Conductor John Wilson at rehearsal, holding his baton raised in both hands, ready to conduct, with a focused and excited expression. He is raring to go with the music.
One-Day Course

Holst: The Planets conducting workshop

24 January 2027

Henry Wood Hall
Trinity Church Square
London SE1 4HU

Cost
  • Non student
    £45
  • Student
    £25
Apply now Learn more about our Bursaries

John Wilson joins us for the first time to lead a workshop with senior conducting students on Holst’s The Planets suite, kicking off our 70th anniversary year.

Heavily inspired by Holst’s fascination with astrology and the psychological characteristics of the zodiac (rather than the scientific properties of astronomy), each movement is named after a planet of the solar system (excluding Earth and Pluto) and captures a distinct mood or character, with colourful orchestration and memorable melodies.

Applications are invited for all sections of the orchestra from players at Grade 8-plus, or equivalent. We would also love to hear from you if you’re an accomplished singer interested in joining us for the women’s choir in the final movement, Neptune.

The nearest stations to Henry Wood Hall are Borough, Elephant and Castle, and London Bridge. There is free parking in the surrounding streets on Sundays (and parking on the forecourt for large instruments).

Please note that while the hall is in the central London congestion charge zone (fee £15, payable online), it only operates on Sundays only if you’re driving through the zone between 12.00 and 18.00, which should mean players are not affected.

(The London Ultra Low Emission Zone applies all day, every day. Check here to see if your vehicle is affected.)

Apply Learn more about our Bursaries

Repertoire:

The Planets

Gustav Holst

Conductor:

John Wilson

Schedule

10.30-13.30

14.30-17.15

Open Rehearsal

17.45 Please let us know in advance if you would like to attend the Open Rehearsal.

Apply Learn more about our Bursaries
A violin student playing in the orchestra with a smile on her face.

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Our Courses

All course fees are subsidised by our fundraising activities and fees are further reduced for students. Some bursary funding is available: please enquire when applying for courses. In addition to the general full and part bursaries we offer, we have two specific bursary schemes:

  • Co-Principal Strings Student Bursary scheme

    If you are currently studying full-time at a UK conservatoire and would appreciate the opportunity to work intensively on large-scale symphonic repertoire with professional conductors, without the pressure of public performance, at the same time as benefiting directly from the experience of our professional string principals, why not apply for the Co-Principal Strings Student bursary scheme? Successful applicants will be offered a bursary-funded place on one of our weekend courses as co-principal first or second violin, viola, cello or double bass. A modest contribution to travel costs is available to participants attending London weekend courses who are studying outside London.

  • Play ON bursary programme

    Our newest bursary programme, Play ON, initiated in 2022 by a grant from the Victoria Wood Foundation, enables us to offer a number of bursary-funded places on London weekend courses to current conservatoire students and recent graduates across all sections of the orchestra, particularly those who studied and/or graduated during the Covid pandemic. A contribution to travel costs is available to all participants.

    Are you a young musician from Devon? We have bursaries available to enable you to attend our courses, funded by the Veronica Awdry Charitable Trust.

To apply for these schemes, please email admin@rehearsal-orchestra.org with your CV.