Music

Course overview

City University is a natural choice for those wishing to study a traditional classical music curriculum to a high level. The Times Good University Guide 2008 lists City University as second in the UK for music graduate employment prospects, behind only Cambridge and ahead of all but the graduates of the top three business studies degrees.

Performance

• Benefit from conservatoire performance tuition | Uniquely, City University offers private lessons from specialist professors at the nearby Guildhall School of Music & Drama at no extra cost

• Gain experience in public performance | Musical performance is an integral part of undergraduate life . The City University Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Choir regularly perform at major London venues including LSO St Luke’s and St John’s, Smith Square

• Take part in our thriving ensembles | Other performance opportunities include solo recitals, traditional western ensembles such as string quartets and madrigal groups, African drumming and dance, and gamelan, jazz, folk and rock groups

• Brand new, state-of-the-art performance area | A major building project completing spring 2008 will provide three new performance areas, designed by acousticians to prevent sound interference between rooms whilst delivering a controlled acoustic within each room

Composition

• Study with internationally renowned composers | Our Music Department staff includes composers whose instrumental, vocal and electroacoustic compositions are regularly performed and recorded across the world

• Compose for the London Sinfonietta | Instrumental and vocal composition is supported by visits from the London Sinfonietta, one of the world’s foremost contemporary music ensembles, whose members share their insight and experience through masterclasses, rehearsals and performances of selected student works

• Take advantage of some of the best composition and recording facilities in the UK | Our brand new studio facilities include extensive facilities for electroacoustic composition, as well as state-of-the-art recording studios

Musicology

• Explore music as an expression of our historical and artistic inheritance | With a broad-ranging introduction in the first year and more than twenty Cultural Studies modules to choose from in the second and third years, City's groundbreaking approach to musicology investigates the processes that prompt musical change in both literate and non-literate societies

• Undertake a major research project of your choice | Your choice of modules in the second and third years will contribute to your research topic for the Major Project in the third year, which will use musicological methodology but can incorporate performance, composition or technological subject matter if you wish

• Learn from internally-renowned musicologists | The Music Department’s staff includes leading experts on: Mozart and late eighteenth-century music; Greek and Byzantine music from late antiquity to the present; opera, theatre and literature; reception history, gender studies, music and literature, popular music and musical multimedia

Applied Music Studies

• Get a taste of vocationally-oriented musical disciplines | Our optional Applied Studies modules are taught by industry practitioners with real-world experience of their subjects. Ranging from Sound Recording to Music Therapy, they provide an opportunity to learn the fundamentals of selected specialist careers in music

Teaching and assessment

All students follow a common first year and choose options in the second and third years. All project work, including the final-year major dissertation, is supported by tutorials. Throughout the three years, assessment is by a combination of project-based or practical and creative work and examinations. Marks obtained in the second and third years contribute to the final degree awarded. Project and practical work account for well over half the final mark.

Employment

Exceptional employment prospects

The Times Good University Guide 2008 lists City University as second in the UK for music graduate employment prospects, behind only Cambridge and ahead of all but the graduates of the top three business studies degrees.

Prepare yourself for the job market

City's unique approach to music education means that you can immerse yourself in the subject you love at the highest possible level while still preparing yourself for the job market:

• Our degree structure enables you to explore a range of music-related careers, including optional modules in sound recording, music business studies and music therapy

• City's Central London location provides a host of employment, volunteering and networking opporutunities, and we support those who wish to take up such opportunities during the course

• Writing skills, presentation skills and IT skills are fostered throughout the programme, equipping you for a range of graduate-level careers

You can develop the skills you need for specific careers such as arts administration or teaching by, for instance, helping with the organisation of department concerts or taking part in our Widening Participation programme working with local schools and colleges.

Mode of Attendance : Full - time