Career Progression

Career progression paths for young musicians

Students are required to present themselves for audition during their second year in any ensemble (except those in ensembles in the extreme right column in the chart below), if they wish to retain their membership.

Depending on the result of this audition, students will, either:

be offered a place in a more senior ensemble, or
be offered an extended place in their current ensemble or another at the same level, or
be asked to leave their ensemble and encouraged to audition again the following year.

Members of the audition panel will encourage students to discuss their preferred choice of ensemble and will try to offer places in line with these preferences. However, the panel will also need to take into account other factors which may influence the offer of places:

the need to offer pupils a wide experience of differing repertoire;
the need to allow as many pupils as possible opportunities of gaining this experience;
the need to place pupils in the ensemble which most closely matches their level of attainment and which would offer the pupil most opportunities to develop further.

We expect most pupils will progress through the ensembles quite naturally and students may still audition after one year, if they wish. However, this process should help to avoid the situation which sometimes occurs where developing musicians find it hard to progress because of logjams in more senior ensembles.

After auditions are completed, students in their second year of membership of an ensemble in the extreme right hand column, in the chart below, may be required, in exceptional circumstances, to move to a different ensemble, in order to make a place available for another suitable candidate.

Career Progression Chart:

Strings	Area Group	Junior String Orchestra	String Sinfonia	Concert Orchestra	Symphony Orchestra
Woodwind	Area Group	Training Wind Orchestra, Flute Choir	Concert Band, Training Jazz Ensemble, Flute Choir	Wind Orchestra, Concert Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble	Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble
Brass	Area Group	Training Wind Orchestra	Concert Band, Training Brass Band, Training Jazz Ensemble	Wind Orchestra, Concert Orchestra, Brass Band, Jazz Ensemble	Symphony Orchestra, Brass Band, Jazz Ensemble
Percussion	Area Group	Training Wind Orchestra	Concert Band, Training Brass Band, Training Jazz Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble	Wind Orchestra, Concert Orchestra, Brass Band, Jazz Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble	Symphony Orchestra, Brass Band, Jazz Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble
Voice	Area Choir				Young Voices
Recorder	School Group	Area Group		Recorder Ensemble	Recorder Sinfonia
Sitar / Tabla / Dhol	School Group	Area Group			Asian Classical Music Ensemble, Azaad Dhol Ensemble
Steel Pans	School Group	Area Group			Steel Band
Guitar	Area Group		Training Guitar Ensemble		Guitar Ensemble