Performing and ensembles

There are lots of opportunities to get involved in music making in Liverpool, from playing in a band, to performing with a symphony orchestra, to singing at Evensong.

If you’re taking a Classical Performance module we expect you to also be taking part in an ensemble, in order to further enhance and develop your performance skills, but they’re open to everyone. If you’re interested in taking Popular Music Performance, scroll down for more information. 

University of Liverpool Symphony Orchestra is open to all students. Rehearsing weekly under the baton of Gethyn Jones (a long-serving member of Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s cello section), the orchestra is jointly run by LUMS (see below) and the Music Department. They give at least two concerts per year, tackling repertoire from Beethoven to Amy Beach, and also collaborate with the Chamber Choir and UNIty Choir to perform large scale works. Want to play solo? Audition for the annual Concerto Competition, which offers the chance to perform a full concerto with the orchestra! There’s also an annual Composition Competition, with the prize being a concert performance by the orchestra of a student-composed work. 

Image credit: Alan Blundell Photography

University of Liverpool Chamber Choir is an auditioned SATB choir with members from across the University (members can be studying any subject). In recent years the choir has gone from strength to strength, performing across Liverpool and beyond. Highlights over the past few years include Verdi’s Requiem at Liverpool Cathedral, accompanied by Manchester Camerata; Will Todd’s Mass In Blue, conducted by the composer himself; concert tours to Belgium and Berlin; Evensong services at both Liverpool Cathedral and Lancaster Priory; and multiple concerts in The Tung Auditorium, in which we also enjoy rehearsing each week. The Choir sings a wide range of music from Renaissance to contemporary in a variety of configurations ranging from small ensembles of twelve singers to large choral works, in order to offer its members singing opportunities in many different forms.

Image credit: Alan Blundell Photography

Auditions for the Chamber Choir are held in Welcome Week and Week 1 each year, and sometimes also at other times according to space in the choir; contact the Choral Director at louise.ellinson@liverpool.ac.uk to find out more, or just fill in the form here if you are interested in auditioning.  

Liverpool UNIty Choir’s members comprise students, staff and members of the local community – anyone can join! It’s a friendly choir with no prior experience needed. If you’re an instrumentalist who hasn’t sung in a choir before, it’s the perfect place to learn, and to develop your aural and sightreading skills. Some members are entirely new to singing in a choir, others have some experience, and some have been doing it for years – everybody is welcome, and we sing a wide range of repertoire from pop and musical theatre to classical and opera with the Symphony Orchestra! Email louise.ellinson@liverpool.ac.uk to find out more. 

Image credit: Alan Blundell Photography

Popular music performance  

There are countless live music venues in Liverpool, and a thriving local band scene. If you take the pop performance module you will be encouraged to get out and experience what it’s like performing in this great music city. The Pop Performance assessments take place in real world venues, and in recent years we have used The Zanzibar, Phase 1, Eric’s, The Arts Bar, Round the Corner, The Quarry and some of our pop bands have played in the Tung. We have an ongoing relationship with local venues including the Quarry and the Arts Bar, both of which are keen to put on student bands and solo performers.  

In the first year of the Performance module, you will be put into bands and encouraged to experiment with styles outside your comfort zone. In the second year you will be becoming a more coherent act, and by the third year, you will be playing at a professional level.  

Liverpool University Music Society (LUMS)

Liverpool University Music Society (LUMS) develops ensemble musicianship in all standards of musicians; Band Society allows students to form bands and play at the best venues in the city. Then there’s jazz and swing enthusiasts, the Flute Choir, the Brass Band, All Voices, and the Stage and Screen Orchestra. LUMS also offer the ‘Band Society’ as an exchange for pop musicians to form bands. 

Other performance opportunities 

There are many opportunities to perform as a soloist or in a group during your time here. As well as the ensembles detailed above, the department offers opportunities in concert series at The Tung Auditorium, the Victoria Gallery & Museum, and St Patrick’s Church. There is a Department Showcase in the spring, showcasing the best performers from across the department; our Widening Participation programme involves students from across our courses; and students often set up their own performances in local venues. 

As Liverpool students you are encouraged to innovate, to form new societies or reshape existing ones, and help to make your mark on the constantly changing musical life of both the campus and the city.