Study Grant funding from The Countess of Munster Musical Trust

It is important in the first instance to make sure you are eligible to apply for an Award –

• UK Citizens must be resident in the UK and/or have completed a continuous course of education in the UK within the last 10 years (before 10.02.2025)
• Commonwealth students may only apply for postgraduate funding within the UK and must have permission to remain in the UK for at least one year following the completion of the course.
• International Students (not including commonwealth countries) must have previously completed a minimum of a 3-year undergraduate course in the UK and can only apply for funding towards postgraduate study within the UK. You must have permission to remain in the UK for at least one year following the completion of the course.

It is also important that you are aware that the Trust receives very many applications that are ultimately unsuccessful: only around 75 awards are made each year, to outstanding performers who can also demonstrate financial need, so please consider whether you are ready to make an application to the Trust and, if in doubt, please speak to your teacher.

Applications will be available online from 1st January each year and must be submitted through our online application form.  If you have technical issues completing the form please contact the Operations Assistant on hannah@munstertrust.org.uk or telephone 0207 7591220. The closing date for submission of application forms and video links and references is midnight on 10th February 2025. The closing date for submission of references is 17th February 2025.

Filling out an Application Form can be a daunting process, but the Applications Helpsheet 2025 contains detailed information on what you will need in order to submit your application form. Give yourself enough time to complete the form: a last minute rush can cause undue pressure and possible mistakes.  The website allows you to save your work as you progress through the form.  This is a useful tool and enables you to review/edit the form as many times as you want up until the deadline.  Please do proofread your application form before sending this to us or ask someone to do this for you – there may be spelling mistakes or an important piece of information you have left out. Finally, make sure you get your application to us no later than midnight on 10th February.

For tips about how to produce a suitable recording, please have a look at our guide.

Our funding commences in September in order to coincide with the start of the UK academic year. If you are applying for a course where the start date is other than September, please contact us on hannah@munstertrust.org.uk to discuss your options.

The Trust requires two references to be submitted online by 17th February 2025.

• One referee must be the applicant’s current teacher and the other referee must be a person with up-to-date knowledge of the applicant’s musical training, for instance the applicant’s Head of Department.  If you are unable to gain a reference from your Head of Department, you will need to provide details of someone that has heard you play and who can provide a professional opinion on your playing and your plans for postgraduate study.
• You need to ask your Referees to check their inbox for an email from our website.  The email, which they will receive as soon as you submit your application form, contains a unique link which they need to click to submit their reference before midnight on 17th February 2025.
• It is the applicant’s responsibility to check that their chosen referees have received and responded to the reference email.
• References received in any other format other than using the unique link that is sent automatically to the referees on the submission of an application, will not be accepted.
• References cannot be submitted after 17th February 2025, and as such your application may be rejected.
• Please ask your referees to contact the Operations Assistant on 0207 7591220 or email hannah@munstertrust.org.uk if they encounter any difficulties submitting online

We have produced a guide which includes some tips on how to produce a recording that will be acceptable to the Trustees no matter what your circumstances, but some specific points to bear in mind are:

• Please note: all recordings must be publicly viewable.  Please use the unlisted or public privacy setting.  Please ensure that all advertisements are turned off.
• Two separate links are required – one for each piece.  They should be recordings from within the last 6 months and should be unedited and recorded using a single position camera/recorder.
• If you have chosen longer pieces for your submission you must cut the video to the correct length (maximum of 5 minutes) according to the stipulated requirements.
• Please add the date on which the recording was made (and not just the date on which it was uploaded to YouTube/SoundCloud) as you upload your recording.
• If you are called to audition, you will not be able to perform the same pieces you have submitted with your application.  Please do not include with your application pieces that you have submitted to the Trust in support of applications in previous years.
• Do not submit two movements from the same work, or two pieces by the same composer.
• A recording of a solo performance is preferred to pieces with orchestral accompaniment. It is not acceptable to submit an accompanied piece without the accompaniment. Apart from recognised duo sonatas/works, recordings where the applicant is simply part of a larger chamber ensemble are not appropriate (the only exception to this is certain period performance ensembles, but here the applicant must be performing in a prominent solo role).  Pianists should not include performances duetting with another pianist.
• A live performance is not regarded as intrinsically better than a studio recording.  The video recording submitted is assessed as a musical whole and so applicants are advised not to include recordings in which the performance standard of any accompanying part is significantly lower than that of the applicant.
• Please do not include long introductions by accompanying instruments or introduce yourself or the piece.  There should be approximately 5 minutes of your performance.

What to provide: SINGERS AND INSTRUMENTALISTS (except PERCUSSION – see below)

To accompany your application form, please include two YouTube links.  Each link must be to a video recording of you singing/playing within the previous 6 months and the date should be added into the title.  The two pieces that you choose for your links must be contrasting in period, style and tempo, and each piece should be between 4 and 5 minutes long.

Do not submit two movements from the same work, or two pieces by the same composer.

Ideally the recordings should not include long introductions by accompanying instruments and you do not need to introduce yourself or the piece.  There should be approximately five minutes of your performance on each recording.

Jazz candidates: We welcome recordings of you playing as part of a small band, so that the Trustees can judge your interaction with other players.  Where this is not possible, you may use backing tracks to replace the small band.  You should choose two pieces that best illustrate your interest and ability in areas of music that involve improvisation.

Collaborative Pianists – Please include links to either:
Two unedited video recordings of you accompanying an instrumentalist. Neither of the two pieces should exceed six minutes; or
Two unedited video recordings of you accompanying a singer. Neither of the two pieces should exceed six minutes; or
Two unedited video recordings of you accompanying, separately, a singer and an instrumentalist. Neither piece should exceed six minutes.
When selecting your pieces and making your recordings, please bear in mind that the Trustees wish to be able to judge both your abilities as a pianist and your skills as an accompanist.

Please contact us on hannah@munstertrust.org.uk or 0207 7591220 well in advance of the application closing date if you need to discuss what it is possible for you to achieve and what the Trustees will be able to accept.

What to provide: PERCUSSION

To accompany your application form, please include two YouTube links to video recordings as follows:

• One video recording should consist of the following pieces:  Timpani: Hindemith Metamorphoses on Themes of Weber AND Snare Drum: Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade (Mvts 3 and 4)
• The other video recording should consist of the following pieces: Xylophone: Gershwin Porgy and Bess Introduction AND Vibraphone: Bernstein West Side Story.

If it is not possible for you to comply with these repertoire requirements, please contact the Operations Assistant on 0207 7591220 well in advance of the application closing date to discuss what it is possible for you to achieve and what the Trustees will be able to accept.

What to provide: COMPOSERS

To accompany your application form, please include YouTube OR SoundCloud links to two recordings of recent contrasting compositions.  Two separate links are required – one for each piece.  These should have been recorded within the last 6 months if possible.

Do not submit scores unless requested to do so.

Recordings of real performances are preferable but we appreciate that this may not always be possible. Please take time to consider whether your pieces are sufficiently contrasting.

If you have problems with these recording requirements, please contact the Operations Assistant on hannah@munstertrust.org.uk on 0207 7591220 well in advance of the application closing date.

Uploading to YouTube/SoundCloud:

• Please note: all video recordings must be publicly viewable.  Please use either the unlisted or public privacy setting.
• Ensure that all advertisements are turned off – please refer to the FAQs if necessary.
• Please add the date on which the recording was made (and not just the date on which it was uploaded) to the Description section of YouTube or SoundCloud as you upload your recording.