Best place to study (for Music/ OVERALL) 2016??

KCL is by far the most reputable of those departments you've listed. It is worth considering the cost side of being at a London university though. Have you actually visited any of the unis you've listed? Coz as airy fairy as it sounds, sometimes just by attending an applicants' open day, you can get a vibe off a department/a uni and that can be crucial in deciding. Like when I visited KCL, I personally felt uncomfortable there. That's not to say it's a bad department or that people aren't/can't be happy there though, it's a very individual thing.

When I was looking at undergraduate institutions, my understanding was that at Bristol, there was a heavy focus on composition and not the pastiche/tonal type. I have no interest in that, so I did not apply. That may have changed by now though...

I'm currently a PhD student at Royal Holloway. Whilst I can't speak very much at all about the undergraduate experience, I can vouch for it being one of the top Music departments in the country and that there is quite a good breadth of undergraduate modules. It's got a very good atmosphere and there's an interesting variety of ensembles to join (Balkan ensemble and gamelan ensemble, as well as the more traditional Western art music ones). They have five ethnomusicologists, which was appealing to me when looking at postgrad level, but perhaps less interesting for a prospective undergraduate. Their chapel choir is not quite up there with the Oxbridge ones but is not that far behind, from my understanding :yes:

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Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd

Their chapel choir is not quite up there with the Oxbridge ones but is not that far behind, from my understanding :yes:

On chapel choirs, how forgiving are Oxbridge to students who are interested, keen, inexperienced and tone deaf?

Reply 7

Original post by Mathstatician

On chapel choirs, how forgiving are Oxbridge to students who are interested, keen, inexperienced and tone deaf?

Well if you're tone deaf then obviously you're not going to get into an auditioning choir! :tongue:

You don't need to necessarily have had proper choral training or prior experience of being in a chapel choir, though. You need to be a good singer and a reasonable sight-singer/sightreader, and pass the audition :yes:

Reply 8

Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd

Well if you're tone deaf then obviously you're not going to get into an auditioning choir! :tongue:

You don't need to necessarily have had proper choral training or prior experience of being in a chapel choir, though. You need to be a good singer and a reasonable sight-singer/sightreader, and pass the audition :yes:

Haha. Got it!

My real question is: Are there more casual groups, or is the thought of having Sandpeople-Esque sounds coming from the chapel absolutely not acceptable? I understand sports and other activities are slightly more forgiving in that there is room for the uncoordinated sportsman, etc. But it seems as though the music scene has standards :lol:

Reply 9

Original post by Mathstatician

Haha. Got it!

My real question is: Are there more casual groups, or is the thought of having Sandpeople-Esque sounds coming from the chapel absolutely not acceptable? I understand sports and other activities are slightly more forgiving in that there is room for the uncoordinated sportsman, etc. But it seems as though the music scene has standards :lol:

If you're asking about Oxbridge specifically, everything there works on two levels: uni-wide, but also at college level. Most college ensembles (chapel choirs aside) are non-auditioning and are more informal and accessible at many different levels. They may do a concert in the chapel but would probably not usually rehearse or sing/play in there.

Most uni-wide music ensembles (though not all) are auditioning. So you have to be of a certain standard/level of proficiency to get past the audition stage. Or (in my case), have a friend in a position of power who can sneak you in :ahee:

Reply 10

Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd

If you're asking about Oxbridge specifically, everything there works on two levels: uni-wide, but also at college level. Most college ensembles (chapel choirs aside) are non-auditioning and are more informal and accessible at many different levels. They may do a concert in the chapel but would probably not usually rehearse or sing/play in there.

Most uni-wide music ensembles (though not all) are auditioning. So you have to be of a certain standard/level of proficiency to get past the audition stage. Or (in my case), have a friend in a position of power who can sneak you in :ahee:

I'm unable to rep you again but perhaps thats a good thing; Nobody ever does this properly anymore:

Thank you very much. I'm now much more excited about my chances, even if the call to sing ends up being more like a primate's call to a mate. It looks fun. And I regret not having tried before so why not eh? :biggrin:

Hope you have a great evening!

Reply 11

@The_Lonely_Goatherd

Also, shot in the dark but do you know who this gorgeous soprano soloist is?

[video="youtube;IA88AS6Wy_4"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA88AS6Wy_4[/video]

Edit: Man, every time. Goosebumps. How..?

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 12