Apprentice Conductor

The Ripieno Choir is proud to support an apprentice conductor position, created to provide choral conducting experience and training to a young musician for whom this is an important area of interest. This novel initiative attracted coverage in Making Music’s High Notes magazine. You can read the article here

The Apprentice Conductor receives regular tuition in choral conducting from our music director, Patrick Allies, free of charge, all whilst singing with the choir in our weekly rehearsals. As their skills and confidence grow over the year, the Apprentice Conductor takes on some conducting responsibilities within rehearsals, and has the opportunity to conduct us in our concerts.

Senior Apprentice Conductors

Elinor Thomas

Elinor is in the second year of her sixth form studies at Tiffin and hopes to go to Cambridge to study music on a choral scholarship. She is working towards her grade 8 singing and has sung in many choirs over the years. She was head chorister at her church youth choir (St Peter’s, Streatham) and now sings with their adult choir. Elinor also plays clarinet and piano (both grade 8) and has played in and directed various ensembles.

Jason Fan

Jason is in his second year of sixth form at Guildford County School. He is studying music and music technology A levels and hopes to continue with music technology at university. Jason plays the violin to grade 8 and at school is involved in many ensembles including the senior and barbershop choirs and the string orchestra. Jason has really enjoyed opportunities to conduct in school; he leads rehearsals for a lower school strings orchestra and has conducted a choir in a competition.

Junior Apprentice Conductors

Lily Dickie

Lily is in her first year of sixth form studying music at Esher College. She is a grade 8 trombonist with ambitions to study the instrument at university or conservatoire. Lily plays in a youth orchestra and over the summer took on some conducting responsibilities, which she loved! She has sung alto in various school choirs.

Ben Russel

Ben is also in his first year of sixth form studying Music at Esher College. He has been attending Colourstrings music school (which follows the Kodaly approach) since he was very young. He plays the piano and has sung in several choirs, on occasion stepping up to conduct. Ben enjoys composition and has ambitions to write music for films.

Can I apply for an Apprentice Conductor position?

Applications for the Apprentice Conductor position is currently closed, but we hope to invite applications for the position of Junior Apprentice for the 2026/2027 season in the summer of 2026. In the meantime, please review the information below to learn more about the position.

Who is it for?

The position is designed for a sixth form music student who aspires to conduct choirs as part of a musical career, perhaps as an organ scholar. Students should appreciate that conducting, like any other branch of musical performance, requires study and practice, and is prepared to commit it over the long term. This is not a ‘quick fix’ to someone a month before they have a university music award audition, for example.

The apprentice conductor will currently be in school year 11 or 12 and will begin their work with the choir during school years 12 or 13 (lower or upper sixth form). The ideal candidate will probably, but not necessarily:

• be studying, or intending to study, music to A Level
• be intending to read music at university, perhaps as a Choral or Organ Scholar
• be a confident sight singer (even if singing is not their main ‘instrument’ – vocal quality is not the issue)
• have achieved at least a merit at grade eight in their principal instrument
• expect to sing in the choir
• if a fluent keyboard player, occasionally accompany the choir (although much of our rehearsal is actually unaccompanied, whatever the repertoire).

What is the commitment?

The Ripieno Choir rehearses near Thames Ditton on Sunday evenings from 19:45 to 21:45 during term time. Tuition for the apprentice conductor will normally take place before rehearsals, as agreed between them and our Muscial Director.

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In addition, the Ripieno Choir has a history of offering short-term membership (usually for one or two years) to young singers who might be preparing for university choral scholarship auditions. Such singers typically rehearse and perform with the choir in their sixth form or gap years.