Choral Singing (18+): Summer 2025

All participants must be aged 18+.

All participants are required to have choral/singing experience.

When completing your booking form, please include your voice type (e.g. soprano, alto, tenor, bass)

This 3-day exploration of Bob Chilcot’s ‘A Little Jazz Mass’ will not only celebrate his work, but will also allow students to get involve in the following activities:

• Vocal Warm Ups
• Check-in: Goals for the week and Reflection
• Sectional Rehearsals
• Musicianship Session
• Full Rehearsals
• Small Group Singing Lessons
• Performance

This course will culminate in a 45 minute performance for an invited audience in the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland on the final day of the course, Sunday 20 July at 4pm. Further details will be confirmed nearer the time.

Alison McNeill

Alison is a Scottish soprano, conductor, and fiddle player with a rich and diverse musical career. A graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with a Masters in Performance, Alison further honed her craft studying with the late Teresa Berganza in Spain.

Passionate about cross-disciplinary and immersive performances, she draws inspiration from world music and diverse cultures. In a busy and varied career she has performed as a soloist all over the UK, Denmark, Holland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Japan, Pakistan, Kenya, USA and Mexico.

Alison’s career highlights include singing as a soloist with Ditirambo Early Music Ensemble in Mexico, Carmina Burana and Verdi Requiem with the RSNO in the Royal Concert Hall, winning the Andres Segovia prize for Spanish Song in Spain (the only non-native speaker to win this award), headlining International Festivals with folk rock band Reely Jiggered (www.reelyjiggered.co.uk) and broadcasts on BBC Radio nan Gael, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio 4, Pakistani and Mexican National TV, workshops with children in Japan, Kenya and Pakistan.

Described by the Herald as having ‘a succinct conducting style, commanding undivided attention”, Alison has conducted numerous choirs including the National Youth Choir of Northern Ireland’s Junior Choir and Boys Choir, Royal Scottish National Orchestra Youth Choruses, the National Youth Choir of Scotland National Boys Choir, Coats Choral with the Glasgow Chamber Orchestra and Voices of Argyll who are known for working on multi art form projects and most recently performed the Premier of “Interwovan” for sitar, tabla, piano, choir and Indian dancer at Scottish Parliament.

For the past two years, Alison has been Head Judge at Qatar School Choir of the Year Competition in Doha. She looks forward to performances in India, New York, Denmark and Kenya this year.

www.alisonmcneill.com

Summer Accommodation

We are pleased to welcome students from across the world to our Summer Schools. Our course fees do not include accommodation or food, and these should be organised by the student. Our campus is located in Glasgow city centre, and you can find the addresses below.

We recommend Base Glasgow, as purpose-built accommodation for Conservatoire students, with Rehearsal Rooms, Practice spaces and Dance Studios. Base Glasgow is perfectly suited for our summer school students; both safe and secure, with 24/7 staff presence and only 3 mins walk from our main Renfrew Street building, keeping travel costs to a minimum.

Classic En-Suite rooms come with a 3/4 bed, en-suite bathroom, ample storage, mirror, study desk and chair. The shared area includes a spacious lounge and kitchen area.

Please note that Short Courses staff are not affiliated with BASE or on site outwith the summer school teaching hours, and therefore cannot take responsibility for students outside of these hours.

For more information about booking accommodation at BASE Glasgow you can contact them directly via website BASE – Student Accommodation in Glasgow or email baseglasgow@herestudents.com.

Alternatively, there are plenty of hotels, hostels, and b’n’b options available. We are located close to transport links should you wish to stay outside the city centre. If you are travelling to Glasgow for a course, we strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance that covers course fees, travel, accommodation, and cancellations due to COVID-19 – as RCS will not refund in this circumstance. You can view the Cancellations and Refund policy for full information.

For students under 18 years old, we strongly advise travelling with a responsible adult should any emergency situations arise during class. Students are only monitored by staff during class times.

Renfrew Street Campus: 100 Renfrew Street, Glasgow, G2 3DB
Wallace Studios Campus: 210 Garscube Road, Glasgow, G4 9RR