Strings Syllabus

Entries open 01/01/2026 and close 25/02/2026

Classes held on 8th, 12th and 13th May 2026 at Redhill United Reformed Church, Upper Hall

Adjudicator: Ariane Zandi BMus, MA, MISM

Born into a family of musicians, Ariane has been surrounded by music her entire life. She
studied at the Junior Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she won the Director’s
Prize in her final year. She then went on to study at the Royal College of Music with Melissa
Phelps.
As a performer, Ariane has played under many esteemed conductors including Maestro
Bernard Haitink, Gustavo Dudamel and John Wilson. She has recorded for both BBC radio
and television and has performed and recorded chamber music with Nicola Benedetti. Her
work as a freelance cellist mainly involves musical theatre and session work, including performances at the London Palladium, and recordings at Abbey Road Studios.
Ariane currently holds teaching positions at the Royal College of Music Junior Department,
St Paul’s School, Westminster Under School and Kings College School. She has also been
invited to coach the cello section of the Chineke! Junior Orchestra and has adjudicated the
music competition at the Godolphin and Latymer School. Ariane is also currently a mentor
for aspiring cellists at Music Masters.
In 2022, she received a distinction for her MA in Music Education from the Institute of
Education and she is currently pursuing a PhD at the same institution. Ariane has also been
contributed articles to The Strad magazine’s educational hub and Music Teacher Magazine.

Enquiries

Any enquiries about this section should be emailed to: strings@rrfestival.org

Accompanist

You are welcome to use your own accompanist or you can use one of our festival accompanists. See here for details.

In cases of financial need, The Cheryl King Trust (now incorporating the Robert Bouffler Music Trust) may be able to help with accompanist costs for children and young people. Please contact Barbara Barnes at barbara@cherylkingtrust.org.uk.

Rules

For a full list of the Festival’s rules and regulations see here.

Please take note of Rule 3a: it is a condition of our Surrey County Council performance licence that all performers in school years 11 and below must be accompanied by an appropriate adult at all times while at Festival venues.

Junior Classes

Open to participants of all ages.
Own choice classes – please abide by Regulations 17 and 18.
‘Own choice’ means any one piece from any of the exam board syllabuses, e.g. ABRSM, Trinity, MTB, for the appropriate grade or a selected piece chosen at the discretion of your teacher which is of the same standard.

300 Beginner Violin and Viola
For performers who have not yet reached Grade 1 standard.
Fee £5.00
Up to 1 min

301 Beginner Cello and Double Bass
For performers who have not yet reached Grade 1 standard.
Fee £5.00
Up to 1 min

302 Grade 1 Violin and Viola
Fee £5.00
Up to 2 mins

303 Grade 1 Cello and Double Bass
Fee £5.00
Up to 2 mins

304 Grade 2 Violin and Viola
Fee £5.00
Up to 2 mins

305 Grade 2 Cello and Double Bass
Fee £5.50
Up to 3 mins

306 Grade 3 Violin and Viola
Fee £5.50
Up to 3 mins

307 Grade 3 Cello and Double bass
Fee £5.50
Up to 3 mins

308 Junior Recital (Grade 2&3)
Open to all string instruments.
2 contrasting pieces.
Fee £7.50
Up to 6 mins

309 Junior Duo/Trio/Quartet
Any combination of string instruments.
Optional piano accompaniment.
Fee £7.00 per group
Group of 2 to 4 people
Up to 4 mins

310 Party Piece!
Play your most celebratory party piece and bring a costume or props to match the piece, if you like!
Fee £5.50
Up to 3 mins

Intermediate Classes

Open to participants of all ages.
Own choice classes – please abide by Regulations 17 and 18.
‘Own choice’ means any one piece from any of the exam board syllabuses, eg ABRSM, Trinity, MTB etc., for the appropriate grade or a selected piece chosen at the discretion of your teacher which is of the same standard.

311 Grade 4 Violin and Viola
Fee £6.00
Up to 4 mins.

312 Grade 4 Cello and Double Bass
Fee £6.00
Up to 4 mins.

313 Grade 5 Violin and Viola
Fee £6.00
Up to 4 mins.

314 Grade 5 Cello and Double Bass
Fee £6.00
Up to 4 mins.

315 Intermediate Recital (Grade 4&5)
Open to all string instruments.
2 contrasting pieces.
Fee £8.00
Up to 8 mins.

316 Intermediate Duo/Trio/Quartet
Any combination of string instruments.
Optional Piano accompaniment for Duos only.
Fee £7.50 per group
Group of 2 to 4 people
Up to 5 mins.

317 Festive Piece!
Play your favourite uplifting festive piece and bring a costume or props to match the piece, if you like!
Fee £5.00
Up to 3 mins.

Senior Classes

318 Grade 6 & 7 Violin
Fee £7.50
Up to 7 mins.

319 Grade 6 & 7 Viola/Cello/Double Bass
Fee £7.50
Up to 7 mins.

320 Grade 8 Violin
Fee £8.00
Up to 8 mins.

321 Grade 8 Viola/Cello/Double Bass
Fee £8.00
Up to 8 mins.

322 Sonata Class
One movement from any sonata.
Fee £8.00
Up to 8 mins

323 Solo Bach Class
Up to 2 movements from any solo (unaccompanied) Sonata or Partita by J. S. Bach
Fee £8.00
Up to 7 mins

324 Contemporary Class
One piece by any living composer.
Fee £8.00
Up to 8 mins

325 Senior Recital (Grade 6+)
Up to 3 contrasting pieces.
Fee £12.00
Up to 13 mins

326 Senior Duo/Trio/Quartet
Any combination of string instruments.
Piano trios and piano quartets are welcome.
No professional piano accompaniment.
Fee £8.00 per group
Group of 2 to 4 people
Up to 8 mins

327 Adults only!
This is a non-competitive class for over 18s.
One own choice piece.
Fee ₤7.50
Up to 5 mins

Ensembles
For String Ensembles entries please see the Group Music section.

Concerto Competition
For Concerto entries, please see our Concerto Competition section.

Strings Syllabus

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