Music performance in the higher educational context is shaped by a reciprocal chain of interactions between students, part-time tutors and full-time teaching staff, each with specific expectations about the teaching and learning process. Such expectations can provide valuable insights not only for designing and implementing meaningful educational strategies but also for defining higher education (HE) institutions' specific mission, inside and outside departmental boundaries. Drawing on an empirical investigation about the dynamics of the expectations of the above stakeholders regarding the integration of instrumental/vocal tuition into the HE learning environment, this article discusses the need for developing teaching excellence in instrumental and vocal tuition across the UK, arguing that HE environments have a crucial role to play in such process.