MA Music (Taught)

At Leeds Conservatoire, you’ll benefit from a culture in which academic rigour and professional development co-exist. On MA Music (MA / PGDip) you will receive one-to-one tuition with a specialist tutor selected to fit your specific study objectives. In addition, with others drawn from across the music spectrum, you will attend regular seminars, workshops and tutorials designed to help you critically examine, reflect upon and develop your music.

Uniquely, the course is designed to allow you to blend specialisms in composition, performance and production. You may wish to study one discipline exclusively, or alternatively choose to focus on different specialisms, working with different specialist tutors; if you are looking to challenge and extend your musical boundaries, no other course offers this kind of flexibility. Studying in an environment that embraces the practice and research of music in all its hybrid forms, you will engage with a combination of practical and critical studies modules that enable you to develop your technical, creative and professional skills.

The curriculum, which ensures professional currency through consultation with an industry steering group, is designed to enable you to achieve your aims as an individual, whilst at the same time developing a clear and informed sense of what makes your writing, performance or production style original and marketable. With a deep understanding of the creative and industrial contexts within which your practice exists, as an alumnus you will be prepared for a career as a musician.

Trimester 1: • Specialist Study 1 – assessed by one of the following: a public performance of existing work a public performance or sharing of original compositions or production work newly created; a portfolio of original compositions/production work evidenced by appropriate documentation, i.e. scores, recordings, etc. • Creative Practice in Context 1 – assessed by one of the following: essay, or presentation with an accompanying written commentary.

Trimester 2: • Specialist Study 2 – assessed by one of the following: a public performance of existing work; a public performance or sharing of original compositions; a portfolio of original newly-created compositions/production work evidenced by appropriate documentation, i.e. scores, recordings, etc. • Creative Practice in Context 2 – assessed by one of the following: essay, or presentation and an accompanying written commentary.

Trimester 3: • Specialist Study 3 (MA only) – assessed by one of the following, accounting for 70% of the mark: a public performance of existing work/repertoire or a public performance or sharing of original newly-created compositions and/or production work, which may be live or digitally conceived, i.e. application-based, web-based, digital or physical EP release. Additionally, accounting for 30% of the mark, either a written critique examining the creative project submitted, or a panel-led spoken examination examining the creative project submitted.

Indicative module specifications can be found via the Leeds Conservatoire website: https://www.leedsconservatoire.ac.uk/ma-music-audition

You will be assessed at the end of each of three trimesters (or two if studying PGDip). The music-based assessments will focus on the specialism (or specialisms) in which you have received tuition that trimester, which may include one or more of the following: composition, performance and production. In addition to your creative work, each trimester you will be assessed by an essay or presentation that involves research and critical reflection upon aspects of your music.