Section Leader 2nd Violin, Royal Northern Sinfonia

Final date to receive applications: 17.00 on Friday 4 December 2026

Department & Team:
Royal Northern Sinfonia & Classical Team

Location:

The Glasshouse International Centre for Music

Working Hours:

Members of Royal Northern Sinfonia work in line with the North Music Trust / Musicians’ Union agreement

Position in organisation and starting salary:
Section Leader 2nd Violin £48,570 (SCP 23)

Reports to:

Senior Orchestra & Personnel Manager

Works in conjunction with:
Royal Northern Sinfonia musicians and the Classical Team

We welcome applications from all nationalities. Successful applicants will be asked to present the relevant documents to demonstrate their eligibility to work in the UK or asked to apply for a visa granting permission to work. If you don’t currently have the right to work in the UK, we can discuss your longer‑term options and help support with visa applications where necessary.

We appreciate people have busy diaries, so if you find yourself unavailable for one of the stages outlined below, we still encourage you to apply and follow up with an email to Tom Hickman (Senior Orchestra & Personnel Manager) (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below).

Please submit a video recording which contains the following excerpts by 17.00 on Friday 4 December 2026:

Johannes Brahms Symphony No.2, 1st mvt letters A – B & D – F

Excerpts for Stage One can be found in the attachment above.

Your submission needs to be recorded live, in one take and without any editing. Please note the panel will only hear the audio of your submission.

We will aim to notify successful candidates from Stage One by the end of Friday 11 December 2026 at the latest.

Your audition will take place at The Warehouse, 13 Theed Street, London, SE1 8ST
and will consist of two parts:

Part A: A screened audition consisting of the first movement of a Mozart Concerto (exposition only) and a contrasting Concerto (exposition only)

An accompanist will be provided but do bring your own if you wish.

Part B:
An un-screened audition consisting of orchestral excerpts and a pre-selected movement of chamber music with members of the panel. The repertoire for Stage Two, Part B is listed below.

Johannes Brahms Symphony No.2, 1st mvt letters A – B & D – F

J S Bach St. Matthew Passion, No.42 b.1 – 51 (top line)

Chamber Music

We will aim to notify successful candidates from Stage One by the end of Friday 22 January 2027 at the latest.

An orchestral audition with Royal Northern Sinfonia playing pre-selected repertoire, conducted by Music Director Dinis Sousa. This will be a concert performed on 1 March 2027.

Ludwig Van Beethoven Symphony No.1, 2nd mvt b. 1 – 64

Royal Northern Sinfonia play at A=440

We will aim to notify successful candidates from Stage Three by the end of Friday 05 March 2027 with candidates being asked to provide their availability for Stage 4 by Friday 19 March 2027.

Dates from April 2027

The final stage in the recruitment process will involve the successful candidates undertaking paid work with the orchestra in line with the North Music Trust/Musicians’ Union Freelance Agreement.

For Section Leader positions this will consist of four patches of paid work, with one patch centred around our core classical repertoire conducted by Music Director Dinis Sousa. You’ll also take part in a chamber music rehearsal with members of the panel and an interview with the Leader (or appropriate Section Leaders) and the Senior…