Support your studies

Our postgraduate awards offer support to students who wish to complete their studies at leading UK conservatoires and performing arts colleges. 

You could be awarded between £1,000 and £5,000 to go towards the cost of a postgraduate course starting in September and associated living costs and expenses.

To apply for our postgraduate awards, you must:

• Be studying or are intending to study a postgraduate music performance degree (ie. MMus, MA, PGDip, Artist Diploma), starting in September, at one of the UK conservatoires listed below
• Be aged 18 or over
• Have the legal right to live and work in the UK, and currently live in the UK
• Not have more than £10,000 savings (exception apply, see below)
• Have a UK bank account
• Demonstrate that you have the musical potential and ambition to create a successful and sustainable career in music

If you are not sure if you are eligible, please contact support@​helpmusicians.​org.​uk.

To be eligible you must not have more than £10,000 in savings, or have a second or other additional property.

However, some exceptions apply to unavoidable financial obligations. These are as follows:

• Money held aside for a tax bill
• Purchase of primary home you will live within and in the process of buying
• Purchase of required medical or care equipment
• Up to £15,000 of care home fees
• Up to £10,000 in savings towards music education fees
• Essential maintenance on property
• Up to £15,000 in parental leave savings if you are due to stop work for parental leave within the next six months

Some further capital eligibility guidelines apply, including on assets you expect to receive from a Trust Fund or dividends, and any gifts, loans or awards that exceed £3,000. Please get in touch if you require further information.

• Guildhall School of Music and Drama 
• Leeds Conservatoire
• Royal Academy of Music 
• Royal Birmingham Conservatoire 
• Royal College of Music 
• Royal Conservatoire of Scotland 
• Royal Northern College of Music 
• Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama 
• Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance

We are unable to support the following through these awards:

• Undergraduate courses
• PhDs, MPhil, DMus, Doctorates
• Non-music performance degrees such as composition, music technology, music education, music therapy, arts administration, and music business
• Study from the previous academic year

• 4 April – Harp
• 7 April – Brass
• 8 April – Upper Strings
• 9 April – Lower Strings
• 10 April – Woodwind
• 11 April – Jazz & Popular Music
• 14 April – Voice
• 15 April – Piano
• 16 April – Organ and Historical Performance
• 17 April – Guitar and Percussion

Due to our audition schedules these dates are fixed and we are unable to offer an alternative.

Should you be shortlisted for audition, you must provide us with your proposed audition programme. For most singers and instrumentalists your programme must consist of at least two contrasting pieces by different composers and your whole programme should last no longer than 10 minutes. We are able to provide an accompanist for brass, upper strings, lower strings, woodwind and voice disciplines. Please indicate on the form if you require the services of our in-house accompanist. 

Accompanists, jazz and pop applicants should review the specific audition requirements below.

Accompanists should provide 10 minutes of music that showcases your ability to accompany either a solo singer or a solo string performer. Your programme should be comprising of either 

• A movement from a Classical or Romantic sonata and a contrasting piece written before 1950,

Or

• Three songs of contrasting styles and periods

Jazz and Popular Music

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to audition with a backing band or group consisting of no more than 6 other performers. Full backline will be provided by the venues; however, you must bring your own breakables.

The Ian Fleming Musical Theatre Awards offer support to students who wish to complete their studies at certain leading UK conservatoires and performing arts colleges (listed below).

You could be awarded between £1,000 and £5,000 to go towards the cost of the final year of an undergraduate course or a postgraduate course and associated living costs and expenses. Support is available for the next academic year starting in September.

To apply for our Ian Fleming Musical Theatre Awards, you must: 

• Be intending to study Musical Theatre in either your final year of your undergraduate course, or a postgraduate course at one of the UK conservatoires listed below from September
• Be aged 18 or over
• Have the legal right to live and work in the UK, and currently live in the UK
• Not have more than £10,000 savings (exceptions apply, see below)
• Have a UK bank account
• Demonstrate that you have the musical potential and ambition to create a successful and sustainable career in music

To be eligible you must not have more than £10,000 in savings, or have a second or other additional property.

However, some exceptions apply to unavoidable financial obligations. These are as follows:

• Money held aside for a tax bill
• Purchase of primary home you will live within and in the process of buying
• Purchase of required medical or care equipment
• Up to £15,000 of care home fees
• Up to £10,000 in savings towards music education fees
• Essential maintenance on property
• Up to £15,000 in parental leave savings if you are due to stop work for parental leave within the next six months

Some further capital eligibility guidelines apply, including on assets you expect to receive from a Trust Fund or dividends, and any gifts, loans or awards that exceed £3,000. Please get in touch if you require further information.

Monday 7 April — Friday 2 May 2025

• ArtsEd
• Guildford School of Acting
• Guildhall School of Music and Drama 
• Leeds Conservatoire
• London School of Musical Theatre
• Mountview Academy
• Royal Academy of Music
• Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
• Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
• Royal College of Music
• Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
• Royal Northern College of Music
• Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
• Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
• Urdang Academy

We are unable to support the following through these awards:

• Undergraduate courses (apart from those in their final year)
• PhDs, MPhil, DMus, Doctorates
• Non-music performance degrees such as composition, music technology, music education, music therapy, arts administration, and music business
• Study from the previous or current academic year

Auditions will be held Friday 4th of July in London. Venue to be confirmed. 

Due to our audition schedules this date is fixed and we are unable to offer an alternative.

Your audition programme

Should you be shortlisted for audition, you must provide us with your proposed audition programme. For most singers your programme must consist of at least two contrasting pieces by different composers and your whole programme should last no longer than 10 minutes. We are able to provide an accompanist for performers. Please indicate on the form if you require the services of our in-house accompanist. 

Musical Directors

You should prepare the ensemble piece ​‘Gee Officer Krupkee’, from the musical West Side Story, and you will talk through how you would approach rehearsing this piece with the panel. Be prepared to demonstrate how you might direct certain sections. Please also prepare an extract of no more than 2 minutes from any of the Jets and Sharks dances, to demonstrate keyboard ability. You may also be asked to sight-read a short musical theatre song provided on the day and the panel may ask questions at the end of your audition. These auditions last approximately 25 minutes.

Ian Fleming founded the Ian Fleming Charitable Trust in 1972, with an initial focus on supporting national charities in the fields of support, disease research, relief and welfare.

However, a performance of The Magic Flute by Scottish Opera gave Ian the idea of extending the support to musicians in 1980.

Ever since, outstandingly talented young musicians have been supported through the Trust with costs towards their higher education studies. 

The Sybil Tutton Opera Awards offer support to students who wish to complete their studies at certain leading UK conservatoires and performing arts colleges (listed below). 

You could be awarded between £1,000 and £5,000 to go towards the cost of a postgraduate course, and associated living costs. Support is available for the next academic year starting in September.

To apply for our Sybil Tutton Opera awards, you must:

• Be intending to study Opera at postgraduate level at one of the UK conservatoires listed below from September
• Be aged 18 or over
• Have the legal right to live and work in the UK, and currently live in the UK

• Not have more than £10,000 savings (exceptions apply, see below)

• Have a UK bank account
• Demonstrate that you have the musical potential and ambition to create a successful and sustainable career in music

To be eligible you must not have more than £10,000 in savings, or have a second or other additional property.

However, some exceptions apply to unavoidable financial obligations. These are as follows:

• Money held aside for a tax bill
• Purchase of primary home you will live within and in the process of buying
• Purchase of required medical or care equipment
• Up to £15,000 of care home fees
• Up to £10,000 in savings towards music education fees
• Essential maintenance on property
• Up to £15,000 in parental leave savings if you are due to stop work for parental leave within the next six months

Some further capital eligibility guidelines apply, including on assets you expect to receive from a Trust Fund or dividends, and any gifts, loans or awards that exceed £3,000. Please get in touch if you require further information.

Monday 7 April — Friday 2 May 2025

Our Sybil Tutton Opera awards are open to students who are studying opera at Postgraduate level at one of the following: 

• Guildhall School of Music and Drama
• National Opera Studio
• Royal Academy of Music
• Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
• Royal College of Music
• Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
• Royal Northern College of Music
• Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
• Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
• Welsh International Academy of Voic

We are unable to support the following through these awards:

• Undergraduate courses
• Postgraduate vocal studies courses
• PhDs, MPhil, DMus, Doctorates
• Non-music performance degrees such as composition, music technology, music education, music therapy, arts administration, and music business
• Study from the previous or current academic year

Audition will be held Thursday 3rd of July in London. Venue to be confirmed.

Provide us with your proposed audition programme. For most singers your programme must consist of at least two contrasting pieces by different composers and your whole programme should last no longer than 10 minutes. We are able to provide an accompanist for performers. Please indicate on the form if you require the services of our in-house accompanist. 

Répétiteurs

You should prepare a short scene (including at least two characters) from each of two contrasting operas, and perform them, singing the vocal lines yourself. An accompanied recitative and a short secco recitative by Mozart or Rossini should also be prepared. The two scenes and recitatives should be no more than 15 minutes in total. Sight-reading excerpts and language tests in French, German and Italian may also be given.

Sybil Tutton had a lifelong love of opera, which in later years was expressed as a passionate interest in the training of young singers.

In 1988 she used her personal funds to set up the Sybil Tutton Charitable Trust to provide financial help for the postgraduate training of outstanding young opera singers.

Sybil died peacefully on 27 November 2002 aged 96, bequeathing most of her residuary estate to the Trust.

Hundreds of singers have been helped since the awards began. Previous winners include Christopher Maltman, Alfie Boe, Ed Lyon, Kate Royal, Katherine Broderick and Karen Cargill.