Please see Filling In Your Application For UK Conservatoires via UCAS for further assistance with this process.
These details are for students applying to start their studies at the Academy in September 2025.
Until specified otherwise, these requirements also apply for auditions in future years. Some audition requirements may change: please check back here regularly. You are welcome to contact the Admissions team (admissions@ram.ac.uk) or the department administrator if you have any queries.
2 October, 6pm UK time:
Deadline for all candidates for London or Video auditions to submit their UCAS Conservatoires application.
Then:
25 October, midday UK time:
1 November, midday UK time:
Auditions for the Percussion department are held in London. We regret it may not be possible to audition candidates for Timpani & Percussion at our other centres because of limitations at the host venues.
In London the auditions will last for 30 minutes (undergraduate) or 45 minutes (postgraduate). As time is limited, you may be interrupted before you have performed a complete piece.
Postgraduate students may opt to specialise in timpani only or percussion only, however the audition requires you to perform the timpani repertoire and also the percussion repertoire detailed below.
These instruments will be available at the London auditions:
Adams 4 Octave Xylophone
Musser 3 Octave ProVibe
Yamaha 5 Octave Marimba
Pearl Philharmonic 14x5 Side Drum
Ludwig Pro Symphonic and Premier timpani, for the candidate to choose pedals of their choice.
BMus and Gap Year
Tchaikovsky: Symphony no.4, 1st movement, 7th bar after F to L and 2 bars before T to 3 bars before U (available in “Modern Method for Timpani”, Saul Goodman, Belwin Mills)
Hindemith: Sinfonische Metamorphosen - Turandot Scherzo (available in “Test Pieces for Orchestral Auditions”, Schott)
Frank Martin: Concerto pour 7 Instruments à Vent, Timbales, Batterie et Orchestre à Cordes (available in “Test Pieces for Orchestral Auditions”, Schott)
You will be required to perform a roll on the highest drum, going from pianissimo to fortissimo and back down to pianissimo over 4 bars of 4/4 at crotchet = 60.
Xylophone
Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky
(available in the Goldenberg book)
Gershwin: Porgy & Bess
(available in “Test Pieces for Orchestral Auditions”, Schott)
Britten: Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
(available in “Test Pieces for Orchestral Auditions”, Schott)
Side Drum
Rimsky-Korsakov: Sheherazade, Movements 3 & 4
(available in “Test Pieces for Orchestral Auditions”, Schott)
Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf
(available in “Test Pieces for Orchestral Auditions”, Schott)
Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol
(available in the Goldenberg book)
A piece of your own choice on either Xylophone, Marimba or Vibraphone (voluntary)
You may be asked to have a subsequent interview with one of the undergraduate academic staff, during which you can discuss your study plans. As part of the interview you may be asked some questions about a short extract of music, and be asked to take some aural skills assessments consisting of a sight-singing test and some of the following:Sorry, we cannot issue specimen tests.
These are all available in “Test Pieces for Orchestral Auditions”, Schott.
Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra, movement 4
R Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier (Big Waltz)
Hindemith: Sinfonische Metamorphosen, Turandot Scherzo
You will be required to perform a roll on the highest drum, going from pianissimo to fortissimo and back down to pianissimo over 4 bars of 4/4 at crotchet = 60.
Xylophone
Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky
(available in the Goldenberg book: xylophone part only)
Gershwin: Porgy & Bess
(available in “Test Pieces for Orchestral Auditions”, Schott)
Hindemith: Kammermusik, Movements 1 & 4
(available in “Test Pieces for Orchestral Auditions”, Schott)
Vibraphone
Bernstein: Cool, West Side Story (available in “Test Pieces for Orchestral Auditions”, Schott)
Side Drum
Rimsky-Korsakov: Sheherazade, Movements 3 & 4 (available in “Test Pieces for Orchestral Auditions”, Schott
Ravel: Rhapsodie Espagnol, Movements 3 & 4 (available in Hathway, Snare drum book)
Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol (available in the Goldenberg book)
Suppé: Pique Dame (available in the Goldenberg book)
A piece of your own choice on either Xylophone, Marimba or Vibraphone.
You may be asked to have a subsequent interview with one of the postgraduate programme tutors where you can discuss your study plans.
Written requirements
Applicants for the Master of Music (MMus), Professional Diploma (ProfDip) and Advanced Diploma (Performance) courses need to submit written requirements, please view these on the entry requirements page of the website. There are no academic written requirements for MA or PGCert. All Master of Music candidates are automatically considered for Master of Arts, so if you are also interested in MA study you should only apply for MMus because there will only be one audition.
