Central ensembles

Auditions for Services For Education (Birmingham Schools’) Central Ensembles are open to young musicians in full time education who attend a Birmingham School or live within the city of Birmingham.

Central ensembles are designed for intermediate (approximately Grade 3 standard upwards) through to advanced performers. Ensembles rehearse weekly during term time with members benefiting from over 100 hours of specialist ensemble tuition.

As a general rule, we expect ensemble members to be with each group for two academic years to be in a position to access the next level ensemble both in terms of instrumental capability and ensemble craft, although there are sometimes exceptional cases where membership of a group may be more or less than this. In all cases we expect our ensemble members to audition every two years.  

If you are offered and accept a place in one of our SFE Ensembles musicians are expected to maintain regular instrumental or vocal tuition to enable continued personal improvement.

Central Ensembles Update Aug 2021

We currently run 21 auditioned Central Ensembles:

Woodwind, Brass and Percussion  

• Birmingham Schools’ Jazz Ensemble
• Birmingham Schools’ Training Wind Orchestra 
• Birmingham Schools’ Concert Band 
• Birmingham Schools’ Wind Orchestra

Strings 

• Birmingham Schools’ Junior String Orchestra 
• Birmingham Schools’ String Sinfonia

Full Orchestra -Strings, Woodwind, Brass and Percussion 

• Birmingham Schools’ Concert Orchestra 
• Birmingham Schools’ Symphony Orchestra 

Guitars 

• Birmingham Schools’ Training Guitar Ensemble
• Birmingham Schools’ Guitar Sinfonia
• Birmingham Schools’ Guitar Ensemble 

Orchestral Percussion 

• Birmingham Schools’ Training Percussion Ensemble
• Birmingham Schools’ Percussion Ensemble 

Percussion and World Music 

• Birmingham Schools’ Raga and Tala 
• Birmingham Schools’ Azaad Dhol Group 
• Birmingham Schools’ Steel Band 

Recorders

• Birmingham Schools’ Recorder Ensemble
• Birmingham Schools’ Recorder Sinfonia 
  

Brass Bands 

• Birmingham Schools’ Brass Attack
• Birmingham Schools’ Brass Band 

Vocal 

• Birmingham Schools’ Singers 

For more details, or to request an audition, please contact ensembles@servicesforeducation.co.uk

Did you know that Services For Education is a charity?

Every year, we bring together 2,000 young people from across Birmingham and form over 70 ensembles, specialising in a variety of instruments.

We do not charge for our ensembles because imposing a charge would create an immediate barrier for many families who would struggle to afford these costs but this is only sustainable with support from our donors.

We need your help to keep our ensembles going. 

Become a Friend of Services For Education for as little as £3 per month to support our ensembles. Or, if you’d prefer make a one-off donation.

Find out more on our Charity Website.