How Trinity Laban shapes working artists

“When Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy first auditioned for Tina: The Tina Turner Musical , she turned down the chance to read for the lead. “I thought it was way too hard,” she says of the role, which demanded stamina, control, and the ability to hold a stage for nearly three hours. At the time, she didn’t see herself there. But the creative team did. MacCarthy went on to perform as Tina Turner in a record-breaking Australian run in 2023–24 before taking on the role again on the UK tour. Critics described her performance as “an embodiment” — the result of sustained training as much as instinct. That training began years earlier. Before stepping onto the international stage, MacCarthy completed her BA in Musical Theatre Performance at Trinity Laban . Her time there moved across studios and stages, from Laurie Grove to the Laban Building and rehearsal spaces at the Old Royal Naval College. The South East London conservatoire places students in working environments early on. Most importantly, the structure of its courses extended beyond place. Students learn alongside musicians across disciplines rather than remaining within a single track. “You get to mingle with other course students… jazz, classical pianists, other instruments,” says MacCarthy. “It was a beautiful way to run a course.” It’s the kind of environment she now thrives within. On stage, that exchange is constant, between performers, musicians, and the shifting demands of live production. It’s there in her own work, and across a wider group of Trinity Laban alumni. Source: Trinity Laban Jazz vocalist Cherise’s headline debut at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club draws on a tradition shaped by collaboration and musical dialogue, while saxophonist Ruben Fox and pianist Deschanel Gordon performed as part of Olivia Dean’s band at the Grammy Awards. Deschanel, who won the BBC Young Jazz Musician 2020 competition, also contributed to Dean’s albums The Art of Loving and Messy . Different environments, different demands. The throughline is preparation — technical and collaborative. At Trinity Laban, students explore across music and dance throughout their training, creating new work alongside performers, composers, and choreographers — from original scores for dance pieces to live performance projects built in rehearsal and presented to audiences. This comes into focus during CoLab , a two-week intensive where hundreds of students come together to create and stage original work across disciplines — composers writing for dancers, musicians performing alongside choreographers — ideas taking shape in rehearsal before moving quickly to the stage. These projects sit alongside a programme of public performances staged across London, from Blackheath Halls and St Alfege Church to theatres such as the Albany in Deptford, where Trinity Laban students often put knowledge into practice. This cross-disciplinary approach continues at the highest levels of the industry. Sir Wayne McGregor, Professor of Choreography at Trinity Laban and Resident Choreographer at The Royal Ballet, shapes his lessons and builds his productions through long-standing partnerships with composers, musicians, and digital artists. Movement is developed alongside sound, film, and design, with each element shaping the other. In 2026, McGregor will receive the Olivier Award for Outstanding Contribution to Dance . He is part of a faculty made up of practising artists whose careers continue alongside their teaching. The same expectations of collaboration, range, and precision carry into the work of its graduates, many of whom are recognised in their own right. Source: Trinity Laban Some leave a mark over decades. Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who studied at Trinity College of Music in the late 1950s, went on to create Afrobeat — a form that drew on jazz, highlife, funk, and Yoruba music, and continues to influence musicians worldwide. In 2026, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award , becoming the first African artist to receive the honour. Others are recognised earlier in their careers; also, for projects that move across forms. Nneka Cummins , who completed an MMus in Composition in 2022, received an Ivors Classical Award for Best Large Ensemble Composition . Cummins’ award-winning composition finding gills [when they try to drown you] brings together chamber orchestra and electronics. Emma-Jean Thackray’s Mercury Prize nomination reflects a practice just as broad, drawing together jazz, funk, soul, and electronic influences within a single body of work. In performance, the same level of precision holds. Scarlett Jones, a recent Bachelor of Music graduate, won first prize at the Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition , following her success in the Metropolitan Opera Competition’s New York District. She now continues her training at The Juilliard School as a Kovner Fellow. Inspired? To explore the ins and outs of creating across contexts, performing at the highest level and being recognised for it, take your pick from Trinity Laban’s full range of programmes . Follow Trinity Laban on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube , LinkedIn , and TikTok

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