Composition - MMus / PgCert / PgDip
Currently viewing course to start in 2023/24 Entry.
Study as a postgraduate composer at one of the UK's most innovative composition departments. In recent years, Birmingham Conservatoire's Composition department has produced outstanding contemporary artists such as Laura Mvula, Raffertie and Charlotte Bray....
- Level Postgraduate Taught
- Study mode Full Time/Part Time
- Location Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
- Award MMus / PgCert / PgDip
- Start date September 2023
- Fees View course fees
- School Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
- Faculty Faculty of Arts, Design and Media
This course is:
Overview
Study as a postgraduate composer at one of the UK's most innovative composition departments. In recent years, Birmingham Conservatoire's Composition department has produced outstanding contemporary artists such as Laura Mvula, Raffertie and Charlotte Bray.
Unlike many composition courses at this level, the course actively celebrates the diversity of today's musical genres, and fosters artists who challenge, innovate and transform notions of artistic practice today. You'll spend most of your time writing music for professional and student ensembles, whether you choose to respond to our set briefs or work on your own projects.
You'll be encouraged to express yourself in multiple musical and artistic genres.
By studying composition within a thriving conservatoire setting, you'll have excellent opportunities to collaborate with performers and to have your works performed.
Alongside your focus on composition, our course provides opportunities for you to develop other skills relevant to a future career in the music profession.
What's covered in this course?
- Regular individual tuition in composition from internationally recognised composers.
- A chance to develop a distinctive compositional voice within the context of a broadly based course, enhancing your employability.
- The opportunity to participate in a wide variety of creative projects, including interdisciplinary collaborations.
- Regular forums, seminars and masterclasses with distinguished visiting composers and performers.
- Opportunities to have works performed/workshopped by Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and other leading professional ensembles and musicians.
- Frequent chances to have works performed by student performers, including by the Conservatoire’s own Contemporary Music Group (Thallein Ensemble) and other ensembles.
- 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).
If you want to work creatively, you study composition at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
Louis Andriessen, Composer
Open Day
Join us on campus at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where you'll be able to explore our campus, facilities and accommodation in person. Booking for the next event isn’t open yet. Register your interest below and we’ll email you as soon as booking goes live.
Next Open Day: December 2023
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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You should be prepared to discuss a portfolio of compositions, which must be submitted at least two weeks before the audition date, if possible with high-quality recordings.*
Portfolios should be sent by Recorded Delivery to: Senior Administrator, Admissions, Birmingham Conservatoire, 200 Jennens Road, Birmingham B4 7XR, UK |
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The panel will be interested to hear you talk about your artistic influences, your inspiration to be a musician and your career objectives. |
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This is an opportunity for you to ask the panel questions about the Composition Department and what life will be like as a musician in Birmingham. |
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The audition and interview together will last for about half an hour. |
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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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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*
- £1,917 per 20 credit module
- Apply via UCAS
Award: PgCert
Starting: Sep 2023
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Part Time
- 1 year*
- Show fees
- Apply via UCAS
- £1917 per 20 credits
- Year 1 - 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.
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 Cert
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete one of the following CORE modules (totalling 60 credits):
This module enables you as a postgraduate composer to advance your training in your specialist area. For MMus students, it provides a prelude to the further advancement of your training in the Principal Study 2: Composition module.
Given that this module is focused entirely on your continued growth as a composer, it will focus on developing both your practical skills (such as approaches to expressing an idea/concept, instrumentation, voice leading, use of rhythm, melody and harmony, and presentation) and your critical/intellectual skills (such as creative thinking, aesthetic awareness and self-reflective working).
PG Dip
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete the following CORE module (totalling 60 credits):
This module enables you as a postgraduate composer to advance your training in your specialist area. For MMus students, it provides a prelude to the further advancement of your training in the Principal Study 2: Composition module.
Given that this module is focused entirely on your continued growth as a composer, it will focus on developing both your practical skills (such as approaches to expressing an idea/concept, instrumentation, voice leading, use of rhythm, melody and harmony, and presentation) and your critical/intellectual skills (such as creative thinking, aesthetic awareness and self-reflective working).
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.
This module enables you as a postgraduate composer to advance your training in your specialist area. For MMus students, it provides a prelude to the further advancement of your training in the Principal Study 2: Composition module.
Given that this module is focused entirely on your continued growth as a composer, it will focus on developing both your practical skills (such as approaches to expressing an idea/concept, instrumentation, voice leading, use of rhythm, melody and harmony, and presentation) and your critical/intellectual skills (such as creative thinking, aesthetic awareness and self-reflective working).
This module enables you as a postgraduate composer to continue to advance your training in your specialist area, and thus provides professionally-relevant experience. It builds on the technical and creative skills acquired in the Principal Study 1 Composition module, encouraging greater compositional ambition, the development of an individual voice and personal aesthetic, and a consistently professional approach to presentation.
In addition to continuing to develop the practical and critical skills fostered in Principal Study 1 Composition, it will seek to enhance your ability to deal with more ambitious ideas/concepts (including the creation of large structures), and to be reflective, especially in how you write about and discuss your own work.
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)
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. For Composers, the Principal Study modules each culminate in a portfolio of compositions. Preparation of this work 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).
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
Our aim in the RBC composition department is to help support postgraduate students to develop a wide range of skills that prepare them for a multi-faceted career in the creative industries. This can encompass combinations of freelance composition work, teaching at all levels including outreach/learning participation, writing scores for film/TV, and arts administration. In addition, the professional and critical thinking skills you will develop during the course are ones that are transferable to other areas of employment such as in media and advertising, IT and the wider business world.
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
Prof Joe Cutler
Professor in Composition
Joe works as the Conservatoire’s Head of Composition. His music has been performed in over 30 countries in cities such as New York, Amsterdam and Tokyo. In recent years, he’s written orchestral pieces and worked alongside the London Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
More about JoeDr Michael Wolters
Professor in Composition
Michael Wolters (born 1971 in Mönchengladbach, Germany) has maintained the position of an “other” in the world of contemporary music with works that queer traditional concert and performance situations. He has written music for traditional ensembles like Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and prefers to challenge conventional set-ups and...
More about MichaelSeán Clancy
Dublin born composer Seán Clancy’s (b. 1984) music has been described as ‘equal part sacred, seductive and superficial’ (Tempo), and as ‘exploring the tensions between found and original material, narrative and rupture, elite and vernacular values, and between innovation and intervention’ (Journal of Music). His work deals with examining...
More about SeánDr Andrew Hamilton
Composition Tutor
Andrew Hamilton was born in Dublin in 1977 and studied in Ireland, England and The Netherlands. His composition teachers included Kevin Volans, Anthony Gilbert and Louis Andriessen. Awards include first prize in the 2001 Opera Prima Europa competition in Rome and the 2002 prize at the 8th International Young Composers Forum in Apeldoorn, The...
More about AndrewHoward Skempton
Lecturer in Composition
Howard Skempton was born in Chester in 1947, and has worked as a composer, accordionist, and music publisher. He studied in London with Cornelius Cardew from 1967, who helped him to discover a musical language of great simplicity. Since then he has continued to write undeflected by compositional trends, producing a corpus of more than 300 works.
More about HowardDr Luan Shaw
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 Luan