1. Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures
  2. School of Music
  3. Undergraduate
  4. Performance and composition opportunities

Performance and composition opportunities

Student playing steinway piano

Ensembles

Choral, orchestral, new music and band projects are an important part of modules in the School, however there are opportunities to get involved with Leeds University Union’s performance societies too. 

You could audition to play a concerto, find a string quartet or a funk band, play in symphonic winds, sing in an opera, audition for Big Band, play Indonesian gamelan, join Leeds Baroque Orchestra/Choir, or try your hand at conducting.

Solo performance 

If you are studying the BMus(Performance) course, you must take solo performance as part of your degree.

For other courses, solo performance is an option (you’ll need to be grade 7 distinction/grade 8 merit standard) and you’ll receive individual lesson funding as part of your module, have the services of our resident pianist for classes, concerts and exams, and get opportunities to try out repertoire during performance classes. 

Practice facilities are open seven days a week, and there are percussion, early keyboard/orchestral instruments and a chamber organ available.

We offer masterclasses, and support musicians’ health through a programme of workshops and events. Student performers also regularly feature in the concert series.

Musical Performance Showreel 

Choral music, opera and musical theatre

The Opera Society mounts productions each year, and there are several musical-theatre societies in the Union.

Through our DARE partnership with Opera North, you’ll get access to backstage company activities as well as performances.

You might want to audition for the Clothworkers Consort of Leeds, a high-quality chamber choir based in the School which performs regularly and also tours and records.

The School regularly mounts choral projects, and there are vocal scholarships available in local churches. Many musical-theatre opportunities are available through school contacts and activities, both on campus and throughout the region.

Choral and organ scholarships

  • Leeds Cathedral offers choral scholarships and there are also awards for organists and choral conductors.
  • Leeds Minster offers scholarships for singers.
  • Bradford Cathedral offers some undergraduate or postgraduate choral scholarships; to find out more please contact the Director of Music, Alex Woodrow.
  • Ilkley Choral Society offers choral scholarships for singers
  • An organ scholarship is offered for suitably qualified applicants at St. Andrew’s United Reformed Church, Roundhay (3-manual Abbot and Smith Organ). Please contact David Pickering.
  • There may also be paid opportunities available for Sunday morning services at St. Peters, Sicklinghall, for flautists/violinists/singers and pianists/organists. Please contact music@leeds.ac.uk.

Composition

LS Two, the School’s music ensemble, performs student composition work, as well as challenging new music at the highest level. Composers and performers regularly come to work with students. 

There are also opportunities for developing skills in electronic music performance, computer music composition, and sound recording practice. 

You’ll be able to attend concerts, workshops, research seminars and listening groups hosted specifically for the University’s community of composition students and researchers.

Creative and experimental approaches to performing and composing with analogue synthesizers, computer software or other forms of music technology are encouraged, and you’ll have opportunities to have your work performed on the School’s concert hall sound diffusion system.