Royal Academy Of Music

I had a great experience at the masterclass with Rachel Podger. They also have an extensive museum of musical instruments.

The Academy was the perfect place for me to study - to be surrounded by world class musicians every day (both teachers, visitors and fellow students) was incredible. I would recommend the Academy to any aspiring musician who wants to work in a professional and stimulating environment and have great fun whilst doing it! The staff were always friendly and I had so many great musical experiences - even just within my first term. Thanks to the Academy for providing me with the best possible springboard to the music profession and for the best four years of my life so far!

The Royal Academy of Music is a wonderful building, with incredibly good facilities for teaching musicians. I studied here, and the teaching is unparalleled, it provided me with a wealth of skills that I use every day in my career, not only musically but socially and professionally as well. The building itself is incredibly historical, with many interesting antiques for the public to browse in the museum, a fantastic large scale performance platform in the spacious Duke's Hall, with a phenomenal newly built organ donated by Elton John. The small chamber music spaces are also acoustically brilliant, specifically in the David Josefowitz Recital Hall, where in summer you can come and watch the final recitals of the musicians who study here. There is a vast range of concerts that they provide (most for free!), as the numerous students have new and exciting programmes that they perform on a daily basis. The lunchtime recitals are a particular favourite, as the variety of works portrayed shows the increased diversity of musical interests that only students can have. I couldn't recommend the establishment any higher than saying that the people I worked with, the staff that taught me, and the building itself are all completely incomparable to other institutions.

I wouldn't change anything about the Academy - All the staff took time to get to know me and help me to the best of their abilities and I came out the other end with a degree I am proud of and friends I will keep forever. The building has a magical yet homely buzz about it and the music-making is of the highest standard I could have imagined. There is such a solid support network and community created by the presence of like-minded and hard-working people. I couldn't recommend this establishment highly enough.

The Academy is a fantastic place, not only to study music, but also to hear some of the most exciting young British and international musicians perform. There are concerts open to the public almost every day (many of them free!) and the quality of performance and repertoire is unmatched. The teachers are some of the most respected performers and pedagogues in the world, and student life is a good mixture of serious practice, curiosity in research, intensive lessons and lots of fun. I did two degrees here and would not have the (ever-expanding!) freelance career that I have now; I should thank them for the incredible amount of support I received, both financially and pastorally. This institution has launched the successful musical careers of so many of my colleagues and friends, and I whole-heartedly recommend coming to the building, whether as a student, teacher or listener.