Young Musicians' Summer School course content

There is nothing quite like playing in an orchestra. So many people, so many parts, all playing together to create one beautiful sound with soaring melodies and beautiful harmonies. You’ll meet new friends and work together with them to develop your listening and ensemble playing skills. This specially-formed ‘orchestra’ like none other will explore music from a variety of genres (such as film, symphonic music and jazz) and be involved in a special collaboration.

Discover different approaches to writing music and improvisation to create your own music from scratch in a hands-on way. This option is ideal for anyone who is interesting in creating music collaboratively with other musicians and you don’t need to be able to read music to join in. You just need to be able to play any instrument (including voice and music tech), be open to collaborating and performing as part of a group, and have an adventurous spirit. Please note, subject to demand, there may be separate ensemble groups for less experienced and more advanced participants.

Explore what it’s like to play in a band, working with other like-minded musicians to create something new. Together you will write and rehearse a shared piece of music, each person bringing their own individual spice into the mix. Led by one of the UK’s most pioneering contemporary music producers, this workshop is aimed at singers, instrumentalists and song-writers keen to expand their horizons as performers.

Guided by one of the UK’s leading figures of jazz, in these hands-on sessions, you will explore the rhythmic, harmonic and melodic foundations of jazz to help find your own voice while jamming as part of a group. Develop your improvisation skills and experience the rush of making music in the moment. Whether you’ve played lots of jazz or are just curious to develop your interest, this workshop is suitable for all adventurous musicians, whatever your instrument. Please note: subject to demand, there may be separate workshop options for less experienced and more advanced participants.

Get your creative ideas flowing for writing for the big screen with expert hints and tips to bring your music to life. You will learn how to use Logic Pro to create your score using samples, record instruments in the studio, and synchronise your music to film clips. So whether you’re an experienced composer, or just starting to write your own music and keen to have a go at creating your own film score, this option is for you. Please note, participants doing this longer-length workshop will therefore only get to do one skills building option.

Working together as a group, your challenge is to write a song to a pop brief across the course of a single day, ready to present to an imaginary label/music publisher at the end of the process. With expert advice on hand to guide you, this workshop will be fun, fast-paced and hands-on.

Explore looping stations with your instrument, voice or anything that makes a noise. Looping is the art of seamlessly recording small sections of music and organising them to create whole arrangements. Looping stations are brilliant for creating repetitive music, but they can also be used to create longer pieces of music with multiple sections – that’s what we’ll explore in these sessions. Using instruments, vocals and samples, you’ll learn how to improvise, arrange and perform your own music using looping stations.

What is music? Who gets to decide what a musical instrument is or what constitutes performance? Working with one of the UK’s top sound artists and music educators, you will get to use electronics, coding and lots of musical imagination to create a piece of sound art specifically for – and taking inspiration from – the end-of-summer-school performance venue.

What are the ingredients of a brilliant song? Over a series of sessions, you will get to understand the different components of what makes a good song gel, and then apply this practically to develop your own songwriting ideas. Aimed at anyone already writing their own songs, as well as those keen to explore the creative urge.

A highly engaging, immersive learning experience into the rudiments and fundamentals of Afrobeat, across one intensive and energetic day, guided by Trinity Laban tutor and Afrobeat pioneer Dele Sosimi. The music is a rich blend of complex danceable funk grooves, indigenous Nigerian traditional music (including hi-life), African percussion, underpinning jazz horns and rhythmical call and response solos, choruses and singing.

Build your confidence and creative curiosity to make great music digitally. In this workshop you will explore a range of approaches for getting the sounds you want out of the technology at hand. Aimed at anyone who enjoys making music digitally or curious to fund out more.

Develop your vocal potential, building your confidence, self-awareness and all-round musicianship along the way. You’ll be doing lots of singing, looking at everything from performance and stagecraft to interpretation and collaboration. This workshop is aimed at anyone interested in singing solo, whether that’s fronting a band, performing your own material or singing covers, or tackling classical or musical theatre repertoire.

Bring yourself, your voice, curiosity and let’s have fun! Across a series of sessions led by a versatile and expert vocal director, form an instant summer school-choir, discover your own vocal potential and build a group sound, working towards a performance in the final day concert. Open to all young musicians, whatever your instrument.

Be part of an instant ensemble, unpicking and then performing a classic of minimalist music, expertly guided by the summer school’s visiting conductor. You’ll even get a chance to create your own musical response as part of the workshop. From the 1960s onwards minimalism, characterised by repetitive patterns, pulses and drones, and slow-changing harmony, has made a huge influence on modern music.