A very creative college, full of artistic development, innovative and a great environment to be a part of. My experience so far has been great and I would recommend this college.

Facilities are good though more room availability would be great. I would suggest having dedicated teaching rooms to free up space for practice rooms, at the moment they are integrated and it’s hard to find rooms for your own practice when half of them are taken up by teachers during the day. We are the only all Steinway conservatoire in the UK – though bear in mind that most of these are only designed by Steinway and not produced by them!

There is lots of support provided: counselling and finance help is definitely provided.

Do we have a students’ union?! I guess this proves that they have not really made much of a presence in the college which is disappointing.

There are superb places to go drink and see live music.

There is a lot of artistic development in LCM because of the creative practitioners who work one-to-one with you on your individual, creative needs. The teaching is first-rate as the tutors themselves are well established jazz and classical musicians. They are all so experienced so you can really tap-in on their knowledge. You are not just restricted to one teacher, you get such a varied range of teachers and you have access to all of them. There are also people who visit LCM from the States and Europe who come and do masterclasses with us. I would say the teaching is second to none.

The chances of getting a job are really difficult, but that’s what being a musician is like.

I love living in Leeds and coming to music college. It is always great to be able to collaborate with anyone you want to in the college, I know this is the only time in my life where I will be amongst so many great musicians.

The facilities are open till 3am on weekdays, but close much too early at 4pm on weekends. If weekend hours were longer I would definitely go in to practice. There also needs to be more saxophones available for use in the college, and the current ones need to be fixed.

Freshers’ 2014 was a big improvement compared to the last. Events are more relevant, last year I did not attend much of Freshers’ because what was put-on simply didn’t interest me. There is a jazz night held every month now which is a great addition to the events here.

I am from a small city where not much happens, so Leeds seems rather huge in comparison. It can never compete with a place like London but it is a good stepping stone for a potential move to the capital. There are always gigs and places to go for a drink.

I’m in the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra and the Big Band. This was particularly enjoyable and beneficial when I was in first year as it meant you could integrate with students in 2nd and 3rd year and not feel too confined in the “Joseph Stones bubble”.

The lessons are quite intense but personally that is a great factor about the course because I like to be challenged and it is the best way to improve yourself as a musician. The tutors are really involved in how you progress and appreciate the contributions you make to the college. There are not many contact hours in the week, which most people are unsatisfied with, but I prefer it this way as it means I have more time to do my own things such as getting my personal practice done and rehearsing with bands. The quality of the teaching is one of the best aspects of LCM. As a saxophonist, I get additional guidance on playing my instrument because so many of the tutors play saxophone and will inform me about my playing even if it’s not in the context of a one-to-one lesson. I had an encounter with one of my tutors outside of college whilst in a shop looking for a new mouthpiece and he decided to give some guidance as to which to purchase. It’s these gestures of goodwill which I really appreciate as it shows how much they care, even outside of college. I find lecturers can sometimes be too “nice” to students with how they are so passive when they give feedback, I would prefer a more direct approach to make it clear to students what is expect of them.

I have sought advice relating to jobs before and tutors always point me in the right direction.

Joseph Stones accommodation is very expensive; however, I cannot imagine not living there in my first year as it is the place where everyone starts getting to know each other. It is still too expensive despite this and it is disappointing to know how much student accommodation companies, like Unite, take advantage of new students.