Instrumental Performance - MMus / PgCert / PgDip

Program Overview

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Advance your skills as a performer with a postgraduate course in Instrumental Performance at

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Whether you're a recent graduate or returning to study after a break, our postgraduate courses in Instrumental Performance provide you with advanced-level training in your principal study area, preparing you for a solo, chamber or orchestral career, alongside excellent opportunities to develop other skills relevant to a future career in the music profession.

These courses are open to students pursuing orchestral instruments, keyboard instruments and other solo instruments such as recorder, guitar and saxophone. In addition, there is a

Chamber Music route

for bowed string and guitar ensembles.

The Instrumental Performance pathway includes a specialism in

Global Traditional Music Performance

for performers interested in any form of folk music from around the world. We also welcome applications from instrumentalists and singers who are developing fusions of folk music with other genres, as well as students wishing to focus on song-writing. It is common for students working in this area to apply without standard formal qualifications.

If you are interested in auditioning for this, please contact

Joe Broughton

.

We also offer a

'Multi-Instrument' specialism

for woodwind players who do not wish to follow the traditional orchestral route, but would prefer to pursue a career as a multi-instrumentalist in musical theatre. All principal study woodwinds instruments welcome but aimed primarily at saxophone, flute and clarinet players, this course will train multi-instrumentalists to a professional level.

If you are interested in auditioning for this, please contact

Jenni Phillips

, Head of Woodwind.

You'll receive specialist tuition from leading UK and internationally renowned performers and teachers. In addition, you'll enjoy regular performance opportunities, both within Departments and in concerts, as well as having the chance to participate in masterclasses led by distinguished guest artists.

You'll have full access to our superb £57 million facilities, including our Concert Hall, 150-seat Recital Hall, our black box performance space known as The Lab, and more than 70 practice rooms, ensemble rooms and workshops; all acoustically designed to provide a music-making environment that is world class.

This course is

open

to

International

students.

What's covered in this course?

Regular individual tuition in your Principal Study area from leading UK and internationally renowned performers and teachers.

Regular departmental activities and access to masterclasses with distinguished visiting guest artists.

Frequent chances to perform, including solo, chamber and orchestral opportunities and the Conservatoire Folk Ensemble.

In PgDip and MMus, a core career development module designed to get you thinking about your future professional plans.

In PgDip and MMus, the flexibility to choose from a broad menu of Professional Development modules designed to help you work towards achieving your personal career aspirations.

In MMus, a core module designed to develop your skills as a researcher or informed practitioner.

In PgCert, the ability to focus wholly on the Principal Study area.

The possibility of transferring between PgCert, PgDip and/or MMus (as appropriate) once you have begun your studies (but before completion of your original course).

I would not be where I am today in my career without the support of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. I benefitted immensely from my Principal Study tutor, but I also had the opportunity to work with tutors from the Strings and Vocal departments for chamber music and lieder coaching. I believe the openness and collaborative atmosphere is what makes the Conservatoire unique. I have also had many high-profile performance opportunities throughout the United Kingdom, thus broadening my professional network and setting up my performance career.

Edward Leung, piano

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Studying with us during the Covid-19 pandemic

The University has put in place

measures in response to Covid-19

to allow us to safely deliver our courses. Should the impact of the pandemic continue in future years, any additional or alternative arrangements put in place by the University will be in accordance with the latest government public health advice, health and safety legislation, and the terms and conditions of the

student contract

.

Program Outline

PG Cert

PG Dip

MMus

PG Cert

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete one of the following CORE modules (totalling 60 credits):

Principal Study 1: Instrumental & Vocal Performance 60 credits

As a postgraduate instrumentalist or singer, the Principal Study 1: Instrumental/Vocal Performance module enables you to advance your training in your specialist area and it is thus at the heart of your conservatoire studies.

As the focus of this module is entirely on your own continued development as a performer, you will spend considerable time developing your technical facility, musicianship, interpretative skills and stylistic awareness, expanding your knowledge of the repertoire, refining your platform manner and presentation skills, and, in some cases, advancing your collaborative performance skills. Students taking the Global Traditional Music Performance specialism will be encouraged to form bands or ensembles appropriate to their specialist area of music.

Your work in this module is supported by one-to-one tuition and a variety of related activities in your Principal Study area, including performance classes, masterclasses and department-specific workshops (e.g. languages and movement for singers, reed-making for wind players, and so on). You will necessarily devote a considerable amount of time to individual practice.

PG Dip

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete the following CORE module (totalling 60 credits):

Principal Study 1: Instrumental & Vocal Performance 60 credits

As a postgraduate instrumentalist or singer, the Principal Study 1: Instrumental/Vocal Performance module enables you to advance your training in your specialist area and it is thus at the heart of your conservatoire studies.

As the focus of this module is entirely on your own continued development as a performer, you will spend considerable time developing your technical facility, musicianship, interpretative skills and stylistic awareness, expanding your knowledge of the repertoire, refining your platform manner and presentation skills, and, in some cases, advancing your collaborative performance skills. Students taking the Global Traditional Music Performance specialism will be encouraged to form bands or ensembles appropriate to their specialist area of music.

Your work in this module is supported by one-to-one tuition and a variety of related activities in your Principal Study area, including performance classes, masterclasses and department-specific workshops (e.g. languages and movement for singers, reed-making for wind players, and so on). You will necessarily devote a considerable amount of time to individual practice.

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 20 credits):

Career Development 20 credits

Members of the music profession require not only high-level specialist skills but also the ability to target those skills strategically to different circumstances. This module focuses on a range of different aspects of a musician’s professional development that directly relate to the music industry and their preparation for it: from self-promotion and self-management, to funding and wellbeing. It is thus central to a programme which aims to prepare you for a career as a musician in the 21st century.

It requires you, near the beginning of your postgraduate studies, to reflect ambitiously yet realistically on your professional aspirations, and to formulate a plan that helps you stand the best chance of achieving your goals. Weekly workshops, delivered by internal staff and external professionals, will focus on the practicalities of a career in music, providing you with a better insight into the industry you will be entering, as well as encouraging you to be self-reflective about your own personal and professional development needs.

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete at least 40 credits from the following indicative list of OPTIONAL modules.

Optional modules 40 credits

Each module listed is worth 20 credits.

Conservatoire based

Concepts in Musicology

Contemporary Music Concepts and Practice

Creative Interactive Music Technology Performance

Critical Editing Techniques

Documentation

Experimental Performance in Context(s)

Historical Instrument Performance

Historical Performance Practice

Independent Scholarship in Music

Music and Ideas

Music Technology Contexts

Orchestration

Performing and Producing in the Studio

Professional Music Criticism

Self-Promotion Project

Teaching Matters: Principles and Practice

Work Placement

Writing Music for Media

Conference Paper

Preparation for Research

Music, Community and Wellbeing (BMus module)

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School of Art based

Art and Ecologies

Contemporary Philosophy and Aesthetics

Discourses in Art and Design

Models and Methods of Curatorial Practice

Queer Strategies in Practice

Small Arts Business Set Up

Social Practice in the Visual Arts

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School of Media based

Live Events and Festival Management

Social Media as Culture and Practice

Core modules are guaranteed to run. Optional modules will vary from year to year and the published list is indicative only.

MMus

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete THREE CORE modules (totalling 140 credits):

Career Development 20 credits

Members of the music profession require not only high-level specialist skills but also the ability to target those skills strategically to different circumstances. This module focuses on a range of different aspects of a musician’s professional development that directly relate to the music industry and their preparation for it: from self-promotion and self-management, to funding and wellbeing. It is thus central to a programme which aims to prepare you for a career as a musician in the 21st century.

It requires you, near the beginning of your postgraduate studies, to reflect ambitiously yet realistically on your professional aspirations, and to formulate a plan that helps you stand the best chance of achieving your goals. Weekly workshops, delivered by internal staff and external professionals, will focus on the practicalities of a career in music, providing you with a better insight into the industry you will be entering, as well as encouraging you to be self-reflective about your own personal and professional development needs.

Principal Study 1: Instrumental & Vocal Performance 60 credits

As a postgraduate instrumentalist or singer, the Principal Study 1: Instrumental/Vocal Performance module enables you to advance your training in your specialist area and it is thus at the heart of your conservatoire studies.

As the focus of this module is entirely on your own continued development as a performer, you will spend considerable time developing your technical facility, musicianship, interpretative skills and stylistic awareness, expanding your knowledge of the repertoire, refining your platform manner and presentation skills, and, in some cases, advancing your collaborative performance skills. Students taking the Global Traditional Music Performance specialism will be encouraged to form bands or ensembles appropriate to their specialist area of music.

Your work in this module is supported by one-to-one tuition and a variety of related activities in your Principal Study area, including performance classes, masterclasses and department-specific workshops (e.g. languages and movement for singers, reed-making for wind players, and so on). You will necessarily devote a considerable amount of time to individual practice.

Principal Study 2: Instrumental & Vocal Performance 60 credits

As a postgraduate instrumentalist or singer, the Principal Study 1: Instrumental/Vocal Performance module enables you to advance your training in your specialist area and it is thus at the heart of your conservatoire studies. As the focus of this module is entirely on your own continued development as a performer, you will spend considerable time developing your technical facility, musicianship, interpretative skills and stylistic awareness, expanding your knowledge of the repertoire, refining your platform manner and presentation skills, and, in some cases, advancing your collaborative performance skills.

Your work in this module is supported by one-to-one tuition and a variety of related activities in your Principal Study area, including performance classes, masterclasses and department-specific workshops (e.g. languages and movement for singers, reed-making for wind players, and so on). You will necessarily devote a considerable amount of time to individual practice.

In order to complete this course, a student must successfully complete at least 100 credits from the following indicative list of OPTIONAL modules:

THREE Professional Development modules (20 credits each), and

ONE MMus optional module (40 credits)

Optional modules 100 credits

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Professional Development modules (20 credits each)

Conservatoire based

Concepts in Musicology

Contemporary Music Concepts and Practice

Creative Interactive Music Technology Performance

Critical Editing Techniques

Documentation

Experimental Performance in Context(s)

Historical Instrument Performance

Historical Performance Practice

Independent Scholarship in Music

Music and Ideas

Music Technology Contexts

Orchestration

Performing and Producing in the Studio

Professional Music Criticism

Self-Promotion Project

Teaching Matters: Principles and Practice

Work Placement

Writing Music for Media

Conference Paper

Preparation for Research

Music, Community and Wellbeing (BMus module)

School of Art based

Art and Ecologies

Contemporary Philosophy and Aesthetics

Discourses in Art and Design

Models and Methods of Curatorial Practice

Queer Strategies in Practice

Small Arts Business Set Up

Social Practice in the Visual Arts

School of Media based

Live Events and Festival Management

Social Media as Culture and Practice

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MMus optional modules (40 credits each)

Research Project

Critical Edition

Lecture-Recital

The Reflective Practioner

There are two pathways through this module: 1. Professional Placement, and 2. Creative Interdisciplinary Artist.

Core modules are guaranteed to run. Optional modules will vary from year to year and the published list is indicative only.

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Course structure

Whichever course you choose, work in the

Principal Study

area – both individual tuition and Departmental activity – lies at its heart.

The content of the

Principal Study

modules varies according to the instrument. As the exit point for PgCert and PgDip, Principal Study 1 modules are generally more prescriptive than Principal Study 2 modules (MMus only); however, both allow scope for you to explore repertoire of your own choice and to develop a specialist area if you wish.

The possibilities are too numerous to list here, but, for example, pianists may elect to combine solo and collaborative piano, or to specialise in one of the other; orchestral instrumentalists have the opportunity to focus on orchestral preparation; and there are opportunities for students to concentrate on a particular repertory (e.g. contemporary). More details are available upon request.

Preparation for the Principal Study Project modules is supported by individual specialist tuition, as well as by departmental activities throughout the course.

If you are a MMus or PgDip student you will take a

Career Development

module, which will require you, near the beginning of your course, to reflect ambitiously yet realistically on your professional aspirations, and to formulate a plan that helps you stand the best chance of achieving your goals. You will also choose, in addition, some

Professional Development Options

from a varied list. The following gives an indication the kind of optional modules which may be offered in a given year, including some offered by Birmingham City University’s Schools of Art and Media (

note, not all will run every year

).

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School of Media based

Live Events and Festival Management

Social Media as Culture and Practice

MMus students will additionally choose a 40-credit option from one of two categories: ‘The Emerging Researcher’ or ‘The Reflective Practitioner’.

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Part-time options

There is some room for negotiation in how the course unfolds for a part-time MMus student over three years, or in the case of part-time PgDip students, over two years.