2021 Sound and Music Summer School

How does it work?

During the residential, you’ll be able to work in your own style of music-making, whilst also working with other composers and musicians to explore new and different ways of making music. At the end of the week, your new piece of music will be performed by professional musicians and you’ll receive a recording of the piece of work you have created!

Who is it for?

The Sound and Music Summer School is for young composers and creative musicians aged 14-18. You need to be a UK resident or a UK citizen living overseas. As this is such a unique week, we may give priority to people who haven’t been before over those who have attended two previous Summer Schools.

Where, when, how much?

The course takes place in early August each year at the Purcell School, one of the oldest specialist music schools in the UK located in the town of Bushey, South Hertfordshire.

We ask those who can afford it for £500 to attend the Sound and Music Summer School, which covers all tutoring, accommodation, food and activities. 

I’m not sure if I can afford that; can I get financial support?

Here at Sound and Music, we are determined that everyone who is accepted on the course should be able to attend regardless of their family’s financial circumstances and have funding available should you need help with the cost.

As a guide, young people from families on low incomes claiming benefits will not be expected to pay anything; the means tested grant scheme also helps those families on higher incomes who may also be finding it hard to make ends meet.

Also this year, Faber Music are generously offering ten bursaries to cover the full costs for young people who face barriers to taking part due to their family’s financial circumstances.

If you have any questions about the cost of the Summer School then please contact us and we will be happy to talk to you – we really do want to help you to come and have the most amazing week of music-making!

Access requirements 

We are committed to being inclusive of young deaf and disabled people, and anyone with access requirements. You are welcome to get in touch at any stage of the application process to have a chat about how we can best support you to make the most of the week. 

COVID-19 

We hope that this year’s course will be residential, but our Plan B is to hold the week online, if COVID-19 is still restricting our lives in August. If this happens, we will be building on the success of last year’s course; don’t let the uncertainty stop you applying now! 

Help with equipment 

We know that a lack of equipment can be a barrier to taking part in online activities for some people. If we have to run the course online, we will support anyone who doesn’t have equipment and resources to get access to it for the week so that they can still take part. 

Eligibility 

The Summer School is open to anyone who is a British Citizen, or who is resident in the UK. We select the 75 participants for the Summer School after the closing date (April 6) – places are not allocated on a first come, first served basis. 

Whilst there is a selection process, we hope that this won’t put you off from applying. We welcome young composers of all levels of development. We’re looking for people who have tried composing and want to learn more, who can demonstrate their talent for composing and who are enthusiastic about creating their own, original music. 

How do I apply? 

You should apply online by completing our Application form and Equal opportunities form; please see our How to Apply page for more details.

Submitting scores and recordings

We would prefer to see a written score as part of your application, but this isn’t essential, for example, if you’re creating electronic music. Remember that a score could be presented in lots of different formats – you can check out some example scores here.

Submitting more than one piece of music doesn’t gain any advantage, although the selection panel may find a second piece of interest if it is very different to the first in some way. If you haven’t sent a score, it is essential that you upload a recording of a piece of your music.  

All submitted scores should be in PDF format, and recordings should ideally be in MP3. 

If you can’t upload your files to the online application form for some reason, then it’s fine to e-mail them to education@soundandmusic.org 

How do I apply?

Applications for 2021 have now opened, and will close on Tuesday 6th April at noon.  

To apply, you will need to complete: 

• Online application form 
• Equal opportunities form 

Please note: the online application form does not allow you to save your work and return to it at a later stage. We recommend that you gather together all the information you need to make the application before you start to complete the form.

We also suggest that you read our How to Apply page before starting your application, to see what information and examples of your music we'll need to see. 

If you’d like more information about how the Summer School works, financial support options or anything else, please see our FAQ’s page.

Alternatively, feel free to email education@soundandmusic.org with any questions you have about the course or the application process.

Need some support?

We are determined that everyone who is accepted on the course should be able to attend regardless of their family’s financial circumstances. Contact us if you would like more information on how we can help.

We are committed to being inclusive of young deaf and disabled people, and anyone with access requirements. You are welcome to get in touch at any stage of the application process to have a chat about how we can best support you to make the most of the week.