Performance at Cambridge

PERFORMANCE AT CAMBRIDGE Five things you might not know about Performance at Cambridge:

“I volunteered regularly for CaMEO. It is a great way of switching off from the pressures of studying which sometimes pile up, and it’s a great way of using music in a practical, fun and different way during your time at Cambridge.”

Joe, third-year undergraduate

“I am extremely grateful to the Faculty for giving me this opportunity, as I know the scheme will help me a great deal over the coming year.”

“I know it will be incredibly useful to me and doubtless many, many others.”

Third-year trombonist on the RAM scheme

Second-year pianist on the RAM scheme

“Sitting side-by-side with the AAM was absolutely the best experience of my musical life.”

Helen, postgraduate violist

“Being at Cambridge isn’t just about studying for your degree – I’ve had a brilliant time … playing in so many different orchestras, bands and groups is exciting; there’s never a dull minute!”

Marie, second-year undergraduate

To find out more about studying Music at Cambridge University, visit our website at www.mus.cam.ac.uk

Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge 11 West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DP

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Undergraduates can take a performance pathway in all three years of the Music course

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Talented performers can enrol on a scheme giving them access to instrumental teachers at the Royal Academy of Music in London

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The Music Faculty has invested in a wonderful collection of period instruments, and gives students the opportunity to participate in ‘historical’ performance

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The Faculty of Music is home to three international-level resident ensembles: The Endellion String Quartet, the Britten Sinfonia, and The Academy of Ancient Music

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The Faculty of Music is host to the AHRC Research Centre for Musical Performance as Creative Practice, directed by Professor John Rink

Margaret Faultless

John Rink

Performance plays a central role in Cambridge; in fact, Music students can study performance in all three years of the Music Tripos, and at postgraduate level. Tuition in the principal instrument (including voice) is normally arranged through students’ individual colleges; however, Margaret Faultless, the Music Faculty’s Director of Performance Studies, also arranges masterclasses and workshops, and students are encouraged to take part in ensembles and other performance activities within the University, Faculty, Colleges and/or the wider community.

In the first year, all students have the option of giving a recital (but, as with assessed performance at other levels, this is not obligatory). In the second year, we run a course on Performance Studies. This allows students to focus on historical performance, analysis and performance, and the psychology of performance. The course aims to give students a broader awareness of the multi-faceted components of the performer’s art and the wide range of issues underpinning it. Students taking this course can choose to perform a recital or write an assessed essay. In the third year, you can opt to give a full recital. Financial support for vocal / instrumental lessons increases from roughly six hours of tuition in the first year to ten hours in the final year; this is equivalent to £700 for finalists.

In 2013, a new scheme was established that enables Cambridge Music students to take lessons at the Royal Academy of Music in London alongside their studies at university. Students selected for the scheme are assigned a teacher at the Royal Academy, and in addition to receiving individual tuition on their principal instrument, they are invited to attend a number of departmental performance classes. Martin Ennis, Chairman of the Music Faculty Board, comments: ‘Cambridge University has a long tradition of fostering performance, and over the years many of our

Instrumental Award Scheme (© Harry Rankin)

best students have gone on to London for further studies after completing their degree in Cambridge.

However, this new scheme gives the cream of our performers the best of two worlds: they can enjoy international-level tuition and attend performance classes at a leading conservatoire while pursuing a largely academic course at one of the world’s most renowned research universities. It’s an unbeatable combination, and the competition for places is, unsurprisingly, intense.’

Britten Sinfonia (© Harry Rankin)

The Endellion String Quartet (© Eric Richmond)

of The Endellion String Quartet. Most of all, it is the sheer wealth of student-led music-making that makes Cambridge so special. There are more than 30 university music societies to join!

The Music Faculty also supports an active outreach programme that covers everything from week-long summer schools to music-making in the community. By volunteering for CaMEO (Cambridge Music Education Outreach), you can get involved with projects that include performing in local hospitals, or taking practical music-making workshops out to schools; larger-scale enterprises have included the ‘Play Me, I’m Yours’ street pianos project that took place in 2012.

One of the outstanding features of Cambridge is the richness and diversity of its music-making at all levels. We host three world-class resident ensembles: The Endellion String Quartet, the Britten Sinfonia, and the Academy of Ancient Music. Not only do they perform regularly in the Faculty; they also offer masterclasses and composition workshops for students. Within the Faculty, performance opportunities range from the Cambridge University New Music Ensemble to the Collegium Musicum (our period-instrument ensemble). The span of activities is extremely rich and stimulating. In January 2014, for example, members of the Collegium worked alongside the Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) under their Music Director Richard Egarr, exploring Handel’s concerti grossi.

At College level, much of the musical activity centres on the Chapel choirs, many of which record and broadcast on a regular basis. Instrumental Music is also well served. CUMS (Cambridge University Musical Society) has recently worked with conductors of the calibre of Sir Roger Norrington and Sir Mark Elder. We also support an Instrumental Awards Scheme, which exists to enable gifted players to reach a high standard of performance in chamber music; students in the scheme are coached throughout the year by some of the very best chamber musicians including James Boyd, Celia Nicklin, Andrew West, and members

Cambridge University Collegium Musicum with the Academy of Ancient Music