Program Overview

Introduction to the MA in Classical String Performance

The MA in Classical String Performance is a two-year, full-time program designed for gifted string players preparing for a professional career as a string player. This program enables students to develop their skills and realize their full potential as postgraduate string players, ready to embark on a professional career.

Course Details

• Course Code: MACSPETFAD
• Available: Full-Time
• Intake: Autumn/Fall
• Course Start Date: September
• Duration: 2 Years, Full-Time
• Award: Masters
• Qualification: NFQ Level 9 Major Award
• Faculty: Irish World Academy of Music and Dance
• Course Type: Taught

Brief Description

This unique program enables you to develop your skills and realize your full potential as a postgraduate string player, ready to embark on a professional career. Explore your own path by learning with the Principal players of the Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO) at the Irish World Academy, UL. This two-year full-time Master of Arts (MA) in Classical String Performance is designed for gifted string players preparing for a professional career as a string player, which may include solo work, chamber music, orchestral work, and teaching.

Program Overview

During this program, you will:

• Present solo or chamber music repertoire on campus and in ongoing concert series in Limerick and the surrounding area.
• Study with ICO Principal players who rehearse, tutor, and perform with you throughout the program.
• Receive weekly individual lessons, regular technique classes, chamber music classes, and specialist workshops (audition techniques, orchestral excerpts, baroque and contemporary practice, Dalcroze Eurhythmics, creative embodied performance).
• Gain automatic acceptance onto the Irish Chamber Orchestra Academy Project – an exciting, annual collaboration project involving elite students from around the world and members of the ICO.

Program Content

Year 1

Autumn Semester

• Technique, Repertoire and Style 1 (MU5401) develops technical mastery and artistic performance on a classical instrument, preparing students for professional-level public performance.
• Ensemble 1 (MU5411) features training by professional members of the Irish Chamber Orchestra in the genres of string chamber music and larger string ensemble, resulting in a number of public performances.
• Writing and Documentation of Arts Practice (MD6071) will explore a variety of approaches to the documentation of artistic practices, with a focus on documentation through writing.
• Independent Study (MD6051) or another choice from an Elective bundle.

Spring Semester

• Technique, Repertoire and Style 2 (MU5402) advances technical skills, expands repertoire, and deepens stylistic interpretation through progressive one-to-one tuition.
• Ensemble 2 (MU5412) involves progressive training in string chamber ensembles according to the framework outlined in Ensemble 1.
• Writing and Documentation of Arts Practice 2 (MD6072) explores the creative process in artistic and academic work with a view towards investigating resonance, dissonance, and synchronicity.
• Independent Study (MD6052), or another choice from an elective bundle.

Year 2

Autumn Semester

• Technique, Repertoire and Style 3 (MU5003) delivers personalized, high-level performance tuition on the student's instrument, building on Technique, Repertoire & Style 1 and 2 to refine artistry, technique, and public performance.
• Ensemble 3 (MU5053) advances ensemble performance skills through chamber orchestra training, public concerts, and collaboration with professional musicians.
• Elective (MD5501) - students can select two different fields of interest (3 credits each).

Spring Semester

• Final Presentation (MD5522) equips students to perform specialist repertoire at the standard of a public recital or conduct a research project to the level of a master's standard dissertation or a combination of both.

Entry Requirements

• Applicants should hold a bachelor's degree (NFQ Level 8) with at least a second-class honours, grade 2 (2:2) in a relevant or appropriate subject.
• The university will shortlist and invite you to an interview.
• Additional materials may be requested at the discretion of the course director.

Other Entry Considerations

We encourage you to apply even if you don't meet the standard entry requirements, as long as you can show that you have the knowledge, skills, and experience needed for the program.

Fees

• EU: €7,995 per annum
• Non-EU: €14,995 per annum
• Year 2 fees are subject to change.

Graduate Profile

This course can lead to the following sectors and careers:

• Professional musician
• Chamber musician
• Member of a professional orchestra or ensemble
• Instrumental Teacher

Testimonials

• Elena Alekseeva, Student 2012-2014, PhD Candidate, Royal Holloway, University of London; Lecturer in Digital Music Production, School of Arts & Media, Southampton SOLENT University.
• Renee Neeson
• Andrew Sheeran
• Dr. Diane Daly, a violinist with the Irish Chamber Orchestra and Head of Strings at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, completed her PhD in Arts Practice at UL's Irish World Academy of Music and Dance and was one of the first graduates of UL's MA in Classical String Performance.