Leverhulme Conducting Fellowship
From September 2025 to August 2027
Applications are now open for our prestigious two-year Fellowship, in association with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Scottish Opera.
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Our two-year Leverhulme Conducting Fellowship programme is for conductors on the verge of a career. The Fellowship is offered in association with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Scottish Opera. The Fellowship includes a generous bursary for the successful candidate of £10,000 per year, supported by the Leverhulme Trust. In addition to this stipend, the Fellow will be offered paid work within the RCS amounting to up to £5,000. The Fellowship will commence at the beginning of the new academic year in September 2025.
The Conducting Fellow will work and study extensively with Visiting Professor of Conducting Martyn Brabbins, other Conservatoire teaching staff and visiting conductors, and with all the orchestras and ensembles within the Conservatoire. In their second year, the Fellow will act as Assistant Conductor for a specified production at Scottish Opera.
The Fellow will be enabled and encouraged to build relationships with the wide array of conductors who visit Scotland each year to work with the National companies. We regularly welcome Thomas Søndergård (Music Director of the RSNO, Music Director of the Minnesota Orchestra), Ryan Wigglesworth (Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra) and Stuart Stratford (Music Director of Scottish Opera) to lead classes. Other recent visiting teachers have included John Wilson, Antony Hermus, Mark Wigglesworth and James Lowe. The Fellow has access to most rehearsals at the National Companies and will act as assistant to the Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra when they are in Glasgow. The Fellow will be able to accompany the BBC SSO to its rehearsals and concerts at the BBC Proms and Edinburgh International Festival.
The Fellowship will provide a unique blend of training within the context of a supportive Conservatoire environment and extensive professional links with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Opera, the Hebrides Ensemble and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. The aim of the Fellowship is to provide a final bridge between a young conductor’s postgraduate study and their eventual access to the profession itself.
The important details
Fellowship Length
September 2025-August 2027
Application Deadline
18 April 2025, 5pm BST
Apply via
Acceptd
After RCS
Previous Leverhulme Conducting Fellows who have made successful entries into the profession include:
Eligibility
In order to be eligible for the Leverhulme Conducting Fellowship, you must either be a United Kingdom citizen, or have appropriate permission to live and work in the UK. If you are a non-UK citizen and about to graduate from a UK conservatoire or university, you can apply for a Graduate Visa which lasts 2 years and this visa will allow you to take up the Fellowship. Please check your eligibility for this visa on the gov.uk website
How to Apply
Applications for the Fellowship are now open. The closing date is Friday 18 April at 5pm BST. Late applications cannot be accepted. Applications should be submitted via Acceptd
You will need to create an Acceptd account (for free) and then you will be asked to upload your CV, references and up to three videos of your conducting. These should include, where possible, footage of both rehearsal and performance and include a variety of repertoire and genres. In addition to footage of your conducting, you are invited to submit film of you performing on your principal instrument or recordings of original compositions if you would like to do so in support of your application.
Auditions
Auditions will take place at RCS in Glasgow on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 May. Initial rounds will include aural tests, a lesson with Professor Martyn Brabbins, and working with RCS postgraduate singers and/or instrumentalists. The final round, for up to three candidates, will be with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
If you have any queries about the Fellowship, your eligibility or the application process, please email Michael Bawtree
Current Leverhulme Fellow
Riley Court-Wood
“For the last two years, the Leverhulme Conducting Fellowship has provided me with incredible opportunities which I could not have dreamed of before I started the position. Being the Leverhulme Fellow has been simply life changing. I cannot recommend the programme highly enough.
As part of the Conducting Fellowship, I have developed a close relationship with Martyn Brabbins, whose experience and guidance are invaluable. I’ve also acted as assistant conductor to the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, stepping in to conduct rehearsals when needed, conducting them for BBC iPlayer, and I made my public debut with them as conductor at a concert in November 2024.
Aside from working with the BBC SSO, I have also had the opportunity to work with the talented students of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. A highlight of my time working within RCS was conducting the full run of Haydn’s opera L’infedeltà delusa and my work at RCS has led to further work with Scottish Opera, where I will be assisting on their upcoming production.”
