Kent Music Academy

Kent Music Academy is Kent Music's Saturday Centre for musically gifted children aged 10 - 18. KMA takes place in Maidstone from 9.00am - 1.50pm on Saturdays during term time. Places are offered to young musicians who show potential and a love of music. Preliminary auditions are held throughout the year with final auditions in May.

Weekly individual lessons are given on two instruments and general musicianship is taught in groups. The timetable also features chamber and orchestral music, composition and improvisation, conducting and music appreciation. Students are profiled and encouraged according to their individual needs including help with GCSE and A level music where appropriate. Continuous assessment is backed up with external examinations and students are expected to perform regularly at formal and informal concerts. We provide a friendly atmosphere which, combined with a genuine desire to learn, produces musicianship of high quality.All staff are professional performers and qualified teachers. The opportunity exists for those with low incomes to apply for bursaries from the Kent Music's Bursary Fund towards the cost of instrumental tuition. Enquiries should be initially to the Director of KMA. All enquiries will be treated in confidence. Parents of those wishing to receive tuition from KMA should complete and return the application for audition.

A year (3 semesters) at KMA...

Each semester produces four informal concerts - two instrumental and two piano - on Saturday afternoons. Teachers encourage pupils to perform on a regular basis and this quickly gets them used to playing in public, building their confidence and developing a real sense of what makes a performance. A professional accompanist is employed to rehearse with the pupils and a rapport is built up throughout their time at KMA.

Composition concerts are also a regular feature at KMA and pupils endeavour to produce a written work each term. The composition must be produced with score and parts, rehearsed under the pupil's supervision and performed by their colleagues. A cash prize is awarded annually for the best compositions in junior and senior classes. This is in memory of Tim Stevenson who taught at KMA and died suddenly at a very young age.

The end of each semester is marked with a formal concert where soloists, ensembles and often full orchestra can be heard. In recent years, KMA has benefited from working with the conductor of the Britten Sinfonia, Nicholas Cleobury, at the Sounds New series of concerts held in Kent during March and April. The very best of KMA pupils are able to tackle some of the most demanding modern repertoire with the guidance of a very knowledgeable and respected champion of new music. Many senior KMA pupils attend conducting classes each week and benefit from visiting rehearsals and concerts at the Festival Hall. They are often able to talk to the best conductors in the world and are able to watch an orchestra being put through its paces. Respected figures from the music world visit regularly and give Master classes and individual lessons. A typical morning for pupils would include string, wind and brass ensembles and orchestral playing, two individual lessons and group tuition in theory, harmony, composition, conducting, aural, keyboard skills and general musical knowledge. There are opportunities to work in the music technology suite and the keyboard studio. Classes are small and grouped according to ability.

If music is your thing, KMA is definitely the place to be!