Performance (Music)

You’ll receive instrumental or voice coaching from experienced tutors alongside your solo work, where you’ll develop your research, collaborative, ensemble, and publicity skills. The course culminates with a final project, where you’ll prepare a performance, normally a high-profile public recital. 

This course gives you, as an instrumental/vocal performer, the skills and opportunities to develop your individual and ensemble skills to a high level. You’ll undertake four modules over two trimesters, giving you time to develop long term strategies for research and performance skills.

The music department at Bath Spa has particular performance specialisms in voice, keyboards, guitars, percussion and brass. 

Trimester one
In the first trimester, you begin two year-long modules, which focus on core technical skills and the mutually beneficial links between research and practice.

From the start of this course, the Skills module immerses you in the practical training necessary to develop your skills as a performer. The Professional Practice module will allow you to strengthen your practice while developing your personal process and approach.

Trimester two
Learn to be an effective collaborator. You’ve laid the foundations for developing your own skills; now you turn your attention to how to apply these in collaborative projects – in teams, in companies, and with artists and other professionals.

Alongside this, you’ll develop a performance company with fellow MA students and create public performances, with opportunities to work on SparkFest, the festival we run in collaboration with Bath Festivals, which takes place on campus, across the city, and online. You continue to develop your work, supported by the weekly seminars, responding to internal and external opportunities and considering the way your work engages with audiences.

Trimester three
The third trimester involves a Major Project, for which you’ll prepare a programme for a substantial public performance. The content and structure of this project will be negotiated with course tutors.

You’ll complete individual assignments for each module, including essays, performance on your instrument or voice, reflective commentaries on your process, and lecture recitals.

Modules are taught through, seminars, practical workshops and instrument/voice coaching sessions. These are supported by individual tutorials and online activity within the Virtual Learning Environment.

The Major Project involves student-directed work, with supporting tutorials. We encourage you to make full use of library and IT resources, and time will be scheduled in studios and workstations labs for independent study, as appropriate.

To find out more about how we teach and how you'll learn, please read our Learning and Teaching Delivery Statement.

Our graduates work in a wide range of performance-related areas such as:

• Orchestral performance
• Opera
• Conducting
• Choral direction
• Chamber musician
• Accompaniment
• Session work
• Music promotion
• The record industry
• Broadcast media
• Teaching
• Community music projects
• University lecturing.

Our Careers team run networking events and advisory workshops that explore your future options and the essentials of the job application process. Career support continues for years after you graduate with the dedicated Graduate Support Unit.

There is a well-established masterclass programme at Bath Spa University. Previous visitors have included:

• Dame Emma Kirkby (voice)
• Isobel Buchanan (voice)
• Stefano Parrino (flute)
• Badke Quartet (strings)
• Florian Uhlig (piano)
• Professor Colin Lawson (clarinet)
• Andy Sheppard (saxophone)
• Ensemble Bash (percussion)
• Madeleine Mitchell (violin)

You’ll work on real-time creative projects for the University’s in-house production company, Bath Spa Productions. This means collaborating with professional theatre directors, choreographers, writers, musicians, theatre companies and venues – to develop your networks and the skills you’ll need for your future career.

Based at our Newton Park campus, you’ll have access to a fully-equipped concert hall, full range of studio/rehearsal and teaching spaces, a range of instruments including a full gamelan, music labs and state-of-the-art facilities.

• Commons building, with its superb classroom facilities, social spaces, and specialist digital resources.
• Michael Tippett Centre, housing a purpose-built concert hall with excellent acoustics and PA.
• University Theatre.
• Newton Park Library, including a large collection of books, periodicals and CDs with extensive eBook and online journal access.
• Support for your academic work from the Writing and Learning Centre, including feedback on written drafts and help with academic writing.
• English Language support from the English Language Unit, which can help you improve your English, reach your potential and boost your confidence.
• Virtual Learning Environment, which provides online access to learning materials such as lecture slides, assessment information, discussion boards and other resources.
• Free equipment loan service, which provides a huge variety including field recording, film and other audio related equipment.
• Access to thousands of business, design and tech courses online via LinkedIn Learning.
• Access to the full Adobe Creative Suite.