An Interview with Royal Academy of Music students

The Royal Academy of Music has been training talented musicians to the highest professional standards since its foundation in 1822, making it the oldest conservatoire in the UK. Over the summer, we caught up with OE Josh Blows, who is currently studying for a Bachelor of Music degree, and Deputy Head of School Sam Stocks, who is a member of the Junior Royal Academy of Arts, about their involvement with the Academy.

Josh Blows (OE2012-17 and Head Boy 2016-2017)

I am very lucky to have a musical family, so music has always been a part of my upbringing, but for a long time I found classical music very boring and much preferred rugby. I first started learning the violin when I was four but that was a big mistake for me and everyone else in my household! When I was 12, I discovered the trombone and that is when things really started to change for me. I got very lucky with inspiring teachers and when I was 15, I was in the Verbier Festival Junior orchestra and it all took off from there.

I was accepted into the JRAM when I was at Emanuel. Whilst it is a huge commitment and certainly impacts your weekend social life, it was critical in furthering my musical education and providing performance opportunities that ultimately led to me applying to study at undergraduate level.

I applied for three music colleges and RAM was certainly my top choice, so to receive an offer was a fantastic moment but also a huge sense of relief. Doing a different type of university application to UCAS was a big commitment and quite stressful, especially when my peers were getting offers at various universities. I was lucky to have teachers like Sarah Potts to advise me through the process.

I am doing a four-year Bachelor of Music degree that is principally focused on performance and studying the trombone. In the last three years I have had to undertake various modules in history of music, aural skills, analytical skills and conducting on top of the performance side – all of which require very different skill sets. One of the main attractions of RAM is it is part of the University of London which in itself offers a myriad of opportunities and connections.

At RAM, I enjoy being consistently surrounded by some of the best young musicians in the world. My playing has perhaps improved the most, simply by listening to my peers playing, and not just on the trombone. It creates an environment that, although competitive, makes me motivated and want to improve and work harder at what I love doing. RAM has certainly taught me how to thrive under pressure, which I now find an invaluable skill.

If you have a love for music and a desire to really push yourself as a musician, RAM can be the most inspiring place to be. It’s really important to remember that going to RAM doesn’t mean you have to be a musician either. It’s a great opportunity to do a degree that encourages both discipline and creativity which can be applied to all aspects of life.

I think I probably spent about 80% of my time in the Music department whilst I was at Emanuel. The sheer number of musical groups going on during lunchtimes and assemblies was really amazing and it kept me very busy. As a result, it is certainly the aspect of Emanuel I miss the most; Sarah Potts, Nick House and Simon Gregory did a fantastic job to make it such comfortable and creative place to be.

My proudest moments at Emanuel involve being in the choir, which was of an amazing calibre, and the opportunities that it led to such as singing in St Paul’s Cathedral and the amazing choir tours. Singing in Southwark Cathedral was particularly special as my grandfather had been a Canon there. These are unforgettable memories.

Nerves can be really difficult to get control of when it comes to performance. It can be a very personal process and is different for everyone. For me there are multiple ways to help my nerves: in advance this can be achieved from hours in a practice room going over all the little details to the point where I know it can’t go wrong but just before I walk on stage it can also be good to focus on breathing and forget about the minutiae of the music itself. But it is also about learning how to use nerves to your advantage and channeling them as adrenaline which ultimately leads to a more exciting performance.

Lockdown has had a devastating effect on the arts, including music, and certainly jeopardizes the future careers we have envisaged. Personally, I have found the lack of one-to-one contact with my professors, along with the inability to rehearse with my peers, very difficult; sadly, audio over Zoom will never quite do justice to anyone’s playing. My lessons have been done through sending recordings which my professors listen to and offer feedback and analysis on, but this has its limitations. It can also be difficult to find motivation outside of the music college environment, particularly when there are no performances to work towards. Hopefully this situation has drawn attention to how much we rely on the arts in general to keep us sane!

I would really love to study abroad for a few years in Europe when I graduate. There are great opportunities for classical musicians in Germany and Scandinavia, which can offer a lot more economic security than being a musician in London. There are also incredible players and different musical and cultural approaches to music to learn from.

In my downtime I try to avoid listening to the sort of music I am practicing and playing every day. Having said that, as a trombone player I will take any opportunity to play and listen to a big 19^th century German symphony, which is very hard to beat!