Choral Conducting - MMus / PgDip
- Level: Postgraduate Taught
- Starting: September 2021
- Study mode: MMus - Full Time, Part Time
PgDip - Full Time, Part Time - Location: Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
Studying with us in 2021/22
It is possible that the 2021/22 academic year may be affected by the ongoing disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Any arrangements put in place by the University for the 2021/22 academic year will be in accordance with the latest government public health advice, pandemic-related/health and safety legislation, and the terms and conditions of the student contract.
Designed for recent graduates and suitably qualified mature students, our taught Master of Music (MMus) and Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) Choral Conducting courses provide the technical training, collaborative opportunities and podium time necessary to help you prepare for a career as a professional conductor. Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is currently the most exciting destination for choral conductors, with an active recording and concert schedule.
Our established Choral Conducting specialism allows you to work with a dedicated chamber choir, rehearsing and performing a variety of works throughout your training. You'll be offered tailored individual tuition from our principal conducting tutor Paul Spicer (Finzi Singers), and will also come into contact with Jeffrey Skidmore (Ex Cathedra) through the Conservatoire’s Chamber Choir.
You'll work across the whole spectrum of the Conservatoire’s music making, from core contemporary repertoire and student composition projects, through the central romantic and classic masterpieces back to period performance techniques.
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 the course?
- Regular individual specialist tuition.
- Vocal lessons.
- Opportunities to join orchestral conducting classes.
- A dedicated chamber choir, ‘Camerata’, managed and nurtured by students on the course.
- Involvement in rehearsals of the Conservatoire’s highly acclaimed Chamber Choir, which has a regular and highly successful recording programme.
- Many other choral singing opportunities within the Conservatoire.
- Bespoke support classes in musicianship and repertoire.
- 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).
Why Choose Us?
At Royal Birmingham Conservatoire we provide a friendly and supportive environment in which you can pursue your postgraduate studies. This is a time when you need to think particularly carefully and strategically about the direction of your developing career as a musician. We therefore encourage you to be ambitious in pursuing your aspirations, and endeavour to provide you with the flexibility to mould your course to your individual needs, both within your Principal Study area and in complementary modules.
Similar Courses
This course is open to International students
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New £11,222 postgraduate loans
You may be able to take advantage of the government’s plans to make loans of up to £11,222 available for postgraduate study.
Entry Requirements
MMus/PgDip
| Essential |
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UK students should normally hold an honours degree, ideally but not necessarily in Music. |
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Non-UK students should hold a Bachelor's degree or a similar degree-equivalent diploma, ideally but not necessarily in Music. |
Audition requirements
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All applicants for this course will be auditioned. |
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Home student auditions will be scheduled live in Birmingham. |
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Further details about the audition will be supplied once we have received an application. |
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For full details, audition requirements and audition advice, please visit the Music Auditions section of the Conservatoire website. |
English language requirements
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You must have a minimum of IELTS 5.5 or equivalent in all four skills areas to secure a visa. |
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You must have IELTS 6; or alternatively must have studied and completed a Bachelor’s degree in the UK. |
English language requirements
- IELTS overall score 6.0 (5.5 in all components) or equivalent is required.
International Students
Don't meet our entry requirements? You could apply for courses at our International College.
- UK students
- International students
Award: MMus
Starting: Sep 2021
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 2 years
- £11,000 per year
- Apply via UCAS
- Full Time
- 30 months (including Professional Placement - see below*)
- £12,100 per year
- Apply via UCAS
- Part Time
- 3 years
- £7,400 per year
- Apply via UCAS
Award: PgDip
Starting: Sep 2021
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 1 year
- £11,000 per year
- Apply via UCAS
- Part Time
- 2 years
- £5,500 per year
- Apply via UCAS
Award: MMus
Starting: Sep 2021
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 2 years
- £23,600 per year
- Apply via UCAS
- Full Time
- 30 months (including Professional Placement - see below*)
- £23,100 per year
- Apply via UCAS
Award: PgDip
Starting: Sep 2021
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 1 year
- £23,600 per year
- Apply via UCAS
If you're unable to use the online form for any reason, you can complete our PDF application form and equal opportunities PDF form instead. The University reserves the right to increase fees in line with inflation based on the Retail Prices Index or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament up to a maximum of five per cent.
*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.
This will allow you to complete a credit bearing, 20 week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Master’s Degree. The purpose of the Professional Placement is to 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.
Completing your application
Further information on writing your personal statement can be found on the UCAS Conservatoires website.
Additional costs
Our courses include activities such as performance, exhibitions, field trips and production of works or artefacts which may require you to purchase specific equipment, instruments, books, materials, hire of venues and accommodation, or other items.
Based on the past experience of our students, you might find it helpful to set aside about £50 for each year of your studies for your personal stationery and study materials. All our students are provided with 100 free pages of printing each year to a maximum total value of £15.
Accommodation and living costs
The cost of accommodation and other living costs are not included within your course fees. More information on the cost of accommodation can be found in our accommodation pages.
Financial Support
We offer further information on possible postgraduate financial support. This includes the type of loans, grants and scholarships available both from the government and from Birmingham City University.
Did you know that you can apply for a postgraduate loan of up to £11,222 for some courses and options?
PG Dip
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete the following CORE module (totalling 60 credits):
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete the following CORE module (totalling 20 credits):
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete at least 40 credits from the following indicative list of OPTIONAL modules.
MMus
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete THREE CORE modules (totalling 140 credits):
In order to complete this course, a student must successfully complete at least 100 credits from the following indicative list of OPTIONAL modules:
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THREE Professional Development modules (20 credits each), and
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ONE MMus optional module (40 credits)
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.
OpportUNIty
OpportUNIty: Student Jobs on Campus ensures that our students are given a first opportunity to fill many part-time temporary positions within the University. This allows you to work while you study with us, fitting the job around your course commitments. By taking part in the scheme, you will gain valuable experiences and employability skills, enhancing your prospects in the job market.
It will also allow you to become more involved in University life by delivering, leading and supporting many aspects of the learning experience, from administration to research and mentoring roles.
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.
Birmingham City University International College (BCUIC)
International students who have a serious interest in studying with us but who perhaps cannot meet the direct entry requirements, academic or English, or who have been out of education for some time, can enter Birmingham City University International College (BCUIC) and begin their degree studies.
BCUIC is part of the global Navitas Group, an internationally recognised education provider, and the partnership allows students to access the University’s facilities and services and move seamlessly through to achieving a Bachelor’s degree from Birmingham City University.
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 brand new music facility include five public performance venues – a 500 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 new 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 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.
Luan Shaw
Interim Vice Principal, Music (Learning and Teaching) and Director of Postgraduate Studies
Luan is Director of Postgraduate Studies 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 significantly expanded provision for instrumental teacher education across the RBC curriculum. Luan is passionate about helping students to build their portfolio careers and her doctoral research focuses on facilitating the transition from student to professional through instrumental teacher education in conservatoires.