Bonas MacFarlane Music

Inspiration, motivation and expert advice from our outstanding professional mentors and teachers can be transformative for a young musician. Our mentors are some of the most exciting musicians and teachers working today and provide one on one coaching, tuition, advice and support, acting as a catalyst to their development alongside their existing instrumental and vocal teachers. 

Many children spend years learning an instrument at school but never get further than Grade 5. The requirement of Grade 5 Theory can be an obstacle to many, but so too can the jump in technical and expressive ability required by subsequent grades. We work with students to bridge this gap, providing engaging music theory, repertoire and history tuition and the additional support needed to reach the higher grades and gain the full satisfaction that mastering an instrument can bring.

In partnership with our Schools Teams, BM Music supports students preparing for music scholarship auditions at leading British Independent Schools such as Eton College, Charterhouse and Winchester College and in applications to specialist music schools such as Well’s Cathedral School, Cheetham’s School of Music and the Yehudi Menuhin School.

We also support families applying for choristerships at Britain’s leading choral foundations such King’s College Cambridge, St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey in London.

In partnership with our Higher Education Team, we support aspiring musicians in applying to leading conservatoires in Britain and conservatories in the United States, such as the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music, the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute. 

We bring a deep understanding of the differences in focus between UK and US applications and the approaches needed to excel in each. 

We also support students preparing Supplementary Submissions in music to accompany Ivy League and other US College applications that can be key extracurricular differentiators. 

We provide expert academic tuition to those applying for undergraduate Music courses at Oxford, Cambridge and other leading UK Universities. We offer advice, guidance and support for those applying for choral and organ scholarships to college choirs in Oxford and Cambridge.

Major exams, auditions, competitions and performances can involve months of careful preparation. Our consultants are professional musicians for whom this is a regular feature of their working lives and who can mentor and guide students throughout this process, offering unparalleled advice and support as they prepare for their big day. 

We advise on technique and interpretation, on developing effective practice routines, creating opportunities for dry-run performances, managing workflow and on approaches to building mental resilience, creative unblocking and tackling ‘stage fright’.

Producing an outstanding video demo and/or audio recording is essential for most school, college and conservatory applications. It can also provide a fantastic motivator and learning opportunity for a student as well as a means of sharing their talents with family, friends and on social media. 

We partner with specialist sound engineers and music production companies who can provide state of the art recording and editing services in bespoke venues in London. 

We also provide advice on home recording and editing, helping students maximise the effectiveness of equipment as simple as a smartphone to achieve their best results.