Woodwind students playing oboe and flute in rehearsal

Woodwind

Courses availableLatest from the Woodwind FacultyContact the Woodwind Faculty

'Our students are encouraged to develop their own musical voice in a collaborative and stimulating environment and are supported by a team of professors who are eminent musicians in their fields.’

Marie Lloyd, Head of Woodwind

The Woodwind Faculty and the wider RCM community foster a culture of nurturing all students in a supportive environment. You are encouraged to grow into a confident and imaginative performer, taking advantage of all the opportunities available to you. 

Our outstanding team of woodwind professors combine careers as eminent performers with a passion and dedication for teaching and many hold principal positions in major orchestras. In addition to one-to-one lessons, our students enjoy regular performance and ensemble classes, unlimited chamber coaching, orchestral playing and masterclasses with distinguished international musicians.

One-to-one lessons

One-to-one lessons are at the very heart of every RCM student's learning experience. Many of our world-class woodwind professors are principal players in major orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and English National Opera Orchestra, as well as soloists and members of well-known ensembles.

Meet the professors

Performance opportunities

RCM students enjoy a wide variety of performance opportunities as part of the College’s diverse events calendar, which includes hundreds of events each year.

All woodwind students have the chance to play in our orchestras, which include the RCM Philharmonic, the RCM Symphony Orchestra and the RCM Opera Orchestra. Here, students often have the opportunity to work with some of the finest conductors in the world. Recent visitors have included Joana Carneiro, Sakari Oramo, Sir Antonio Pappano, Chloé van Soeterstède, Jac van Steen, John Wilson and Thomas Zehetmair. We also have our own Wind Ensemble, which often commissions new works.

Students have the chance to perform concertos with RCM orchestras. Previous performances have included Mozart's Bassoon Concerto, Ibert's Flute Concerto, Ivan Fedele's Clarinet Concerto, Mendelssohn's Concert Piece for Clarinet and Basset Horn and Weber's Concerto for Bassoon in F major.

Woodwind students are encouraged to form your own ensembles, and can benefit from unlimited chamber coaching and various opportunities to perform in small groups, as part of the RCM’s Chamber Music concert series and in venues across London.

'Concerts and performance classes provide opportunities to learn as a musician and to thrive. From day one I have felt so inspired by the positive and supportive atmosphere.'

Rianna Henriques, Bachelor of Music

'Studying in the Woodwind department is such a joy! Everyone is welcoming and encouraging and for us in this department, we strive to build a close-knit community that regularly performs together.'  

Christopher Michie, Master of Performance

'The Woodwind Faculty is a group of incredibly driven individuals who, whilst improving themselves, offer support and help each other flourish.' 

Robbie Marrs, Bachelor of Music

'The Woodwind Faculty is a dynamic, collaborative and supportive community that allows each person to explore and thrive.' 

Sarah Jenkins, Master of Performance

Two saxophonists performing in a chamber concert

Two saxophonists playing

A person playing the flute in front of an orchestra, with a conductor

Flautist rehearsing with the RCM Symphony Orchestra

Two students playing the piccolo towards each other

Piccolo players in rehearsal

A bassoonist smiling in rehearsal with other bassoons in view

Bassoons in rehearsal (c) Patrick Harrison

A flautist with a harpist in the background, performing at the Royal Academy of Art

Flautist performing at the Royal Academy of Art

A cor anglais player playing in a concert

Cor anglais player performs with the RCM Symphony Orchestra

Recent visiting artists

Our students enjoy regular masterclasses with high-profile visitors including:

Quintets

  • The Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet
  • The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Wind Quintet

Flute

  • Clara Andrada de la Calle
  • Juliette Bausor
  • Samuel Coles
  • Sir James Galway

Oboe

  • Nick Deutsch
  • Elaine Douvas
  • Miriam Pastor Burgos
  • Jacques Tys
  • Ramón Ortega Quero

Clarinet 

  • Paolo De Gaspari
  • Romain Guyot
  • Maximiliano Martín
  • Anthony McGill

Bassoon

  • Matthew Wilkie
  • Ole Kristian Dahl
  • Giorgio Mandolesi
  • Gustavo Núñez

Saxophone

  • Amy Dickson
  • Arno Bornkamp
  • Melanie Henry
  • Gerard McChrystal
  • Naomi Sullivan
  • Anna Marie Wytko
  • Nikita Zimin

Recent successes

Our students are regularly awarded prizes at major national and international competitions. Recent prizes have been awarded by:

  • Stockholm International Music Competition
  • Royal Over-Seas League Competition

Career development

The RCM’s Creative Careers Centre, which is recognised internationally for its innovative approach to supporting young musicians, provides an unparalleled service to current students and recent alumni. The dedicated team partners with leading consultants, reputable arts organisations and local communities, delivering unique career-building opportunities and a direct route to the music industry.

The work of the Creative Careers Centre allows students to discover their professional identity, gain hands-on experience and new skills, develop an entrepreneurial mindset and build a fulfilling professional portfolio.

Extensive performance and teaching opportunities are available, as well as valuable guidance on CV and biography writing, concert programming, communication skills, project management, marketing and publicity, online promotion, financial matters and how to develop a business idea.

Find out more about the Creative Careers Centre

Facilities

The Royal College of Music is proud to offer its students fantastic practice and performance facilities with resources to support teaching and learning. We continually improve our facilities to ensure RCM students have the best opportunities.

Explore our facilities with a video tour of the RCM

Key facilities at the RCM include:

  • The Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall — our primary performance venue for orchestras and large ensembles
  • Our 400-seat Britten Theatre, home to the RCM’s thriving Opera Studio
  • A new Performance Hall, offering an alternative space for ensembles, with a retractable stage, Fazioli grand piano and variable acoustics
  • Intimate spaces for solo and chamber performance in our Performance Studio and Parry Rooms
  • Sound-proofed Amadeus Music Pods for private practice
  • A purpose-built percussion suite – you can watch a video tour on YouTube
  • Over 160 pianos, including 60 grand pianos and 20 early keyboards, as well as organ rooms
  • A Blüthner Practice Suite which holds ten Blüthner Model A upright pianos
  • Instrument surgeries including luthier services
  • RCM Studios: a commercial-grade facility, enabling live broadcasts around the world
  • The Digital Innovation Lab: a state-of-the-art recording and mixing suite
  • The RCM Library has more than 200,000 scores, books and recordings in its lending collection, as well as access to more than 400 music journals
  • The RCM Museum holds more than 14,000 instruments, portraits and images, as well as a climate-controlled performance space and dedicated research facility

Find out more about RCM facilities

Graduate destinations

RCM woodwind graduates enjoy unrivalled success in a range of professional settings. RCM musicians have been awarded principal woodwind positions with:

  • Royal Opera House
  • Sydney Symphony Orchestra
  • Shanghai Symphony Orchestra
  • Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
  • KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Great Falls Symphony Orchestra (Montana)
  • RTÉ Concert Orchestra
  • Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
  • Philharmonia Orchestra
  • English National Opera Orchestra
  • London Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
  • Orchestra of Scottish Opera

Celebrated alumni

Flute

  • Sir James Galway

Oboe

  • Evelyn Barbirolli
  • Léon Goossens 

Clarinet

  • Michael Collins
  • Dame Thea King
  • Gervase de Peyer
  • Frederick Thurston

Bassoon

  • Roger Birnstingl
  • Archie Camden

Saxophone

  • John Harle
  • Amy Dickson

Courses available

Undergraduate

Bachelor of Music, BMus(Hons)

Postgraduate

Master of Performance, MPerf

Master of Music in Performance, MMus(Perf)

Artist Diploma in Performance, ArtDip

Audition requirements

Fellowships available

Mills Williams Junior Fellowship

Constant & Kit Lambert Junior Fellowship

Please note that the audition and application process for Fellowships is not the same as it is for our courses. Please refer to the individual Fellowship pages for more details.

Contact the Woodwind Faculty

If you have any general queries about woodwind at the RCM please contact our Woodwind Faculty Administration team. If you have any queries about auditions or the admissions process, please contact our Admissions team.

Woodwind Faculty Administration

General enquiries about the operation of the faculty and consultation lessons

woodwind@rcm.ac.uk

Admissions

Admissions and general audition enquiries

+44 (0)20 7591 4362

admissions@rcm.ac.uk

Performance opportunities

Life at the RCM

Back to top