In recent years, more and more Chinese students have chosen to study music abroad to improve their vocal performance skills, which has increased the demand for vocal training and overseas study counseling. To adapt to this market trend, I intend to establish Xiaowei Vocal Studio, a private vocal training studio located in China. Our services include personalized vocal lessons and admission tutoring for overseas conservatoires. The studio mainly serves students who lack professional vocal guidance, have difficulties in repertoire selection and are unfamiliar with the application process of overseas conservatoires. Many students often meet obstacles in audition preparation, portfolio recording and overall application planning without proper professional advice. We aim to combine systematic vocal training with overseas admission guidance, allowing students to improve their singing abilities and finish all application preparations smoothly.
In terms of vocal courses, Xiaowei vocal studio will arrange one-on-one classical vocal teaching to help students improve their vocal skills and overall singing ability. The class will cover basic vocal training such as breathing, intonation, and resonance. At the same time, there is also guidance on the pronunciation and musical interpretation of foreign languages in songs. Different students may also have different vocal conditions and musical backgrounds, so lesson content will be adjusted according to individual learning progress. In addition to technical training, students will also receive guidance on stage performance and emotional expression in singing, which are important parts of auditions for overseas conservatories. For overseas school applications, students will be provided with relevant application preparation guidance, including institution selection, application process description, sorting out the required materials and interview guidance.
According to the data of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, China has always been one of the countries with the largest number of students studying abroad in the world, and many students pursue studies in foreign universities every year. Countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia have been the main study abroad destinations for Chinese students in recent years. Although the number of people has fluctuated over time, the overall trend is still gradually rising. (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, n.d.)
In addition, the China Study Abroad Development Report (Blue Book) released by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) mentioned that the number of Chinese students studying in overseas higher education institutions reached 1.021 million in 2021, ranking first in the world and about twice the number of India, the second-ranked country. And the latest information of the 2026 Chinese Students’ Study Abroad Development Report released by New Oriental also shows that the proportion of undergraduate students with the intention to study abroad is as high as 63% in 2026. (Center for China and Globalization, 2024; New Oriental, 2026)
These data show that a large number of Chinese students choose to go abroad to continue their studies. Combined with my own experience in domestic music study, it can be seen that more and more vocal students have begun to consider applying for overseas conservatories these years, and will take the initiative to find tutoring institutions related to auditions, portfolios and vocal singing. This suggests that combining vocal training with overseas conservatoire preparation could have strong potential in the future.
At present, the relevant institutions in the market can be roughly divided into two categories, one is traditional vocal training institutions, and the other is ordinary study abroad consulting institutions. The former usually pays more attention to basic singing skills and examination training, but has relatively limited understanding of the application process, audition requirements and foreign teaching systems of overseas conservatories. Although the latter can provide application guidance, it often lacks professional training and guidance for students majoring in vocal music. In many cases, students may need to look for vocal teachers and study abroad agencies separately during the preparation process. This can increase communication difficulties and make the whole preparation process more complicated for students. Compared with receiving guidance from different institutions individually, combining vocal training and overseas conservatoire preparation within the same studio may help students build a clearer and more consistent learning process. This shows that there are still very few comprehensive institutions for vocal students who want to study abroad.
The project is carried out in a combination of online and offline modes. Offline courses are mainly used for vocal training, which will make teaching more effective and targeted. While online courses focus on the relevant content of overseas conservatoire applications, this kind of content is more about communication and application planning, and the online method is more flexible in terms of arrangement, which is also convenient for students to adjust according to their own time. The teaching staff are those who have studied or applied for overseas conservatories, and have Chinese and English communication skills to handle cross-language applications, helping students adapt to overseas teaching and communication styles earlier. The studio is equipped with professional pianos and recording facilities to support vocal training and the recording of student portfolios. Before officially starting business, it is also necessary to complete the registration of the studio and the processing of relevant business licenses in advance, and understand the requirements of the music training studio in terms of site use and teaching operation to avoid problems in the subsequent operation process.
At the beginning, course publicity posters and enrollment information will be released and promoted through music learning communities and study abroad-related platforms. Platforms such as TikTok, Xiaohongshu and Instagram will also be used to share daily vocal training content, teaching clips and audition preparation processes, so that students can understand the course content and actual teaching situation more directly. Influence will be gradually expanded through sharing and recommendations among students. We may also respond to student inquiries through messages and offer online consultations, so that we can better understand their needs and provide suggestions to help improve and refine the course.
The start-up capital is estimated between 120,000 and 150,000 RMB. This range may also change slightly as the project develops. The monthly rent for offline teaching sites is 3,000 to 6,000 RMB depending on the location and final arrangement. Teaching equipment includes one grand piano placed in the recording studio, costing 40,000 to 60,000 RMB. Two to three upright pianos are used for daily teaching, with each costing 5,000 to 10,000 RMB. A grand piano will be used for portfolio recording, as it helps achieve a better overall sound and visual presentation. Upright pianos will be used for daily teaching and practice, supporting regular lessons and in-class training. Recording studio equipment costs 50,000 to 60,000 RMB, including microphones and sound insulation and sound absorption work. This is quite important for students who need to record audition materials for overseas applications. Promotion fees are 1,000 to 3,000 RMB, covering poster design and online content production. One-on-one courses start at 300 RMB per hour. Teachers’ salaries will be settled according to actual class arrangements.
All teachers, venues and teaching facilities will be fully prepared ahead of the official opening of courses and promotion work will be carried out. After the course begins, we will pay more attention to the quality of teaching and student feedback. Course content will be adjusted based on students’ progress, and the application guidance process for overseas conservatories will continue to be improved. With the increase of the number of students and application experience, the course content will also be further enriched. We will consider gradually expanding instrumental music-related courses, expanding the scope of enrollment, and strengthening exchanges and cooperation with overseas conservatoires of music and related teachers, so as to make the subsequent teaching and application tutoring more mature.
When I first came up with this project idea, I merely planned to run a basic one-on-one vocal training program centered on singing techniques and repertoire practice. However, after discussing with the group, team members pointed out that numerous well-established vocal training institutions already exist in the market. If regular vocal teaching is solely provided, the courses will be hard to distinguish from others and lack competitiveness in a highly competitive education market. After taking this opinion into account, I began to adjust the general development direction of the whole project and supplemented content related to the application process for overseas professional music conservatories, hoping that combining vocal training with overseas conservatoire applications could make the project more distinctive from other studios.
When finalizing the class format plan, we held different opinions. Some members believed that all courses should be arranged offline because face-to-face communication is more direct and effective, but I considered that some students may live quite far away, so it would be inconvenient for them to travel back and forth if all lessons were held offline. Matters such as application procedures and school selection can be smoothly handled through online communication, while the vocal training requires teachers to evaluate students’ vocal conditions and technical details in person. After thorough discussion, we finally decided to adopt a teaching mode that combines online and offline courses.
Regarding promotion approaches, we came up with various ideas at the very start. Some people thought we could hand out leaflets and do offline promotion as conventional training centers usually do. Yet I figured most students nowadays tend to check out different courses on social platforms. Music related content works perfectly for posting short videos and daily sharing to attract more people. This also allows potential students to get a clearer idea of the teaching style before they decide to join. In the end, we settled on focusing all publicity on online platforms.
The budget section of the project was revised numerous times. At first, I did not have a clear understanding of equipment costs and assumed that an initial fund ranging from 50,000 to 80,000 RMB would be sufficient to set up a small studio. Later on, other team members pointed out that the actual expenses for pianos and recording studios would be far higher than estimated. I then looked up the prevailing market prices for all relevant facilities. After careful calculation, I realized that the preliminary investment was considerably more than I had originally planned. Since portfolio recordings require strict acoustic standards and we hoped to offer students a better recording environment, we eventually adjusted the total budget to approximately 120,000 to 150,000 RMB.
This project started as a vague idea and gradually developed through changes in course content, teaching format and budget planning. This process gave me a more specific understanding of music-related overseas education services and a more practical view of operating this type of studio in the future.
References
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (n.d.) UIS Data Browser.
https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org
New Oriental (2026) 2026 China Study Abroad Development Report.
https://liuxue.xdf.cn/news/7888097.shtml
Center for China and Globalization (CCG) (2024) 2023–2024 China Study Abroad Development Report Blue Book.
