Reshaping the vocal programme at St Mary's Music School

Two new teaching strands announced for this September look set to expand vocal provision significantly at St Mary's Music School in Edinburgh. They represent something of a wholesale rethink of vocal teaching at the institution, Scotland's only specialist music school, and one of nine specialist music and dance schools across the UK. The driving force behind these changes is the recently appointed head of voice at St Mary's, Kate Aitken.

‘It's about creating a programme for young singers that gives them everything they need to go on to a conservatoire or university and feel completely prepared,’ explains Aitken. Many of her ideas for the strands come from personal experience. ‘I grew up in Edinburgh, and I studied at the Royal College of Music in London. I had the best time, but I spent at least the first three years of a four-year degree feeling super under-confident and overwhelmed. I'd had fabulous singing lessons, but I'd never learnt how to take criticism in public, and I'd never taken a performance class, for example. So, I think it would be a great thing for young singers in Scotland, or young singers who want to come to Scotland to study, to benefit from that grounding and that kind of education.’