National Chamber Music Festival for Schools 2025
Chamber Champions 2025 Announced
Thank you to everyone who has made the 2025 Festival our best yet!
The Pro Corda Festival is the only national festival to exclusively promote and celebrate chamber music within schools. It is available to all instrumental ensembles between three and nine players. The festival is a vibrant annual celebration of chamber music education in the UK. It is held in January, February and March each year and tours schools around the country through qualifying and regional semifinal rounds, culminating in a finals day at a prodigious performance venue. Each group receives individual coaching with a skilled adjudicator during every round, so the further they progress through the competition the more coaching and experience they receive. The Final usually has a special guest adjudicator and is a celebratory day of chamber music which allows the students the opportunity to play for, and meet, their peers in other schools from around the country.
Some of our 2025 Festival Award Winners
Sunday saw an intensely exciting and action packed day of chamber music in Woldingham School, Surrey as the Pro Corda Schools Festival came to its conclusion. Our thanks to all the schools across the country who took part and their incredibly hard work, the teachers and parents for their dedication; and above all the students who took part across the whole festival. Their talents and the way they work together as young people gives such hope for our world.
Some of our 2024 Chamber Champions
Some of our amazing festival performers
How does it work?
Each group will be invited to perform at a qualifying round where they will receive a public masterclass and written report from one of Pro Corda’s International Chamber Music coaches. Successful groups will be invited to perform at a semi-final round where they will receive an additional masterclass. The final is adjudicated by a distinguished world-class musician.
All finalist groups receive certificates and five ensembles are selected to be Chamber Champions. These groups will be offered a public performance opportunity in a prestigious venue to be announced. In addition to the Chamber Champions, trophies are awarded to schools for Outstanding Performance, and Outstanding Contribution to Chamber Music Education.
The festival is organised into different age categories: under 12s, under 14s, under 16s and under 19s.
For a full list of rules and regulations please click the link at the bottom of the page.
Some of our 2025 Festival Award Winners
Chamber music gives a unique and truly transformative education not just for the young musician and instrumentalist but for the young human being. It teaches sensitive and imaginative leadership alongside a sense of coming together to create something uniquely beautiful when the sum of collective parts becomes a magical whole of something beyond what those collective parts are. That is the eternal wonder of chamber music; and I’m so delighted it was portrayed so vividly throughout this year’s Pro Corda Festival.
The Chamber Champions 2025
Magdalen College SchoolU12 REM Piano Trio
Queen Elizabeth SchoolU14 String Quartet
St Albans SchoolU16 Faure Quartet
Millfield SchoolU19 Striking Sounds
Brighton CollegeU16 Saxophone Quartet
This years’ Founder’s Trophy was awarded to:
Ardingley College
Qualifying Rounds: w/c 27th Jan 2025
Venue: Warwick School
King Henry VIII School Piano Trio (U16)
Warwick School – The Kleine Cello Quartet (U12)
King’s High School – Accordia (U14)
Warwick Prep School – Luminae Trio (U12)
King’s High School – Kings Trio (U19)
Warwick School – Groovy Strings (U14)
King’s High School – Bach Cantata (U19)
King’s High School – Telemann Ensemble (U19)
King’s High School – Senior Cantata (U19)
Warwick School Flute Quintet (U16)
Warwick School Buxtehude Consort (U19)
King’s High Junior Trio (U14)
Warwick School Janitsch Quintet (U19)
Venue: Sevenoaks School
Sevenoaks School – Bozza Quartet (U19)
Sevenoaks School – Ravel Quartet (U16)
Sevenoaks School – Bruch Trio (U16)
Sevenoaks School Twardowski Trio (U14)
Sevenoaks School – Bridge Trio (U14)
Colfe’s School Junior String Quartet (U14)
Sevenoaks School – Faure Trio (U19)
Sevenoaks School – Moszkowski Trio (U16)
Sevenoaks School – Parker Saxophone Quartet (U19)
Ardingly College Junior Flute Trio (U14)
Ardingly College Intermediate Saxophone Quartet (U16)
Ardingly College Clarinet Trio (U19)
Venue: City of London Freemen’s School
Portsmouth Grammar School Wind Quintet (U19)
City of London Freemen’s School String Trio (U19)
City of London Freemen’s School Junior Quartet (U12)
City of London Freemen’s School Junior Piano Trio (U12)
Venue: Abingdon School
Abingdon School Violin Quartet (U19)
Abingdon School Clarinet Ensemble (U19)
So that’s it for another incredible year of the Pro Corda National Chamber Music Festival for Schools.
If YOUR school would like to get involved next year we will be opening up the 2026 Festival in September 2025. Follow us on social media by clicking the links below and you will be the first to hear all the details of the new Festival.
Thank you to everyone who has participated and helped us along the 2025 Festival journey.
Some of our 2025 Festival Award Winners
How can our school enter?
Schools can enter the Pro Corda Festival by filling in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with all the details of the applicants and the music they will be performing. Please upload the completed spreadsheet in the form below. Our Festival Co-ordinator will then be in touch with all the information you need.
You can download the spreadsheet by clicking the Festival Entry Form.
If you can’t access Microsoft Excel, or have any questions regarding the Festival please contact Pro Corda on 01728 831354.
All Host School Venues and dates can be found at the bottom of this page.
How do I pay the registration fees?
Schools can calculate the total fees for all their groups on the Festival Entry Form above. Payment can then be made via BACS (using the details on the Entry Form). If there is any discrepancy our Festival Co-ordinator will then be in touch.
If you have any further questions regarding the Festival please contact Pro Corda on 01728 831354.
Entry Fees:
U12 Category: £73
U14 Category: £80
U16 Category: £104
U19 Category: £120
