Our programming

We programme around 150 short courses and 30 concerts each year, ranging from baroque and 19th century chamber music to jazz and folk music. While our programme includes established courses that run each year, we are always looking to grow and evolve what we offer so we can share new and exciting ideas with our participants and audience members. 

We are happy to receive proposals for courses and concerts. All submissions will be reviewed by our Music & Learning team in the context of our programme priorities. This includes offering a balanced programme that caters for a range of ability levels, instrument needs, interests and genres. Unfortunately, due to the number of submissions we receive, we are only able to continue conversations with those that meet our priorities.  

Courses 

The majority of our courses run Monday-Thursday and Friday-Sunday (please see our sample timetable for further information) and are targeted towards a particular genre, instrument, ensemble size, ability level or skill. If you are submitting a proposal, please include details of the course concept/content, any learning objectives, target ability level and how the course would be taught.  

Concerts  

Most of our evening concerts are programmed in conjunction with our courses, with course tutors presenting programmes or supporting us in selecting artists that complement the course. Our afternoon concert series takes place on the second Monday of each month and focuses on young and emerging artists. When submitting a concert proposal, please include one or two sample programmes.  

Partnerships 

Working in partnership is important to us. We are always interested in teaming up with other organisations to develop new ideas or enable more people to enjoy music making and learning. Partnerships have enabled us to offer bursaries to participants in financial hardship, to develop new programmes responding to the needs and interests of our audiences and to experiment with ideas.   

Partnership in action: Performing for Hitchin 

For a number of years, we have collaborated with Everyone Matters to create Performing for Hitchin. The project is both a short course and a series of performances in residential care settings. It provides participants with the experience of working at pace in flexible ensembles to present a performance, while also offering audiences the opportunity to encounter live music during a time when they otherwise wouldn’t be able to.  

Please send your submission to info@benslowmusic.org. We look forward to hearing from you.