Portfolio contents

Writing
Applicants for all fellowships are required to submit a portfolio to support their application. Following is a detailed breakdown of what that portfolio should contain.

Your portfolio should be similar to that which you might use in approaching an agent or a concert-promoting society.

2024-25 Applications

Fellowship applications for 2024-25 has now passed. Applications will reopen for 2025/26 Fellowships in Autumn 2024.

Front Sheet

This should include your name, contact address, telephone number and email address.

Letter of Application

Please indicate whether you wish to apply for:

  • Junior fellowships
  • Collaborative Piano Fellowships
  • Harpsichord and continuo fellowship
  • RCM String Quartet Fellowship

If you state that you wish to apply for a junior fellowship, you will automatically be considered for the Mills Williams and the Constant & Kit Lambert Junior Fellowships. Similarly, if you indicate interest in Collaborative Piano Fellowships you will be considered for all available fellowships in that category.

Your letter of application should include any background information that will support your application. Please include details of your specialism(s) and the name(s) of your current teacher(s). Please also let us know how you heard about the scheme.

Right to be in the UK

All applicants must confirm their status and right to be in the UK in their letter of application.

Should you be invited to interview, you will be required to bring original documentation, such as (visa, passport or leave to remain in the UK) confirming that you have permission to be in the UK.

Applicants for the Mills Williams Junior Fellowship or the Constant & Kit Lambert Junior Fellowship must be studying or planning to study on the Artist Diploma (ArtDip) in Performance and Artist Diploma (ArtDip) in Composition programmes. This means they are eligible to apply for a Tier 4 (General) Student Visa three months before their course begins, if necessary.

Find out more about visa applications

Curriculum vitae

Please include reviews, press cuttings and a list of your recent achievements.

Biography

This should be approximately 200 words long.

Proposal for a programme of personal study

Include detailed plans for your contribution to RCM life as well as your study plans both inside and outside of College.

Budget outline

Include both tuition and living expenses, and your own financial contribution to your costs for the year.

When preparing your budget you should show your planned activities both personally and professionally. This outline is not a finalised statement, but rather a plan of what would be desirable. It should reflect in financial terms your proposal for a programme of personal study. Please note that no further funding will be available for any projects, which should be costed with your bursary. Should you be successful, all projects must be discussed in detail with the RCM's Performance and Programming Department before they can be confirmed.

Your budget should show how you expect to contribute personally to your costs for the year. Bursaries are intended to supplement, not to replace, contributions from your own resources.

Recording

If you are applying for a Junior Fellowship (for students on the Artist Diploma in Performance programme), you will need to submit a recording of a recent performance, or extracts from a performance that you have given. Please submit your recording by providing a link to a YouTube video.

If you are a composer applying for a Junior Fellowship, you should submit a short portfolio of compositions, along with any recordings that you may have.

Applicants for the collaborative piano, harpsichord and continuo accompaniment fellowships do not need to supply a recording.

Submitting your portfolio

You should submit your portfolio online via the RCM submission portal. The information you upload to the portal does not constitute your entire application, but does form an integral part of it. You should ensure you have provided everything that is required. Incomplete applications may not be considered.

Submit your portfolio

When using the submission portal you will be asked to create a user name and password, and to provide an email address. You should select 'junior fellow' from the list of programmes and the appropriate principal study instrument. There are no restrictions to the file size or type.

If you experience any problems uploading your portfolio please contact Lizzie Sambrook.

Lizzie Sambrook

Assistant to the Artistic Director and Events & Fellows Coordinator

020 7591 4370

lizzie.sambrook@rcm.ac.uk

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