Keyboard

Welcome to one of Europe’s most distinguished Keyboard Departments, where world class faculty and students thrive in a busy environment full of events, classes, concerts and opportunities.

We have a close relationship with nearby London (three of our piano tutors also have London conservatoire classes; many organ students already hold prestigious London posts) while capitalising on Birmingham’s unique opportunities and relative affordability.

A Keyboard Department is as good as its staff. Find out more about our large team of great keyboard tutors.

We have separate Heads of Organ, Collaborative Piano and Early Music. This gives these areas focus and drive, but there is also flexibility to move between them. For example, an undergraduate Final Recital may be entirely solo, entirely collaborative (chamber music and song) or any mixture of the two. There is similar flexibility at postgraduate level.

The early undergraduate years have certain requirements to establish breadth and rigour. All second year piano students, for example, study and perform on our two Fortepianos.

This is essential to an understanding of classical style.Then you might become a first study Fortepianist, keep Fortepiano lessons in your creative mix, or simply enjoy translating your experience to the modern instrument.

We foster a self-motivated approach. Pianists may choose to have more than one tutor, and all undergraduates are able to use ‘student-allocated tutor hours’ for related study, as well as other activities such as collaborative coaching, to further broaden the mix of their study.

Our students are some of the finest competition-winning international talents, with impeccable work ethics. But they also enjoy a friendly and mutually supportive ethos that gives Birmingham arguably the best working atmosphere of any UK conservatoire. I hope you will join us here.

Please do go on now to explore our instrument-specific webpages.

Professor John Thwaites
Head of Keyboard Studies

Recent competition success