Senior Programme
Location and Time
Our senior students meet in St Monica’s Trust in Westbury-on-Trym every Wednesday evening during term-time from 6:30pm – 9:30pm.
Fees
The cost is £41 a week for Senior students to include all chamber tuition and general musicianship training.
Fees are paid half-termly on invoice.
Bursaries are available – please get in touch to find out more.
Opportunities
Students will undertake regular performances at St Monica’s and elsewhere, and we have a varied programme of visiting artists and speakers.
In addition we also offer audition preparation, lessons on how to practice effectively as a soloist and in a group, stagecraft, and opportunities to attend concerts as a group.
We welcome talented young musicians who are serious about their music.
We audition throughout the year. To apply, email bristolpreconservatoire@gmail.com
We’d love to hear from you!
A typical evening
Senior programme
6:30 – 7:15pm:
Workshop (“Opening Session”) on music appreciation, theory and ear training, with regular visiting artists.
7:15 – 7:30pm:
Break and refreshments.
7:30 – 9:30pm:
Session with ensemble tutor working on repertoire, theory and technique.
Senior programme requirements:
›Aged 13 – 18
›Grade 7+ standard or equivalent on your instrument or voice
›Open-minded and ready to be challenged
›Keen to learn as part of a small ensemble
›Able to commit to once-weekly evening classes for a whole term at a time
›For your Pre-Conservatoire audition, we will ask you to play two contrasting pieces, and will give you a short interview about your musical interests.
We welcome talented young musicians who are serious about their music.
We audition throughout the year. To apply, email bristolpreconservatoire@gmail.com
We’d love to hear from you!
“It’s great that our son gets so many fantastic opportunities from being involved in Pre-Con – thank you!”
Intermediate programme
Location and Time
Our intermediate students meet in St Monica’s Trust in Westbury-on-Trym every Wednesday evening during term-time from 5:15pm-7:30pm.
Fees
The cost is £27 a week for intermediate students to include all chamber tuition and general musicianship training.
Fees are paid half-termly on invoice.
Bursaries are available – please get in touch to find out more.
Opportunities
Students will undertake regular performances at St Monica’s, and we have a varied programme of visiting artists and speakers.
In addition we also offer audition preparation, lessons on how to practice effectively as a soloist and in a group, stagecraft, and opportunities to attend concerts as a group.
We welcome talented young musicians who are serious about their music.
We audition throughout the year. To apply, email bristolpreconservatoire@gmail.com
We’d love to hear from you!
A typical evening
Intermediate programme
5:15-6:15pm
Session with ensemble tutor working on repertoire, theory and technique.
6:30-7:15pm
Workshop (“Opening Session”) on music appreciation, understanding theory through improvisation and ear training, with regular visiting artists.
7:15 – 7:30pm
Refreshments.
Intermediate programme requirements:
›Aged 11-15
›Grade 6+ standard or equivalent on your instrument or voice
›Open-minded and ready to be challenged
›Keen to learn as part of a small ensemble
›Able to commit to once-weekly evening classes for a whole term at a time
›For your Pre-Conservatoire audition, we will ask you to play two contrasting pieces, and will give you a short interview about your musical interests.
We welcome talented young musicians who are serious about their music.
We audition throughout the year. To apply, email bristolpreconservatoire@gmail.com
We’d love to hear from you!
Opening Sessions
All Pre-Con students attend weekly workshops and recitals (“Opening Sessions”, Wednesdays 6:30-7:15) dedicated to multi-genre musical exploration and improvisation.
Here are the sessions for Autumn Term 2025:
| Date | Opening Session |
| 10/9/2025 | Everybody (Ezra Collective) with Jon Rees & Alex Goodyear |
| 17/9/2025 | Bartók´s modes (1): Ukrainian Dorian with Jon Rees |
| 24/9/2025 | Nintendofication with Alex Goodyear |
| 1/10/2025 | Holistic Musicianship: Looking after ourselves and others as musicians with Helen Reid, Professional Studies Course Lead at Guildhall School of Music and Drama |
| 8/10/2025 | Rhythm practice with Alex Goodyear |
| 15/10/2025 | Silence with Professor Emma Hornby, University of Bristol |
| 22/10/2025 | Song-writing with Fini Bearman |
| 5/11/2025 | Speaking the language with Jon Rees (NB topic change) |
| 12/11/2025 | Guitar recital with award-winning guitarist Jack Hancher. |
| 19/11/2025 | Optimising breathing for performance with Jenna Brown, Voice Coach |
| 26/11/2025 | Rhythm, Time, & Clarity of Musical Ideas with Alex Goodyear |
| 3/12/2025 | Bartók´s modes (2) with Jon Rees |
Later in 2025-26 we have Pre-Con founder Jon James returning with Dovetail Orchestra, award-winning Fibonacci Quartet, and Pre-Con Alumnus Toby Yapp´s jazz trio.
Workshop tickets
We are offering 5 Golden tickets exclusively to young musicians aged between 12 and 18 (who are not already members of Pre-Con) for selected workshops.
Book here:
https://bristolprecon.sumupstore.com/
If you would like to be kept informed when more workshop and concert tickets become available, please pop your name on this form
Pre-Con Term and Concert Dates
All tuition and concerts at St Monica´s, Cote Lane, Westbury-on-Trym unless otherwise marked.
Autumn Term 2025
- September 10 – October 22
- October 29 – Half-term (no session)
- November 5 – December 3
- Concert: Sunday 7 December (7-8:30pm)
Spring Term 2026
- January 7 – February 11
- February 18 – Half-term (no session)
- February 25 – March 25
- End-of-Term Concert: Wednesday 25 March (7-8:30pm)
Summer Term 2026
- April 22 – May 20
- May 27 – Half term (no session)
- June 3 – June 24
- End-of-Year Concert Sunday 28 June (7-8:30pm)
NB Additional performance opportunities for selected Pre-Con musicians to include:
- St George´s Bristol, Glass Studio – 10 June 2026
- St Peter´s Henleaze Centenary Concert – 13 June 2026