Aldeburgh Young Musicians

Aldeburgh Young Musicians’ distinctive approach to musical development equips passionate young people with the skills they need to thrive in an increasingly diverse and competitive industry. The residential model encourages the development of musical and interpersonal skills, as like-minded young people integrate and collaborate with their contemporaries and some of the countries’ most celebrated professional artists through a series of different activities, each designed to offer the most relevant and exciting opportunities available:

AYM Full Courses

There are eight Full Courses per academic year, and an introductory residency. Full Courses are allocated by taking availability, musical interests and development into consideration. Each residency has a specific focus, such as folk, jazz, or classical music, allowing each participant to gain an incredible insight into a specific genre and approach to music; however, combined, the breadth of activity over the course of the year is extremely diverse. Each course is five days long, providing participants with the space and time to collaborate with a team of professional musicians to explore, rehearse, create and perform high-quality music. You can find out more about our upcoming and recent Full Courses by clicking on the icons above; they occur in: August, October, February, April, May and twice in July.

AYM Full Weekends
There are six Full Weekends a year; they maintain the overall breadth, ethos and focus of the Full Courses, whilst being shorter, bitesize, two-day residencies. Two full weekends a year focus on developing Chamber music skills, whilst others explore varying topics. A selection of Full weekends begin on Friday evening, whilst others start on Saturday morning. Our Full weekends occur in November, December, January, February, March and April, and you can find out more about them by clicking on the icons above.

AYM Elements, VocalLab and Mentoring Weekends
A selection of activities are offered during these weekends, which occur once per month. Young musicians are asked to attend certain activities based on their experience and interests. Find out more by clicking on the relevant icons above.

Elements days occur on Saturdays, and focus on the core foundations, principles and aspects of being a capable and diverse musician. These days encapsulate the ethos, broadness and focus of other activities, but are based around the requirements of the AYM Apprentices. They are designed to nurture and develop the musical skills of the less experienced musicians within the programme but are suitable for all members of AYM.

VocalLab occurs on the Sunday of each weekend. VocalLab is AYM’s unique vocal resource, encouraging an exploration of vocal repertoire and exposing the participants to a diverse range of music and styles, as well as developing fundamental musical skills. AYMs are encourages to bring their own requests, arrangements and compositions to VocalLab, as well as working on both standard and unconventional vocal repertoire. It is also a resource for those interested in conducting.

The AYM Foyle Foundation Mentoring scheme allows over half of the AYM cohort to access a mentor; an independent voice who can help develop the skills of the individual, by signposting opportunities and encouraging each individual to find their own voice, empowering them as young people. The scheme is kindly supported by the Foyle Foundation.

Other opportunities are also available; there is an annual performance at the Pumphouse, Aldeburgh, as well as performance opportunities at Snape Maltings throughout the year. Each individual receives bespoke advice, forming a partnership which allows AYM to signpost other opportunities within their interests.