Does anyone have any experience of the Junior Department or Saturday school of Trinity College of Music? My dd auditioned for them yesterday, and it sounded quite positive. We will know the decision in the next few days. My question really is, is Junior Trinity up to the same standard as the junior departments of other conservatoires? She also auditioned for Junior Guildhall this year, but, as she is voice first study, at 13 they said they would like her to come back next year when her voice is a year more mature. That seems to be the problem with auditioning with voice, unlike instruments you just have to wait until your voice has finished 'growing'. She is Grade 6 on both voice and flute, but wanted to go with singing as that is her first love.
Does this mean Trinity isn't quite as difficult to get into? I'm worried that maybe it isn't the best place for dd to spend the next 5 years or so, when she is really serious about striving for excellence in her music! I would be really grateful for an objective perspective on this!
I've just had an email to say that she has been successful for entry in September.................... (!)
I am pleased for her, and have been researching Trinity online, and it looks fine. The staff there were also very friendly. Maybe I'm worrying about nothing!
Very many congratulations. Just remember you can always audition for another JD if you feel Trinity isn't providing what you want. Trinity is good, my DD studied flute at RCM JD. I know students often audition for a different JD for 'sixth form'. Take what they have to offer and learn from it and evaluate it down the line. She has done really well at her age so let her enjoy it. Can she also take flute lessons or are they encouraging piano?
Heather AKA Taximom
I think she could take both flute and piano if we wanted that. We will have to apply for a full bursary, so will wait and see what they offer before deciding on her programme. She started piano lessons in February and passed grade 1 in April with a high distinction, so is taking grade 2 in July. I anticipated she would need keyboard skills fortunately! We are going to their open day tomorrow, so will find out more then, and it will be good to see them all in action.
I am sure you will find it uplifting, just to be the same as others, wanting their music rather than a 'fish out of water' for wanting to do music - just the same as dedicated dancers etc etc.
The Open Day was wonderful! It was such a shame we had to leave early as dd on chorister duty. The people, both staff and students were so helpful and clearly loved what they were doing. We observed the four part choir she would join, and saw some individual lessons, and a General Musicianship class which was very impressive. As dd will be nearly 14 when she goes in September she will be in the 14+ age group, and therefore will be in the more advanced GM classes, which I was a bit daunted by, but she said she could do, just not at that speed! She will also be in several chamber and vocal ensembles.
So far we are really impressed, and will definitely be taking up the place!
Thats really good news, glad you enjoyed the day. It certainly helps if you want to audition for Senior College but also for vocational school if you can put JD on your application. have fun and live the time there to the full!!
Congratulations to your daughter. My daughter went to Junior Trinity for 4 years. Initially she was also doing singing flute and piano like your daughter will be doing. We did however have a problem with the singing teachers, we tried 3 in the space of 6 months and none of them were any good they were all forcing her voice too much and she ended up having serious vocal problems. I had been warned about this by other Mums who had similar experiences but there is a reason why the other junior conservatoires don't take singers so young. We went to tcm primarily because we live in Greenwich so it fitted in very easily with other commitments. The staff are very friendly and for instrumentalists and vocal ensemble work it is great. If your daughter is already having 1:1 lessons & the teacher is able to teach at her level I would not go to TCM for this providing you are happy with the progress she is making etc etc.
Last year our daughter who is now 16 moved to RAM Junior department and is stilll with the same singing teacher she had before embarking on Junior TCM (we moved back to her after our daughter's vocal health was restored). If I were in your position I would certainly take up the place but see if your daughter's timetable can incorporate flute and piano lessons (she is clearly progressing at super rate with the piano) and flute and singing ensemble work.
Good luck and I hope your daughter gets as much out of it as mine did.
Thank you mummydiva for your reply. I'm sorry that your dd had an experience like that. It's interesting to hear the point of view from someone whose dc actually went to Trinity.
I do have more questions before we accept their offer. I would want to know as a vocal student just what my dd would be offered in the way of smaller group work, and if she would get any performance opportunities. If it is just the one to one tuition and the choir, really she has that already - she has a good singing teacher, and she sings in lots of choirs, including the National Youth Choir and cathedral choir. We did watch a one to one lesson yesterday, and the student was only about 10 years old, but the teacher seemed quite relaxed and good with the student, although was clearly teaching her technique as well. You may be right about changing her first study - I didn't mention she has just acquired an oboe too, and would ideally like tuition in that too! It also would depend on what they would offer us in the way of a bursary, and whether she could maybe accommodate all her lessons there......
Do you happen to know if she would have to audition again if we changed her first study? It is only an idea at the moment, but it would be good to get it right so she can settle in and get the greatest benefit from the opportunities.
I do think you have made a good point, and we just need to get the studies in the right order. Please PM me if you would like to, and maybe fill me in on those singing teachers.......!
I hope I haven't complicated things for you. I think they will accept a change of first study especially if she is already getting lots of singing opportunites out side of the conservatoire. In my opinion she would benefit much more from the instrumental side of things than vocally. We did have a few "tense" moments with the staff there but one of my friends had a son who changed from 1st study singing to cello before he started and they were fine with that as he was on a similar grade. Another advantage to keeping one study as an external option is that if things don't work out for whatever reason your daughter will maintain stability in one study rather than loosing it in both. Trinity offer various financial support options and we managed to get my daughters flute and piano lessons funded which saved us loads of money and therefore meant that we could afford for her to increase her private singing lessons which meant we won all ways.
I hope that things work out but as you say you have a good singing teacher and lots of voucal opportunity I would switch to first study flute.
Having decided to change dd's first study to flute, and maybe second study piano or oboe, on which she would be a beginner, I have had an email from Trinity to say that they won't allow it, they want her as a singer with flute second, and could offer piano but not oboe (not sure if the timetable is full on that one, or they didn't want to overload her, but it's a shame as it's an 'endangered instrument', and we would have got a discount!). Dd really doesn't want to leave her current singing teacher, and I now don't know what to do! It's a shame she ever auditioned as first study singer. I think at the moment my instinct is saying we could always leave it another year when she could audition as first study flute.........but we did love Trinity. Problems, problems!
I'm sure you are aware that the competition for JD places is high. It is unusual to change to first study orchestral instrument as they need to allocate places in orchestras, ensembles, chambers groups etc so may only have a limited number of orchestral instrument places because of this and clearly the standard for flute for example will be very high because of the high competition for these places. They can take many more first study pianists for example for this reason, singers at your dd's age are likely to be 'more rare'.
You could either give it a miss this time and think it all through - but be aware of the competition for an orchestral instrument place next time, or give it a go. You can always change your mind / express any concerns once engaged in the programme.
Just to update this post, since we accepted dd's place at Trinity I have hear of six other people whose dc's have been accepted after late auditions. A couple of them have only just taken up music, and another is older than my dd and on a much lower grade with only one instrument. Maybe I shouldn't be comparing, but I do know this wouldn't happen at the other conservatoires in London, and I beginning to think they may just take everyone who auditions. My dd is a bit disillusioned by this, as she feels it devalues her achievement somewhat. It also seems unusual that they are able to offer anyone a late audition.
Having sent the application form in to the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music in March, and initially being told we had missed the closing date, my dd has now been offered a late audition there as someone turned down the place they were offered and the administrator still had our form! She applied there with flute first study and piano second, but can also sing at the audition which will help as her singing is probably her strongest 'instrument'. We are going for this next Saturday (the 18th). It's a bit of a long shot, and, if offered a good bursary she will go to Trinity if she didn't get into RCM, but it would be great, and maybe a greater achievement if she were to be successful. I just don't want to put too much pressure on her when she is so busy with school exams plus three music exams and two productions this term!
Anyway, fingers crossed for the 18th!
