Composition

In-person Auditions

Prior to audition, you must apply via UCAS Conservatoires. All auditions will be held in London at our Music Faculty between mid-November and mid-December. The address for the Music Faculty is: Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, King Charles Court, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London SE10 9JF.

We will endeavour to schedule your audition as soon as possible and will update you with your audition date and time via UCAS Conservatoires and email. If you have any issues making this time, please let us know as soon as possible on the email on this page.

Audition Requirements

• All auditions will include a short discussion with the panel
• We do not have a dress code for auditions
• Where applicable an accompanist will be provided for you, you will have a rehearsal time of around 10 minutes with the accompanist prior to your audition. If you are bringing your own accompanist, let us know as soon as possible on the email below.
• If you have any accessibility requirements, please contact StudentServicesEnquiries@trinitylaban.ac.uk.
• Auditions do not include a written paper
• If you have also applied for BA Music Performance and Industry, details will be sent separately. You can find information on audition requirements and submission deadlines here.

Composition applicants use Embark to submit portfolios. Again, you can upload multiple files to create your portfolio of between 3 and 6 compositions. All styles are acceptable and unfinished works may be included. The portfolio must illustrate your ability to produce notated scores and recordings should be submitted where possible.

The deadline for portfolio submission is 28 October 2022.

Your portfolio will be assessed according to:

– Compositional techniques

– Writing for instruments/voice

– Analysis

– Harmonisation

The audition will take the form of a discussion of this portfolio. You will be asked to perform for 2-3 minutes on an instrument of your own choice in any style.

Recorded Auditions

Prior to submitting a recorded audition, you must apply via UCAS Conservatoires. Recordings will not be considered until a UCAS  Conservatoires application has been submitted. When asked on UCAS Conservatoires where you wish to audition, simply click ‘recorded audition’ or ‘online’. You can watch our tutorial on submitting your UCAS Conservatoires application, for step-by-step instructions. Once you’ve submitted your application, our admissions team will be in touch with further information. Please keep an eye on your emails and check your spam inbox.

The deadline for submission of recorded audition materials is 28 October 2022.

Recording Your Audition

There should be two elements to your recording: a speech and a performance (except for composition – please see below). You must submit a video recording of your speech and performance, and not only an audio recording. We do not require high production recordings, normally a recording on a phone or digital camera will suffice, but please check that the audio and video quality is clear before submitting your auditions.

We recommend sourcing a live accompanist if possible, however we can accept pre-recorded backing tracks and unaccompanied recordings.  If you are playing with others, please make it clear who you are in the recording. There is no dress code for recorded auditions.

For the speech, you should record a passage of yourself speaking in English. For your speech you should:

• Introduce yourself by name
• Talk about your musical background and the training you’ve had
• Talk about your musical ambitions and your reasons for applying for the programme of study.

For the performance, you should record two to three works (or extracts) – further information on instrument requirements are below. Please note that the panel will wish to have some idea of the range of your ability, so provide works that demonstrate contrasting musical styles and instrumental/vocal technique.

You may be invited to an online discussion with the panel via Zoom, you will be updated via email if this has been scheduled.

Composition applicants use Embark to submit portfolios. Again, you can upload multiple files to create your portfolio of between 3 and 6 compositions. All styles are acceptable and unfinished works may be included. The portfolio must illustrate your ability to produce notated scores and recordings should be submitted where possible. Unlike in-person auditions, there is no performance requirement for online assessment, however you may submit a short solo performance if you wish.

Submitting Your Audition on Embark

You must submit your audition via Embark. To submit a recorded audition, you will first need to create an account before submitting your recordings or portfolio. For step-by-step guidance on submitting your recorded auditions, watch our Embark tutorial.

You can submit multiple files to Embark (i.e. your audition does not need to be submitted as one take). If you have any issues with uploading your files, you can also upload your files to a video sharing website (such as YouTube or Vimeo) and paste the links into a word or PDF document to upload into the Additional Documents section.

You do not need to submit materials for every section, e.g. you only need to submit Transcripts or Additional Documents if you would like the panel to see these.

There are no written papers for auditions.

Please note, if the performance on the recording is found not to be your own, the place will be withdrawn immediately and no fees will be refunded.