the information you have given, that you have already met the conditions for entry and you have been offered a place on our reserve pool.

Reserve Conditional (VC) RCS has offered a place on its reserve pool subject to you meeting certain conditions such as examination results. Conditions can be viewed via UCAS Conservatoires Track.

Unsuccessful (R) RCS does not wish to offer you any type of a place.

If you have received a ‘reserve’ outcome, it means that RCS is not able to offer you a guaranteed place at the time of making our decision. A ‘reserve’ outcome indicates that RCS would like the opportunity to review its outcome to you in the light of acceptances/declines to its guaranteed offers. You will become part of a ‘pool’ of ‘reserve’ candidates and RCS may choose to make you a guaranteed offer if a suitable place becomes available. Reserve does not mean that a place has been ‘reserved’ for you. If RCS chooses not to make you a guaranteed offer, you will not have a place to start at RCS.
If you have been given a ‘reserve’ outcome, in order to be considered for a guaranteed place (should one become available) you will need to accept the outcome (and meet any conditions if applicable).

Reserve outcomes remain active until the end of August. The decision to wait and see whether a guaranteed place becomes available, or to accept an offer at another conservatoire is entirely at your discretion. As soon as your situation changes, this is updated on UCAS Conservatoires.

As soon as a decision is made, UCAS Conservatoires will let you know. You must reply online via UCAS Conservatoires Track. Your reply date is displayed on Track. If you do not reply by the date given, your offers will be declined automatically. The reply date may be different to other applicants as it is based on when you receive your last decision.

Please see the UCAS Conservatoires website for more information on replying to offers. If you make an application through UCAS Conservatoires, UCAS or UCAS Teacher Training, you cannot hold more than one confirmed place. A confirmed place in UCAS Conservatoires is a guaranteed unconditional offer as your first choice (GU1) and in UCAS and UCAS Teacher Training it is an unconditional firm (UF) place. If you receive more than one confirmed place, UCAS will ask you to accept one offer and withdraw from any others.

We have a number of policies and statements which you should read when applying to study at the Royal Conservatoire.

Please select the links below to read each policy.

• Feedback policy
• Equality, diversity and inclusion
• Applicants with disabilities
• Guidance for applicants with criminal convictions
• Admissions policy