Leeds Conservatoire School of Music and Education

03/09/2026

Working on Rossini

🎼 Bringing music to life together

From energetic ensemble pieces to expressive storytelling, our students collaborate, refine, and perform—developing the skills needed for professional performance.

🎶 Ready to take your classical singing to the next level? Discover your journey at Leeds Conservatoire

01/09/2026

🔦 Staff Spotlight: Dr Jakob Fichert 🔦

Dr Jakob Fichert is a principal lecturer on the BA (Hons) Classical and MA Music courses. He has earned an international profile as a pianist through extensive performances across the UK and abroad, and has recorded for labels including Toccata Classics, Resonus Classics, Divine Arts and Naxos. On the concert stage and in the recording studio he has collaborated with musicians such as Janet Hilton, Alfia Naqipbekova, Karin de Fleyt, Simon Desbruslais, Sebastian Müller, Matthias Gredler and many more.

Jakob studied at the Musikhochschule Karlsruhe with Wolfgang Manz before undertaking a postgraduate course at the Royal College of Music in London under the tutelage of Yonty Solomon. He obtained a masters degree in chamber music in 2001 after which he was awarded a RCM Junior Fellowship. During his time at the RCM Jakob won numerous prizes at national and international competitions as soloist and chamber musician.

In 2023 Jakob obtained a PhD at University of York, writing on the piano works of Adolf Busch. His research has led to two publications for Breitkopf & Härtel and a continuous collaboration with Bettina Beigelbeck and the Busch Kollegium Karlsruhe.

Jakob has given masterclasses for conservatoires, universities and music specialist schools in the UK, China and Mexico. He works as an examiner for ABRSM and is specialist piano tutor at the Universities of York and Leeds alongside his roles at Leeds Conservatoire. This autumn he will be delivering masterclasses in Shanghai and Cheng Du on behalf of Leeds Conservatoire.

31/08/2026

25/08/2026

🔦Spotlight: Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band 🔦

Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band is an avant-garde behemoth dragging big-band jazz kicking and screaming into the 21st century. The group, led by bassist and composer Fergus Quill, released their newest album “The New Atomic” on 26 June to rave reviews, a full page feature in The Guardian and with a launch show at Leeds’ legendary City Varieties. The record features over 40 musicians from the Leeds scene and beyond and draws from jazz, punk, contemporary classical, folk, funk and more to create a sound saturated with anarchy, joy and rebellion.

The band has previously released an eponymous studio album and a live album recorded at 2024’s Lancaster Jazz Festival, and was nominated for the 2025 Jazz FM Innovation Award. The band were also winners of the 2023 Peter Whittingham Jazz Award and were selected for Jazz North’s 2025 Northern
Line Scheme. In recent years they have played shows at venues including Ronnie Scott’s, The Vortex and Howard Assembly Rooms, and festivals such as We Out Here, A Love Supreme, London Jazz Festival and Manchester Jazz Festival. UK Jazz news called the album “an important release” of music that is “highly energetic, sometimes disturbing, but always good fun” and Jazz Trail described it as “exploratory [and] genre-defying”. ‘The New Atomic’ is out now on Trash City Records. A portion of the album’s profits will go to War Child, supporting children affected by conflict worldwide.

Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band

20/08/2026

🪊Jazz Rewind

A short highlight from Away From Home performing Creeper from our Jazz Rewind Sessions!

Saxophone – Jamie Gallacher

Trombone - Benji Arnold

Piano – Isaac Keech

Bass – Sean Blake

Drums – Angus Haygarth

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13/08/2026

🎻 Inside the Lesson | Part 2: Intonation

From technical exercises to active listening, intonation is about training both the ear and the hand.

Violin tutor Linda Jankowska discusses strategies for developing accuracy and confidence on the instrument.

10/08/2026

🔦 Spotlight: Svarc/Devine/Walsh 🔦

Contemporary jazz trio Svarc/Devine/Walsh released their eponymous album on 16 July 2026. The core band is made up of Leeds Conservatoire graduate
Nick Svarc on guitar, Leeds Conservatoire School of Music and Education academic manager Dave Walsh on drums, and jazz educator Scott Devine on
bass. All three are celebrated instrumentalists in their own right, each with an extensive list of credits as performers, collaborators and more. The album also features the talents of Matt Ratcliffe on keys, Leeds Conservatoire alumni Richard Iles on trumpet and Jeff Guntren on sax.

The five tracks of original music were recorded and mastered in Leeds by Shaun Williams and Oliver Sekunda. ‘Svarc/Devine/Walsh’ is available on
streaming services now.

Jamie Taylor Nik Svarc

07/08/2026

To support preparation for assessments, the Conservatoire will be open during the last three weekends of August for postgraduate students to rehearse.

Room Bookings

· Rooms should be booked by emailing [email protected]

· Only postgraduate student bookings will be accepted during these weekends.

Equipment Requests

· The Resources Counter will not be staffed during these weekend openings.

· If you require instruments or equipment, these must be pre-booked using the Instrument and Equipment Booking Form: link.

· Pre-booked equipment will be delivered to your booked room ahead of your scheduled session.

· All equipment requests must be submitted by 12:00am (midnight) on the Wednesday prior to your booking.

If you have any questions regarding equipment or resources, please contact [email protected].

04/08/2026

🎻 Inside the Lesson | Part 3: Practice

How do you balance practice with rehearsals, performances and everything else that comes with studying music?

In this final clip, Linda Jankowska and her student discuss effective practice habits and the importance of practising thoughtfully, not just frequently.

30/07/2026

🎶 Today at Leeds Minster

Join us for the first of two lunchtime recitals featuring Leeds Conservatoire Master’s students from our Classical Vocal and Piano programmes, in preparation for their final recital in a few weeks time.

Taking place in the beautiful setting of Leeds Minster, today’s concert showcases the talent of our postgraduate musicians in a free lunchtime performance open to all.

The second recital takes place next Thursday!

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