Creating opportunities, elevating talents
Since 1991, the School has offered high-level training to young talents, regardless of their origin. With a focus based on excellence, artistic development, and social impact, it promotes talent and brings the best music to all audiences.
Through concerts, pedagogical activities, and comprehensive training, the School ensures that talent is the only condition for accessing its high-level education and offers its students personalized study programs with internationally renowned teachers.
Why study at the School?
Highest Level of Teaching Staff
For the instrument, singing, conducting, and composition professorships, the School has leading figures of great international prestige.
Talent as the Sole Selection Criterion
In the selection auditions, only merit matters. With an average admission rate of 6%, the Reina Sofía School is one of the most selective in Europe.
Personalized Education
The School fosters an intense teacher-student relationship and a program with a personalized plan of individual and group classes for each student.
The Stage as an Extension of the Classroom
The School offers students an intense stage experience thanks to its extensive artistic program. Each student performs in an average of 20 concerts per year.
Free Tuition
Tuition is free for all thanks to scholarships provided by patrons. In addition, the School has a system of scholarships and various financial aid to make it easier for students to cover all their needs during the course.
Employability
Our former students develop their artistic careers all over the world. The more than 800 alumni of the School live and work successfully in more than 200 cities.
Exceptional Facilities
The School is located in the heart of Madrid, next to the Royal Palace and the Teatro Real, in a modern building of 5,000 m2. It has an auditorium with 351 seats, large classrooms, study booths, audiovisual media, and a library.
Tuition and financial aid
All students enjoy free tuition. A scholarship can be requested from the Albéniz Foundation that covers 100% of the cost of tuition and whose amount amounts to €45,000 per year, an amount equivalent to the average cost of studies per person and academic year. The initial granting of this aid is conditional on the signing and acceptance of the specific conditions of this scholarship.
The scholarship is annual and can be renewed, which will be granted based on the academic and artistic development of the student, as well as their respect for the code of conduct.
The only payment they must assume is 1,200 euros as a reservation fee.
What can you study?
Degrees & Masters
Non-Official Studies
Living in Madrid
Get your Bearings in Madrid
The Reina Sofía School of Music is located in the Plaza de Oriente, a historical enclave in Madrid, near the Royal Palace and the Teatro Real, surrounded by a wide cultural and commercial offer.
Students usually reside in Argüelles and Chamberí, neighborhoods well connected to the center. The Community of Madrid offers leisure options and cultural visits, such as World Heritage cities and the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park, accessible by public transport.
The climate is dry, with hot summers (up to 40°C) and cold winters (minimums below 0°C).
Accommodation
As a student in Madrid, the most economical and accessible accommodation option is to rent or share an apartment. The Reina Sofía School of Music does not have a student residence, but it is easily accessible by public transport from the rest of the city.
The rent for a one-bedroom apartment can range from €700 to €1200, depending on the area and the condition of the accommodation. In the case of sharing an apartment, the cost of a room in the center of Madrid is around €600 on average, and can drop to €450 in other more distant neighborhoods. It is important to know that electricity, water and heating costs are not normally included in the rental price, whether for an entire or shared apartment.
Leisure and Culture
Madrid has a very rich cultural and leisure offer. Along with a very lively nightlife – it is said that Madrid never sleeps – the capital offers a multitude of first-rate museums, theaters, auditoriums and cinemas. In addition, the proximity of the city to natural environments and historical cities allows for excursions of great interest.
Several of the world’s most important art galleries are concentrated on the Paseo del Prado, also known as the Paseo del Arte: the Prado Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and the Reina Sofía Museum. Next to these there are dozens of museums that cover everything from fashion to the naval world. Very close to the Paseo del Prado is the The Parque de El Retiro, Madrid’s most emblematic gardens. Another large green space in the city is the Casa de Campo, five times larger than New York’s Central Park.
Madrid’s musical offer is very wide, with weekly concerts of all kinds of genres. Classical music concerts are concentrated in the National Auditorium, home of the National Orchestra and Choir of Spain, the Teatro Real, the opera house of Madrid, and the Teatro de la Zarzuela. Discounts for young people and students are common in these institutions.
Less than two hours from Madrid are several environments declared World Heritage Sites for their architectural and historical richness, easily visited by public transport: San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Alcalá de Henares, Aranjuez, Segovia and Toledo. The is also located 50km from the capital Sierra de Guadarrama National Park, where you can do all kinds of hiking trails.
Cost of Living
The cost of living for a student in Madrid varies from €800 to €1,200, depending on the cost of rent and the area where you live. As a reference, these are the most frequent costs of common products:
- Food: €350 per month
- Transportation pass: €10/month (for those under 26 years of age)
- Single metro/bus ticket: €1.50-2
- Movie ticket: €12
- Coffee in a bar: €2.50
- Bottle of water: €1.70. Tap water in Madrid is of high quality, and it is not necessary to purchase bottled water.
- Entrance to a museum: €12. (Almost all museums have discounts for students)
- Mobile phone line: €10-30, depending on the amount of calls and mobile data included in the rate.
- Menu of the day: €10-15. The menu of the day is a combination of two courses, dessert and drink that is served in most restaurants daily and at noon. The School has an agreement with an establishment that offers students a very reduced price (€4) on the daily menu.
Admission
The only selection criterion is the talent of the candidate. The process consists of several phases:
1. Online Registration
2. Preselection
3. Audition
The registration period for the 2025-2026 auditions is closed, but do not miss the opportunity to be informed about the 2026-2027 auditions.
Complete the form and receive all the details to take the first step towards your musical future. Your talent matters to us!