Ensembles & choirs

Choirs

Junior Choir

A choir for all our youngest students in school years 6 and below.

Upper Voices

A high-voice choir for younger students in school years 7 to 10. Membership is by invitation and audition.

Chamber Choir

A mixed-voice choir for our older and most advanced singers. Membership by invitation and audition for those in school years 11 to 13.

Advanced Vocal Ensemble

A flagship vocal ensemble, membership by invitation for our oldest and most advanced singers.

Orchestras

Sinfonietta & String Orchestra

Orchestras of violins, violas, cellos and basses for our younger students aged 8 to 13.

Symphonic Wind Orchestra

An orchestra of wind/brass/percussion instruments for students aged 8 to 17.

Sinfonia 

A full symphonic orchestra (strings/harps/wind/brass/perc) for students aged 11 to 18.

Symphony Orchestra 

A full symphonic orchestra (instruments as Sinfonia) for older students, aged 15 to 18.

Chamber Orchestra 

A flagship string orchestra, membership by invitation for our oldest and most advanced string players.

Seating placements

Seating plans are made after careful discussion between the Head of Junior Programmes, relevant conductors, tutors and teachers. They are not based only on ability. It is important to have players of all abilities placed throughout a section and throughout our various ensembles so please do not view your ensemble placement competitively or negatively. Remember that we always have the best interests of our students at heart.

Ensemble placings can change at any time due to need, or to give players different experiences. If you are unhappy with your placement you should speak to your section tutor in the first instance.

Ensemble guidelines

The PDF below is relevant for participants of all RCMJD ensembles, including chamber groups, choirs and orchestras. All JD students are encouraged to read them carefully.

RCMJD ensemble guidelines

Concert dress

Part of being a good performer is looking like a good performer so please make sure you dress carefully and appropriately for concerts, taking care to look neat, tidy and professional before you step onto the stage.

We have different concert dress for different ensembles and it is your responsibility to make sure you are wearing the correct clothes depending on which group you are performing in.

Please see the information below to find out the concert dress requirements for each ensemble.

Senior Groups
Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Choir, Advanced Vocal Ensemble, Brass Dectet, Wind Octet/Dectet, Saxophone Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Ensembles, Senior Chamber Ensembles (see below)

• Ankle length dress/skirt/trousers (no jeans)
• Smart black top/shirt
• Black socks/tights, black shoes (no trainers)
• No midriffs on display. Knee length/short skirts with black tights are not acceptable
• Shoulders/upper arms should be covered; dresses or tops with thin straps must be worn with a cardigan/jacket

Junior Groups
Sinfonia, Sinfonietta, String Orchestra, Symphonic Wind Orchestra, Upper Voices, Junior Choir, Brass Ensemble, Junior Chamber Ensembles (see below)

• Ankle length dress/skirt/trousers (no jeans)
• Smart white top/shirt
• Black socks/tights, black shoes (no trainers)
• No midriffs on display. Knee length/short skirts with black tights are not acceptable
• Shoulders/upper arms should be covered; dresses or tops with thin straps must be worn with a cardigan/jacket

Chamber Groups

Smaller groups will normally wear the same concert dress as they would for orchestra concerts. As a general rule this means older students (year 12 and above) wear all black and younger students (years 11 and below) wear black and white. However, groups wishing to wear something different for their performance should first discuss this with their tutor, who will then liaise with the RCMJD Performance Manager.

Solo performances (including competitions)

• Suit or dark trousers/plain shirt/tie (waistcoat/jacket optional)
• Smart long dress or long skirt/trousers and blouse/shirt
• RCMJD concert dress, as above
• (NB as with RCMJD concert dress, jeans, trainers, shorter skirts/trousers/dresses are not acceptable; midriffs/shoulders/upper arms must be covered)