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GUILDHALL SCHOOL

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Music Tour

Explore our Music facilities with Guildhall students

Guildhall has a unique buzz and vibe to it…a great sense of community and friendliness

Rebecca Carson
BMus Flute

Guildhall has prepared me for a career in music therapy from searching for jobs to having brilliant work experience from the placements they chose for me

Emma Barber
MA Music Therapy

Guildhall had a crucial role in my success. The very high quality orchestral projects and masterclasses prepared me for professional life

Joao Seara
BMus Double Bass

Studying at the Guildhall School has been a life-changing and unforgettable adventure

Rebekah Carpio
MMus Clarinet (Orchestral Artistry)

The strong collaboration between departments has created a very special and supportive atmosphere

Meili Li
MMus Opera Studies

The teaching staff encourage the diversity that Guildhall is known for…there is something for everyone, regardless of style and influence

Oliver Leith
MMus Composition

Such incredible musicians and inspiring teachers and the opportunity to hear from world-class visiting artists has been invaluable

Vijay Prakash
MMus Jazz Trombone

During my time here, I organised an international conference based around my subject involving delegates from 4 continents

Emily Baines
DMus, ‘Mechanical Musical Instruments as a Source for Historical Performance’

In my first year, I was given the opportunity to play with the Britten-Pears Orchestra. We performed a number of concerts and our CD, recorded at one of those concerts, went on to win the BBC Music Magazine Award for Best Opera Recording.

Andrew McCoy
BMus Tenor Trombone

Working in pairs during the MA has helped me developer a deeper understanding of how opera composers work and how to spark their imaginations with a libretto.

Zoe Palmer (writer)
MA Opera Making and Writing

The relationship between the Barbican, BBC, and Guildhall is absolutely invaluable as it provides opportunities for students that cannot be found elsewhere.

Emiko Edwards
MPerf Piano

I feel that the people here really make the institution. I found Guildhall to be a really supportive environment that gave me room to explore, take risks, and mature as a mucisian, and as a human being.

Francesca Chiejina
MPerf Vocal Studies

Writing music for theatre has been a highlight of my time at Guildhall, as it has allowed me to explore an art form in which I have a great amount of interest and to work towards a professional finished product.

Alexander Hall
BMus Composition

Barbican is a key partner of Guildhall, and we can often get artists who perform there to do a masterclass or project with us, and we often do performances at Barbican events.

Ieva Vaitiekunaite
BMus Electronic Music

Whether it is in sit-in rehearsals, side-by-side projects or chamber orchestra sessions, the LSO players offer invaluable guidance and provide a glimpse of the exceptional standards we aspire towards.

Rees Webster
MPerf Oboe (Orchestral Artistry)

I was excited to cover a role in the UK premiere of Andrew Norman's 'A Trip to the Moon' in the Barbican, have a solo recital at LSO St Luke's and also to sing on the stage of Wigmore Hall.

Mirjam Mesak
MPerf Vocal Studies

I knew about the fantastic tutoring and resources, but the friendly and stimulating environment clinched it for me.

Eden Lonsdale
BMus Composition

I had the opportunity to play percussion with the Guildhall Studio Orchestra which gave me the chance to learn from, and play alongside, amazing senior players, as well as to perform with the incredible Liane Carroll.

Dave Adsett
BMus Jazz Drums

Guildhall is an institution that knows it has to be connected to the outside world - that's the key thing. It's not a bubble. It has roots in the city and in the world.

Jonathan Ferrucci
Artist Diploma Piano

One minute you could be playing in the Guildhall Studio Orchestra with jazz musicians, the next you could be playing in the opera pit, then the next minute you'll b e with actors doing the musical and then playing a symphony in the orchestra.

Millie Ashton
BMus Violin

The departmental philosophy of returning opera back to something that is essentially produced as part of a company is a really great thing.

Klara Kofen (writer)
MA Opera Making and Writing

The quality of teaching is amazingly high. With the guidance and help that I've been given, I feel my work has got dramatically better over a short space of time.

Lucy Armstrong (composer)
MA Opera Making and Writing

I set up a piano trio when I arrived, and we have weekly coaching with members of the Endellion Quartet and the faculty. It has been very rewarding.

Leo Popplewell
MMus Cello

It seemed like this was a place to go and experience a complete world of art and performance and see what happened - a place that really encouraged you to make things that you want to make.

Vittorio Angelone
BMus Percussion

Home > Music > Principal study

Principal Study

One-to-one principal study lies at the heart of the learning experience at the Guildhall School. We offer study in the following areas (some courses, including Chamber Music, Leadership, Music Therapy and Opera, are available at postgraduate level only):


You benefit from our partnerships

Our partnerships with five key organisations – the Barbican Centre, the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Opera House and the Academy of Ancient Music – ensure students benefit from links with the profession before they graduate. If you are a performer, there are opportunities to perform in some of London’s most prestigious venues. Whatever you study, we will encourage you to work with artists from other art forms, as well as those specialising in your area.

The Guildhall Community

At Guildhall School we offer a lively, friendly and collaborative community – a community in which we expect you to be a professional from day one. We ask for dedication and commitment, and in return we give you as many opportunities as we can. In our music programmes we are highly regarded for the quality and rigour of our teaching. We are also renowned for enabling innovation and experimentation and for our unwavering commitment to pushing boundaries in all areas.

Your development as a musician and performer

Our ultimate goal is to transform you, as a musician and performer, into a fully-fledged creative artist. We aim to make you the finest musician you can be, and in support of this we provide detailed developmental work on inner hearing, performance psychology and artistic interpretation. We also offer training in large-scale chamber music, new music, historically-informed performance and interdisciplinary practice.

During your time at Guildhall School, you will be challenged to become a highly imaginative interpreter and curator; a problem solver and free thinker capable of working at the highest levels of a fiercely competitive industry.

One-to-one and group sessions

At the heart of your training will be an ongoing series of intensive, one-to-one and small group sessions with our core staff of over 400 practitioners and teachers. You will also gain access and exposure to international artists, whose calibre is unequalled within the sector. By working side by side with the finest visiting international performers, composers and conductors, you will embark on a learning curve which accelerates your development exponentially. Indeed, this exposure is designed to help you hone your skills and develop your responses to performance, giving you the opportunity to fulfil your potential and enrich your artistic life.

Undergraduates

A four-year programme leading to a Bachelor of Music degree with Honours, where at least two-thirds of the credit of each year is focused on Principal Study. You will have at least 30 individual lessons a year, and performance is central to the programme for everyone. Read more about the undergraduate BMus programme.

Postgraduates

We offer one of the world's most innovative packages of postgraduate study. Qualifications available include Guildhall Artist in Performance (including Orchestral Artistry), Composition and Leadership, Artist Diploma, DMus/PhD, MA in Music Therapy and MA in Opera Making and Writing in association with the Royal Opera House. Read more about our postgraduate programmes.