Experimental Performance - MMus / PgCert / PgDip
Currently viewing course to start in 2026/27 Entry.
The principal aim of our Master of Music (MMus) course is to provide you with knowledge, skills, and confidence to succeed in your chosen branch(es) of the music profession, giving you a head-start in addressing the challenges involved in becoming a professional musician....
- Level Postgraduate Taught
- Study mode Full Time/Part Time
- Award MMus / PgCert / PgDip
- Start date September 2026
- Fees View course fees
- Subject
- Location Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
This course is:
Open to International Students
Overview
The principal aim of our Master of Music (MMus) course is to provide you with knowledge, skills, and confidence to succeed in your chosen branch(es) of the music profession, giving you a head-start in addressing the challenges involved in becoming a professional musician.
The course is suitable for both recent graduates and suitably qualified mature students, with a range of support to ensure that you leave Royal Birmingham Conservatoire ready to pursue a musical career.
A distinctive feature of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s postgraduate provision is that it will give you the opportunity to make choices within your course directly relevant to your future career aspirations, both within your Principal Study area and in your supporting studies. All MMus and PgDip routes include a core Career Development module designed to get you thinking about your future professional plans, and a broad menu of optional Professional Development modules designed to help you work towards achieving your personal career aspirations. You will also take a core module designed to develop your skills as a researcher or informed practitioner.
You will have the opportunity to study in one of several Principal Study areas, most of which are also offered at PgDip or PgCert level.
We also offer the opportunity to study for an MMus via our 12-month route. To be eligible for this route, applicants must be able to show evidence of an extremely high level of achievement in the Principal Study area and a strong academic record at undergraduate level (or equivalent). If you are interested in the 12-month route, please email an initial enquiry about your potential eligibility to conservatoire.admissions@bcu.ac.uk, as it is not possible to apply for this route via UCAS.
Experimental Performance pathway
Designed for emerging arts practitioners, this route provides you with a unique opportunity to undertake independent artistic projects in a fully supportive environment. Practitioners from a variety of disciplines (including, but not limited to, instrumental/vocal performance, composition, dance, choreography, theatre, visual and performance art, and creative writing) come together with likeminded people. The core of your study will be formed by your own artistic ideas, which are developed, through research and dialogue, into professional practical projects.
What's covered in this course?
- Regular individual tuition in your Principal Study area from leading UK and internationally renowned performers, practitioners, teachers, and researchers.
- Bespoke support classes in musicianship and repertoire.
- The opportunity to participate in a wide variety of creative projects, including interdisciplinary collaborations.
- Frequent opportunities to perform, both within Departmental activities and in concerts.
- Access to forums, seminars and masterclasses with distinguished visiting artists, composers, and performers.
- Access to the Conservatoire’s broad range of ensemble activities, including chamber music, operatic productions, Brass Band, Wind Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra, ‘Repertoire’ and ‘Pops’ Orchestras, Thallein (Contemporary Music) Ensemble, and the Folk Ensemble.
- The opportunity to tailor your course to your individual needs through wide-ranging Professional Development modules.
- A chance to network with leading professionals from around the world.
The MMus course at RBC has been an invaluable and pivotal step in my journey as a composer and an artist — providing a supportive and nurturing environment in which to experiment with new ideas, and expose myself to unfamiliar and challenging concepts.
The music community at RBC is incredibly tight-knit, with a plethora of opportunities for collaborations with both professional and world-leading ensembles. The individualised focus of the course and the artistic development I received is something I’ll be eternally grateful for.
Zygmund De Somogyi, organiser of Prxludes
Why Choose Us?
- This course has been created by artists who actively work with an interdisciplinary mind-set. Working in an interdisciplinary way to us means that you don’t settle for a particular artistic genre but you are interested in finding the best way of expressing an artistic idea. What form your realisation takes, what genres it borrows from would always depend on the particular idea.
- We know how frustrating it can be when, instead of discussing your work in depth, you have to start by justifying why you work in the way that you have chosen to work. We understand that you might want to perform text on stage without being trained as an actor, or you might want to dance without having had lessons. We are interested in your ideas. We will listen to you, help you to think ideas through and find appropriate concepts for successful realisations in performance. We have considerable experience in this area and enjoy discussing people’s work and ideas.
- This is a course that supports people who want to advance their artistic practice, whether this will ultimately lead to an advancement of your professional artistic career or to prepare yourself for PhD study with an emphasis on practice-as-research.
- In addition to our significant expertise within Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, we are also able to work closely with colleagues in areas of artistic practice outside music – for instance, in theatre, visual art and media.
Open Day
Join us on campus where you'll be able to explore our facilities and accommodation in person, and chat to staff and students from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
Next Open Day: 12 June 2025
Entry Requirements
Essential requirements
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.
Applicants for most Principal Study areas will be auditioned live, but some will require you to submit a portfolio in addition to or instead of a live audition/interview. For full audition requirements and audition advice, please visit the Music Auditions section of the Conservatoire website.
Applying with international qualifications
See below for further information on applying as an international student.
If you have a qualification that is not listed, please contact us.
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 2026
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 2 years
- £12,880 in 2026/27
- Apply via UCAS
- Part Time
- 3 years
- £2,147 per 20 credit module
- Apply via UCAS
Award: PgCert
Starting: Sep 2026
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Part Time
- 1 year
- Show fees
- Apply via UCAS
- £2147 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 2026
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 1 year
- £12,880 in 2026/27
- Apply via UCAS
- Part Time
- 2 years
- Show fees
- Apply via UCAS
- £2147 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 2026
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 2 years
- £28,460 in 2026/27
- Apply via UCAS
Award: PgDip
Starting: Sep 2026
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 1 year
- £28,460 in 2026/27
- Apply via UCAS
Please note that generally auditions take place in February and May before the September start of the course each year. Although it states an application deadline of 1 October on UCAS, we will consider applications throughout the year. Applicants should make sure that their portfolio arrives at least a month prior to their audition. If you have any questions please contact Michael Wolters.
*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):
As an experimental performer, this module enables you 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: Experimental Performance module.
Given that this module is focused entirely on your continued growth as an experimental performer, it will focus on developing such aspects as follows: the realization of ideas and concepts, creative thinking, critical approach to art making, the use of space and structure, interdisciplinary collaboration, self-reflective working, aesthetic awareness and aspects of presentation, including the use of relevant technology.
PG Dip
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete the following CORE module (totalling 60 credits):
As an experimental performer, this module enables you 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: Experimental Performance module.
Given that this module is focused entirely on your continued growth as an experimental performer, it will focus on developing such aspects as follows: the realization of ideas and concepts, creative thinking, critical approach to art making, the use of space and structure, interdisciplinary collaboration, self-reflective working, aesthetic awareness and aspects of presentation, including the use of relevant technology.
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.
- Concepts in Musicology
- Contemporary Music Concepts and Practice
- Music Technology in 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 in Context
- 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)
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 an experimental performer, this module enables you 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: Experimental Performance module.
Given that this module is focused entirely on your continued growth as an experimental performer, it will focus on developing such aspects as follows: the realization of ideas and concepts, creative thinking, critical approach to art making, the use of space and structure, interdisciplinary collaboration, self-reflective working, aesthetic awareness and aspects of presentation, including the use of relevant technology.
As an experimental performer, this module enables you 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 Experimental Performance module, encouraging greater 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 Experimental Performance, it will seek to enhance your ability to deal with more ambitious ideas/concepts/projects (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:
-
THREE Professional Development modules (20 credits each), and
-
ONE MMus optional module (40 credits)
Each module listed is worth 20 credits.
- Concepts in Musicology
- Contemporary Music Concepts and Practice
- Music Technology in 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 in Context
- 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)
- 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 Experimental Performers, the Principal Study modules each culminate in a portfolio of original work. Preparation of this is supported by individual specialist tuition, as well as by a variety of related activities, including sessions with performers, workshops with artists, professional development sessions, discussion-led seminars and a regular group critique session, which will provide an opportunity for discussion of each other’s work.
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.
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
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 with your Principal Study area and in complementary modules.
We work with you to develop your portfolio whilst you are studying with us and proactive students are able to gain significant experience and built contacts externally.
It is our aim 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 artistic work, teaching at all levels including outreach/learning participation 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.
The MMus is also designed to be able to prepare students for doctoral studies.
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 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.
Our staff
Dr 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 MichaelDr Luan Shaw
Associate Professor (Music Education), Director of Postgraduate Studies (Music), and Associate Head of Junior Conservatoire
Dr Luan Shaw is Associate Professor (Music Education) and Director of Postgraduate Studies (Music) at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where she has taught since 2011. She is also Associate Head of the Junior Department and leads Pedagogy provision across BMus 4 and postgraduate courses. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education...
More about Luan