
Brass Band Conducting - MMus / PgDip
Currently viewing course to start in 2023/24 Entry.
Designed for recent graduates and suitably qualified mature students, our taught Master of Music (MMus) and Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) Brass Band Conducting courses provide the technical training, collaborative opportunities and podium time necessary to help you prepare for a career as a professional conductor....
- Level Postgraduate Taught
- Study mode Full Time/Part Time
- Location Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
- Award MMus / PgDip
- Start date September 2023
- Fees View course fees
- School Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
- Faculty Faculty of Arts, Design and Media
Overview
Designed for recent graduates and suitably qualified mature students, our taught Master of Music (MMus) and Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) Brass Band Conducting courses provide the technical training, collaborative opportunities and podium time necessary to help you prepare for a career as a professional conductor.
As a Principal Study Brass Band Conductor, you'll be offered individual tuition from expert staff conductors, and will spend considerable time developing your directing techniques in rehearsal and in performance. In addition to attending and participating in scheduled brass band activities, you will be encouraged to explore other opportunities to engage with ensembles, as director or observer, both within the Conservatoire and with professional organisations such as Services for Education and Tredegar Brass Band. Brass Band Conducting students should also expect to attend classes/workshops of their peers studying other conducting pathways.
It's normal for conducting students to be proactive in presenting performances of projects that they've generated themselves. You'll receive support and professional advice in pursuing such projects, which should be viewed as an essential element of your studies. Both PgDip and MMus courses provide excellent opportunities to develop other skills relevant to a future career in the music profession.
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.
What's covered in this course?
- Regular individual specialist tuition.
- Access to the Conservatoire’s broad range of ensemble activities, including Brass Band and Brass Ensemble, Symphonic Wind Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, ‘Repertoire’ and ‘Pops’ Orchestras, and Thallein (Contemporary Music) Ensemble.
- Regular opportunities to rehearse and perform with ensembles within the Conservatoire.
- Regular opportunities to observe ensemble rehearsals, including sectional rehearsals directed by departmental heads or specialist guest tutors.
- Opportunities to join orchestral and choral conducting classes.
- Bespoke support in musicianship and arranging.
- A core career development module designed to get you thinking about your future professional plans.
- The flexibility to choose from a broad menu of Professional Development Option 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.
- The possibility of transferring from PgDip to MMus once you have begun your studies (but before completion of the PgDip course).

Studying conducting at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire has proven to be an invaluable experience for me. Through the opportunities the course provided, I have been able to take my conducting career to higher levels, and the skills that I developed throughout my studies have meant that I am well equipped for anything that's thrown at me. I would not be working at my current level if it were not for the support of the conservatoire staff, as well as that of fellow students.
Tom Stoneman, Brass Band Conducting, 2019-2021
Open Day
Join us on campus at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where you'll be able to explore our campus, facilities and accommodation in person. You’ll also have the chance to chat to staff and students about course content and performance opportunities.
Next Open Day: Thursday 8 June 2023
Entry Requirements
MMus/PgDip
Essential |
---|
UK students should normally hold an honours degree, ideally but not necessarily in Music. |
Non-UK students should hold a Bachelor's degree or a similar degree-equivalent diploma, ideally but not necessarily in Music. |
Audition requirements
Further details about the audition will be supplied once we have received an application. |
For full details, audition requirements and audition advice, please visit the Music Auditions section of the Conservatoire website. |
English language requirements
IELTS 6.0 overall with 5.5 minimum in all bands. |
Fees & How to Apply
UK students
Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.
Award: MMus
Starting: Sep 2023
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 2 years
- £11,500 in 2023/24
- Apply via UCAS
- Part Time
- 3 years*
- Show fees
- Apply via UCAS
- £1917 per 20 credits
- Year 1 - 60 Credits
- Year 2 - 100 Credits
- Year 3 - 80 Credits
Fees for Part-time students
This course can be studied on a Part-time study basis. The cost per year of study is based on credit requirements for that year.
Award: PgDip
Starting: Sep 2023
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 1 year
- £11,500 in 2023/24
- Apply via UCAS
- Part Time
- 2 years*
- Show fees
- Apply via UCAS
- £1917 per 20 credits
- Year 1 - 60 credits
- Year 2 - 60 credits
Fees for Part-time students
This course can be studied on a Part-time study basis. The cost per year of study is based on credit requirements for that year.
International students
Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.
Award: MMus
Starting: Sep 2023
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 2 years
- £24,950 in 2023/24
- Apply via UCAS
Award: PgDip
Starting: Sep 2023
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 1 year
- £24,950 in 2023/24
- Apply via UCAS
*Part-time fees
Your fees are charged per 20 credits, depending on the number of credits studied in each year. The fee table above outlines recommended credit loads in each year; if you choose to study a different credit load, please be aware that your fees will be charged accordingly.
*Professional Placement option
The Professional Placement version of the course is optional and is offered as an alternative to the standard version of the course. However, it is not possible to apply for direct entry to the Professional Placement version of the course since the decision to transfer may only be taken after consultation with your course tutors and after successfully completing at least 120 credits.
Completing a 20-week Professional Placement towards the end of your Masters degree enables you to further improve your employability skills which will, through the placement experience, allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market. Furthermore, by completing the Professional Placement, you will be able to develop and enhance your understanding of the professional work environment, relevant to your chosen field of study, and reflect critically on your own professional skills development within the workplace.
You will be responsible for finding and securing your own placement. The University, however, will draw on its extensive network of local, regional and national employers to support you in finding a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study. You will also benefit from support sessions delivered by Careers+ as well as advice and guidance from your School.
Placements will only be confirmed following a competitive, employer-led selection process, therefore the University will not be able to guarantee placements for students who have registered for the ‘with Professional Placement’ course. All students who do not find a suitable placement or do not pass the competitive selection process will be automatically transferred back to the standard, non-placement version of the course.
Please note that tuition fees are payable during your placement period.
Completing your application
Further information on writing your personal statement can be found on the UCAS Conservatoires website.
Course in Depth
PG Dip
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete the following CORE module (totalling 60 credits):
As a postgraduate brass band conductor, the Principal Study 1: Brass Band Conducting module enables you to advance your training in your specialist area. As the focus of this module is entirely on your own continued development as a brass band conductor, you will spend considerable time developing conducting techniques in rehearsal and in performance, rehearsal management techniques, musicianship skills, score reading skills, programming skills, stylistic awareness and approaches to interpretation.
‘Brass Band’ here should be understood in a wider sense, since your experience (and assessment) is likely to also involve smaller ensembles within the Conservatoire’s Brass Department.
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 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.
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)
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
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):
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.
As a postgraduate brass band conductor, the Principal Study 1: Brass Band Conducting module enables you to advance your training in your specialist area. As the focus of this module is entirely on your own continued development as a brass band conductor, you will spend considerable time developing conducting techniques in rehearsal and in performance, rehearsal management techniques, musicianship skills, score reading skills, programming skills, stylistic awareness and approaches to interpretation.
‘Brass Band’ here should be understood in a wider sense, since your experience (and assessment) is likely to also involve smaller ensembles within the Conservatoire’s Brass Department.
As a postgraduate brass band conductor, the Principal Study 2: Brass Band Conducting module builds on the skills acquired in the Principal Study 1 module, encouraging independent and appropriate decision-making based on secure musicianship skills and self-reflection, the development of an individual musical personality, and a professional approach to rehearsal and performance, including effective leadership and communication skills. The module clearly provides professionally-relevant experience and you will spend considerable time further developing conducting techniques in rehearsal and in performance, rehearsal management techniques, musicianship skills, score reading skills, programming skills, stylistic awareness and approaches to interpretation.
‘Brass Band’ here should be understood in a wider sense, since your experience (and assessment) is likely to also involve smaller ensembles within the Conservatoire’s Brass Department.
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)
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
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.
Course structure
Whichever course you choose, work in the Principal Study area lies at its heart, and this involves the experience of managing rehearsals and directing performances, as well as developing essential musicianship skills. These modules will enable you to become self-directed in tackling, and capable of solving, technical and musical problems, and working autonomously in planning and presenting performances at a high artistic level. You'll be supported both by the specialist individual tuition you receive and by your experiences as a conductor throughout the course.
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):
MMus students will additionally choose a 40-credit option from one of two categories: ‘The Emerging Researcher’ or ‘The Reflective Practitioner’.
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.
Employability
The culture of brass bands in the UK is still extremely vibrant and although essentially an amateur movement, the demand for professional conductors at all levels is always required. The opportunity to work abroad is also possible with strong brass band organisations in countries such as, Switzerland, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Australia, New Zealand.
International
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire has a growing community of international students from across the world.
We appreciate the challenges of moving to a new country to live and study and aim to be as supportive as possible.
Aside from being friendly and welcoming, we have various support mechanisms in place to help you settle in as an international student, including:
- An international students' 'orientation week', including a special Conservatoire welcome event
- A dedicated international student admissions administrator
- A full-time staff member employed as International Student Support Programme Director (who speaks Mandarin)
- A mentoring system in which you, as a new postgraduate international student, are mentored by continuing postgraduate international students who will be supporting you both pastorally and academically though weekly workshops
- Additional supporting classes for international students that are particularly designed to help you further develop your English reading, speaking and comprehension skills
- Additional academic skills support provided by expert tutors from the BCU's Centre for Academic Success
Further information for prospective international students is available on the University's international pages.
Facilities & Staff

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s £57 million music building opened in September 2017, and is located on Birmingham City University’s City Centre Campus in the Eastside ‘learning quarter’ of the city.
This state-of-the-art music facility includes five public performance venues – a 440-seat Concert Hall, 150-seat Recital Hall, Organ Studio, Eastside Jazz Club and the experimental black box performance venue known as The Lab. As well as these stunning performance venues, we have nearly 100 practice spaces, including 70 small practice rooms and larger ensemble rooms and workshops.
Our home is the first conservatoire built in the digital age, and as such it has been vital to ensure that the technical infrastructure installed is on par with any advanced commercial facility. We have seven recording studios, a mastering suite, a distance learning hub, and all of our performance venues feature high specification audio-visual equipment that enables interconnectivity and advanced functionality throughout the building.
These impressive modern facilities guarantee that we are able to excel in our unique dual purpose of providing the highest standard of music education deserved by our students, as well as meeting our role as a concert and performance venue for the people of Birmingham, taking our place in the vibrant cultural landscape of the UK’s second city.
Our staff
Ian Porthouse
Director of Brass Band Studies & Cornet Tutor
Ian Porthouse began his musical career aged nine with Flimby Saxhorn Silver Band and he was a founder member of the Cumbria Youth Brass Band. Ian became principal cornet of Leyland Vehicles Band aged 17 and also led the National Youth Brass Band for three years.
More about IanDr Luan Shaw
Associate Professor: Director of Postgraduate Studies (Music)
Dr Luan Shaw is Associate Professor: Director of Postgraduate Studies (Music) at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where she has taught since 2011. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and was made an Honorary Member of RBC in 2001. In her former role as RBC’s first Head of Pedagogy (2011-2018), she led the significant...
More about LuanAmos Miller
Amos studied Experimental Psychology at Oxford University and trombone at the Royal Academy of Music, learning with John Berry, Eric Crees, Denis Wick and Ian Bousfield, and played principal trombone for the National and European Youth Orchestras. Having gained the Dip.RAM, the RAM’s highest award for performance, he completed the Jazz Course at...
More about Amos