Music
Department of Music Undergraduate Studies
Royal Holloway is widely recognised on the world stage as one of the UK’s leading teaching and research universities. One of the larger colleges of the University of London, we are strong across the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities. We were ranked 12th in the UK (102nd in the world) by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2014, which described us as ‘truly world class’.
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As a cosmopolitan community, with students from 130 countries, we focus on the support and development of the individual. Our friendly and safe campus, west of central London, provides a unique environment for university study. We have been voted as one of the 16 most beautiful universities in the world (Daily Telegraph).
Music Contents The Department of Music at Royal Holloway is ranked top in the UK* and can justly claim to be one of the best in Europe. With an annual intake of around 80 undergraduates on single and joint honours programmes, plus about 70 postgraduates, we are also one of the UK’s largest university music departments. Our academic staff are internationally recognised for their teaching and research expertise, and bring cuttingedge thinking with them into the classroom. Our research creates the knowledge of tomorrow.
Why study Music?
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Music at Royal Holloway
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Admissions and entry requirements
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Degree programmes
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Degree structure
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Teaching and assessment
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Course structure
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Course information
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Musical performance
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Other information
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Your future career
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Academic staff
*see p.5
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This brochure is designed to complement Royal Holloway’s Undergraduate Prospectus and information on the department’s website at royalholloway.ac.uk/music It is also available as a PDF at royalholloway.ac.uk/studyhere
Contact details Head of Department Professor Stephen Downes stephen.downes@royalholloway.ac.uk General enquiries music@royalholloway.ac.uk Admissions enquiries music.admissions@royalholloway.ac.uk Department of Music T: +44 (0)1784 443532 F: +44 (0)1784 439441
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Why study music? Studying in a university environment will allow you to broaden your musical horizons and explore a wide range of subjects: performance, composition, historical contexts from the Middle Ages to today, and the musics of diverse cultures around the globe. While a music degree can be the basis for further
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professional training, it also offers students the options open to university graduates in all humanities subjects. Employers will love the skills this degree will give you: the capacity for individual research and self-motivation, but also team-working.
Music at Royal Holloway The Music department at Royal Holloway was ranked top Music department in the UK in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise and received the highest 5* rating in both previous assessment exercises (1996 and 2001). We were also the only university arts and humanities department in the UK to receive one of just 12 prestigious Regius Professorships, to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2013. This means our students benefit from research-led teaching where staff expertise offers cutting-edge approaches and encompasses a diversity of genres, historical periods and global contexts, and much more besides: • Study with a team of dynamic and inspirational staff, internationally recognised in their diverse fields. • Enjoy our flexible undergraduate degree programme, which can be tailored to suit individual interests.
Welcome The Music department at Royal Holloway is one of the largest in the UK, offering a very broad and diverse range of courses, taught by leading scholars in the field. While we’re proud that our research is ranked in first place (out of 55 music departments in the UK) you’ll find the tutors friendly, down-toearth, and always willing to help. Our courses literally span the world, from western classical music to music from across Asia and the Americas. We study music across a thousand years of history, but also explore the changing nature of music in the contemporary world. Through performance, composition and academic study, we’ll challenge you to think about what music is today and why it matters. In addition to our academic staff, we have 20 visiting instrumental and vocal teachers and provide a fantastic array of performance opportunities for you, from choirs and orchestras to World Music and jazz. Practice rooms, electronic studio facilities and some beautiful performance spaces are all on site. Studying music offers a uniquely rich experience which is highly valued by employers. In your three years here, you will not only develop a range of musical skills and knowledge, but also develop your self-confidence in working independently and with others. We look forward to welcoming you here.
• Be intellectually stimulated by our diverse range of courses, covering performance, composition, music history and analysis, film music, ethnomusicology, and popular music. • Take individual instrumental or vocal lessons from our excellent onsite visiting teachers, and benefit from a concerts manager available to arrange other performance opportunities. • Play and sing in a diverse range of orchestras, ensembles, and performances on campus and in central London, including the critically acclaimed Chapel Choir, which performs in the Chapel weekly, makes CD recordings with Hyperion, regularly appears on BBC Radio 3, and makes frequent international tours. • Enjoy a lively concert life, with regular lunchtime and evening concerts by students, staff and professionals, held in the beautiful Picture Gallery or spacious Windsor Building Auditorium – and that’s not even to mention the countless events offered nearby in central London! • Get involved in the many student-led Music Theatre societies on campus to gain experience as musical director, producer, conductor or performer or join a thriving Music Society which combines social activities with performances, including overseas tours. • Use our excellent facilities, including state-of-the-art studios, high quality pianos (qualifying the department as an ‘All Steinway School’), extensive collection of world music instruments, and exceptional library resources. • Experience our supportive and welcoming environment, with friendly, dedicated staff including your own personal advisor who is on hand to offer you academic advice and guidance. • Take a year abroad to discover more about yourself as well as the subject. As a Music student at Royal Holloway you could spend your year abroad at one of our partner Universities in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, the USA and New Zealand. A full list of our partner universities can be found at royalholloway.ac.uk/international • Go on to greater things! We have an impressive record of recent graduates entering relevant and rewarding careers.
Professor Stephen Downes Head of Department
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Admissions and entry requirements We are looking for students who possess a keen interest in the practice, theory, and history of music and have the ability to handle ideas beyond the confines of the A-level syllabus. Students are admitted to the department on the basis of their actual attainment at A-level or equivalent. All students being considered for an offer will be invited to an Applicant Visit Day, normally held on a Wednesday in the first and second terms. At the Visit Day you will have a chance to meet students and members of staff, to see the department and the College, hear a few taster lectures, and to discuss your application further. Application forms and instructions about how to apply for Instrumental, Choral, and Organ scholarships are included in the Funding Your Studies brochure which is automatically sent out to students being considered for an offer. Applicants will normally be expected to be of a standard equivalent to Grade 7 or above, but exceptions may be made for those with particular strengths in other areas. Acceptance on solo performance courses is dependent on demonstrating a sufficient level. You should be of at least distinction at ABRSM Grade 8 or equivalent standard if you wish to be considered for a scholarship. Typical offers • A-level: AAB/ABB (A in Music - Joint Honours degrees may have a second subject requirement) • BTEC National Diploma: Distinction, Distinction, Merit, in a relevant subject area • International Baccalaureate: 34/36 points, including 6 in HL Music. We also accept a number of overseas qualifications for direct admission including Hong Kong and Singapore A Levels, USA Advanced Placements, Norwegian Vitnemål and many more. Further details of these and other acceptable qualifications can be found at royalholloway.ac.uk/international/yourcountry • If your first language is not English, you are normally expected to take an English proficiency test such as IELTS or TOEFL. An IELTS score of 6.5 with 7 in writing, or TOEFL equivalent, is required. More information can be found at royalholloway.ac.uk/ international select Applying. Mature applicants and alternative qualifications We encourage applications from mature students and students with non-standard qualifications. We consider all applications on their own merits. Deferred entry Applications from candidates who wish to take a year off between leaving school and entering university are welcomed. If we offer you a place and you meet the conditions of the offer, your entry into the department the following year is guaranteed. International Foundation Programme If the education system in your home country does not offer qualifications suitable for direct admission, you can join the International Foundation Programme (IFP) based in the oncampus International Study Centre. For further details visit royalholloway.ac.uk/isc. The programme offers a special Music pathway that includes opportunities for performance tuition and to study music theory.
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Degree programmes Single Honours • W302 BMus Music Music as a Major subject (75%) • W3R1 Music with French • W3R2 Music with German • W3R3 Music with Italian • W3R4 Music with Spanish • W3V5 Music with Philosophy • W3L2 Music with Political Studies Joint degrees (50%) • WW43 Drama & Music • RW13 French & Music • RW23 German & Music • VW13 History & Music • RW33 Italian & Music • GW13 Mathematics & Music • WQ33 Music & English • WV35 Music & Philosophy • WR34 Spanish & Music Music as a Minor subject (25%) with the following Major subjects: Economics (L1W3), French (R1W3), Physics (F3W3), Spanish (R4W3). The main aim of Royal Holloway’s music programme is to encourage a deeper understanding of the subject through the detailed study of the contexts, histories, theories, and practices of music, at the same time promoting the development of students’ intellectual, critical, and creative abilities. Our broad philosophy is to give you a foundation in the key areas of our subject and then permit you to specialise as you think appropriate. Degrees at Royal Holloway are based on the course unit system. This system provides an effective and flexible approach to study, while ensuring that our degrees have a coherent structure. Students take a total of 12 course units over their three years (four per year). Individual courses can be worth a whole or one half of a unit (usually depending on their length). The single-subject honours degree in Music is the BMus, while various combined degrees involving Music (‘major’, ‘joint’ or ‘minor’) lead to the BA or BSc. The available degree programmes are: BMus (W302) The BMus degree offers a wide range of specialisation while also providing a broad-based foundation in the history, theory, and practice of music. The course unit structure allows versatility in the length and weighting of courses (in half and full units) and the opportunity to introduce elements from other departments (for example History, Computer Science, or Psychology).
Music as a Major subject (‘Music with…’) These programmes normally consist of nine course units in music with the remaining three in the other subject. The music element (taken with the BMus students) involves selecting five units from our ‘flexible core’ of technical, creative, and historical courses, and the remainder from the department’s wide range of option courses. Joint degrees (‘Music and…’/‘… and Music’) These programmes consist of between five and seven units of music with the rest of the degree taken in the other subject. The music element (taken with the BMus students) involves selecting three units from our ‘flexible core’ of technical, creative, and historical courses, and the remainder from the department’s wide range of option courses. Music as a Minor subject (‘… and Music’) About 25% of the degree is in music, focusing chiefly on optional courses selected according to your skills and interests. Performance options (that include individual instrumental or vocal lessons) are not available to students taking music as a minor subject.
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Degree structure Year 1
Years 2 and 3
First-year courses are foundational, offering a focused preparation for advanced study. Our ‘flexible core’ ensures that you have exposure to, and experience of, the five key areas of music study, providing a broad and contemporary vision of the study of music. Each seeks to provide a depth and level of questioning that will introduce you to the creative and intellectual benefits of university study. The five areas, each with two courses to choose from, are:
Second and final year options courses are more advanced, and tend to focus on quite precise topics rather than broad surveys, though breadth can be achieved in other ways (for example, by course combinations). You can specialise in one or more areas or decide instead to retain a wide range of interests. Single honours and music Major students must take at least one subject area through to the final year ‘Special Study’ level. This means that in the third year you must do one of the following: present a recital for assessment in performance, research and write a dissertation or analysis project on a topic of your choice, or complete a portfolio of compositions.
1 Musicianship and Music Theory • Practical Musicianship will develop your awareness of pitch, rhythm, timbre and musical form through practical exercises in listening, singing, playing and improvising. • Theory and Analysis introduces you to basic concepts of counterpoint, harmony, melody and form, to enable you to analyse music of a range of periods and musical genres. 2 Composition • Creative Composition Techniques introduces some of the fundamental techniques of contemporary composition. You complete a portfolio of exercises in manipulating chords, melodies, rhythms and timbres. • Practical Compositional Skills gives you the opportunity to write small-scale musical compositions, which may be performed in workshops by professional or student musicians. 3 Music Histories • A Very Short History of Music gives an overview of major repertories from the history of Western music, selecting important milestones such as opera in the age of Monteverdi, and the symphony after Beethoven. • Introduction to Historical Musicology considers some of the questions involved in studying music history, such as: why are some composers celebrated as ‘great’ and others are nowadays forgotten? 4 Global and Contemporary Perspectives • Introduction to World Music introduces the contexts, functions, philosophies, techniques, and organising principles of several music cultures from around the world. • Contemporary Debates in Music introduces you to the debates surrounding music in today’s culture. It examines the ways in which music is used by individuals to help them make sense of their world. 5 Performance • Solo Performance consists of individual vocal or instrumental lessons alongside seminars in interpretation and programme planning. It is examined by a 15-minute solo recital. • Creative Ensemble Performance involves student-initiated ensembles, in any genre (chamber, jazz, rock, early music etc.), working intensively together alongside workshops and coaching sessions. Teamwork, initiative, creativity and process are assessed alongside performance.
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Teaching and assessment Teaching in the Music department is organised around a mixture of lectures, seminars, tutorials and practical classes, depending on the nature of the specific subject. For example, we teach in small tutorial groups of three to four students when very detailed issues are addressed, while lectures and seminars are used for broader topics. We also assign each student a Personal Advisor whose role is to monitor progress and to advise on other academic and personal matters. All students taking solo performance courses receive individual lessons on their first instrument (or voice). The number of lessons allocated depends on the course taken, with the number of hours increasing for those specialising in solo performance in their second and final years. Entry to the advanced solo performance courses at second- and final-year level is selective, dependent on examination outcome in the previous year of study. Students are given a wide choice of teachers with whom to study whether within or outside the department; some, indeed, nominate their own (e.g. from the London conservatoires). Lessons with the
department’s visiting teachers – all of whom are distinguished practitioners in their field – are paid for by the department up to a fixed annual sum; those by outside teachers are subsidised. Students wishing to have lessons on a second instrument are offered preferential rates with our visiting teachers. Examinations take place at the end of each year of the programme, and units are typically examined by a combination of written papers, coursework essays, portfolio submissions and/or practical tests/recitals. We do not believe in using just one method of assessment, and both development and achievement are taken into account in our degree’s graduated year-weighting structure. A zero-weighted first year takes the pressure off our foundational first year, smoothing the transition from school to university and encouraging the exploration of new areas of study. Respectively, a doubleweighted final year reflects the increased maturity and confidence students achieve with the culmination of their studies.
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Course structure BMus (Hons) (In all programmes students complete four units each year) Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
FLEXIBLE CORE: choose eight 0.5 unit modules, at least one from each list:
FLEXIBLE CORE: choose four 0.5 unit modules (2 units) from:
CORE: choose at least one Special Study (1 unit) in:
List A Practical Musicianship Theory and Analysis
Analysis
Composition
Composition
Dissertation
List B Creative Composition Techniques Practical Composition Skills
History of Music
Performance
Ethnomusicology
Ensemble Performance
Practical Performance
Select remaining courses to make up four units from option courses listed page on 12.
List C A Very Short History of Music Introduction to Historical Musicology List D Introduction to World Music Contemporary Debates in Music
Select remaining courses to make up four units from option courses listed on page 12 (or from above).
List E Solo Performance Creative Ensemble Performance
BA/BSc (Hons) – Music major programmes (‘Music with …’) Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
1 unit in the ‘minor’ subject
1 unit in the ‘minor’ subject
1 unit in the ‘minor’ subject
FLEXIBLE CORE: Choose six 0.5 unit modules (3 units). At least one from list A, no more than one from list E:
FLEXIBLE CORE: Choose two 0.5 unit modules (1 unit) from:
CORE: choose at least one Special Study (1 unit) in:
Analysis
Composition
Composition
Dissertation
History of Music
Performance
List B Creative Composition Techniques Practical Composition Skills
Ethnomusicology
Ensemble Performance
Music, Media and Technology
List C A Very Short History of Music Introduction to Historical Musicology
Practical Performance
Select remaining courses to make up four units from option courses listed page on 12.
List A Practical Musicianship Theory and Analysis
List D Introduction to World Music Contemporary Debates in Music
Select remaining courses to make up four units from option courses listed on page 12 (or from above).
List E Solo Performance Creative Ensemble Performance
“The wide range of courses and extra-curricular groups to choose from have been invaluable – I’ve had the opportunity to play amazing music which I’d never imagined existed let alone had even heard of before!
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The Music department is like a big family, and the short journey into London means that it’s really easy to make the most of the diverse range of concerts, musicals and gigs.” Susan Orme, BA (Hons) Mathematics and Music
BA (Hons) – Joint Honours programmes (‘Music and…’/ ’…and Music’) Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
2 units in other ‘joint’ subject
2 units in other ‘joint’ subject
2 units in other ‘joint’ subject
FLEXIBLE CORE: Choose four 0.5 unit modules. Must include at least one course from List A, and no more than one from List E:
FLEXIBLE CORE: Choose two 0.5 unit modules (1 unit) from:
Two units of optional courses chosen from the list on page 12 and/or Special Studies in:
List A Practical Musicianship Theory and Analysis
Analysis Composition History of Music
List B Creative Composition Techniques Practical Composition Skills
Ethnomusicology
List C A Very Short History of Music Introduction to Historical Musicology
Practical Performance
List D Introduction to World Music Contemporary Debates in Music
Music, Media and Technology
Composition Dissertation Performance Ensemble Performance
Select remaining courses to make up four units from option courses listed on page 12.
List E Solo Performance Creative Ensemble Performance
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Course information
Option courses
• Elgar’s Choral and Orchestral Music
Option courses for year two and year three selected from:
• Music, Power and Politics
Options offered every year
• Music and Society in Purcell’s London
• Solo Performance
• Wagner’s Ring, 1848–1876
• Practical Performance
• Mahler and Viennese Modernism
• Composition
• Sibelius and the music of Northern Europe
• Ensemble Performance
• Musics of China
• Ensemble Performance in World Music
• German Music Between the Wars (1919–1939)
Examples of existing option courses, a selection of which will be available in any one year:
• Issues in Sound, Music & the Moving Image
• Choral Conducting • Practical & Creative Orchestration • Music and Politics in Tudor England • Baroque Performance Practice • Composing with Technology • Art and Craft of 18th-century Composition • Mozart’s Operas • Music, Environment and Ecology • Late Beethoven • Music Culture and Society in Paris, 1828–1902 • J.S. Bach: Context and Reception • Editing and Notation of Early Music
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• The Music-Film: Musicals and Beyond • Issues in Popular Music • From Shostakovich to Schnittke • Orchestras around the World • Music of the Mediterranean – oral traditions • Traditional Music of the Andes • Music in the City • Music Technology • Advanced Music Technology • Philosophy and the Arts (Faculty-wide course) In all programmes Students may take up to a total of one unit outside the Music department in their second and/or third years.
Musical performance Music life at Royal Holloway You will be impressed by the multiplicity and diversity of musical activity on offer at Royal Holloway. Each year we run a full concert series with programmes that reflect the diverse interests of students and staff. There is also plenty of opportunity for students to perform on a regular basis in the three lunchtime recitals each week during term, as well as in a variety of other student-led performance groups based in the department and elsewhere on campus. Our performing groups include: The Royal Holloway Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Robert Max, gives at least two concerts a year, one of which is at St. John’s, Smith Square in London. Its programmes have included symphonies by Brahms, Mahler, Bruckner and Tchaikovsky and concertos by Mendelssohn, Bartók, Nielsen and Richard Strauss. The Royal Holloway Philharmonic Orchestra, which is essentially student-run, gives regular concerts in the College’s Windsor Auditorium and offers concerto opportunities for suitably qualified students. The Royal Holloway Sinfonietta, directed by our composers Mark Bowden and Helen Grime, offers an exciting programme of new music by established and emerging composers, including Royal Holloway students. The big band ‘Undergraduated’ is student-directed and gives several very popular concerts each year, usually featuring a number of student jazz vocalists. The Chapel Choir, consisting of 24 choral scholars, is one of the finest mixed-voice collegiate choirs in the UK and is directed by Rupert Gough. It sings Evensong and gives a lunchtime concert weekly, makes recordings with the Hyperion label, regularly appears on BBC Radio 3, and gives frequent concerts both in the UK and abroad (visit chapelchoir.co.uk for more information). The Founder’s Choir (approximately 40 singers) sings the main weekly service on Sunday evening, gives concerts and most years undertakes a European tour. Members of the choir also sing for some of the morning services in the Chapel. The Royal Holloway Chorus is open to all members of Royal Holloway and is not auditioned. It aspires to high standards while featuring engaging and enjoyable repertoire. There is often an opportunity for solo parts to be taken by members of the choir. There are usually two concerts on campus each year, at least one with orchestral accompaniment.
“The chance to play in a range of world music ensembles, from the Andean band to the Gamelan ensemble, is an opportunity unique to Royal Holloway, and for me,
The Andean Band, which works under the guidance of Henry Stobart, benefits from one of the largest collections of Andean instruments in Europe. It gives frequent performances on campus and beyond. The Gamelan Orchestra ‘Puloganti’, performs on the College’s beautiful set of Sundanese gamelan instruments especially shipped from Java in 2004. The ensemble is directed by Simon Cook and gives frequent performances, sometimes alongside rod or shadow puppetry. Other World Music groups periodically offered include a Balkan Music Ensemble, Middle Eastern Music Ensemble, and Korean drumming group. The Baroque/Early Music Ensemble is a combined staff-student initiative which enjoys the participation of department lecturers: Stephen Rose, Helen Deeming, Henry Stobart and Geoff Baker. The student-run Savoy Opera Society and Musical Theatre Society stage several productions each year for which Music department students often act as musical director, conductor or performers. The Gospel Choir and Absolute Harmony Choir are both non-auditioned, campus-wide, and student-run groups, which take a lively role on campus and in the local community. Having a large group of students, many of whom are excellent performers in a range of styles, also permits the formation of a variety of student-initiated ensembles or ad hoc groups for one-off performances. The department warmly welcomes, and does its best to support, these student initiatives, whether in popular music, jazz, folk, chamber, choral, orchestral or other styles. Each year we also run series of workshops, chamber music days, and masterclasses given by distinguished exponents in their field; events which often respond to the interests of our current students.
partaking in these ensembles has been a true highlight of my time at university.” Katie Bruce, BA (Hons) French and Music
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Other information Facilities
Choral, Organ, and Instrumental scholarships
The Royal Holloway Music department is housed in Wettons Terrace and Woodlands, both of which are situated across the A30 from the main campus, as well as the famous Founder’s Building itself.
A number of scholarships are available with values of £350, £700 and £1,500 intended to enhance Royal Holloway’s Symphony Orchestra, its Chapel Choir, and our other performance activities (no more than one award may be held simultaneously).
Lectures normally take place in Wettons Terrace, where the department office and staff offices are also situated. A large room in the Founder’s Library is especially dedicated to music and includes an excellent collection of books on music and scores, alongside attractive study spaces. The Founder’s Library also houses an extensive collection of CDs, videos, and DVDs as well as listening and viewing facilities. You can also access the library’s excellent range of online resources remotely. Dedicated IT facilities for music students comprising 15 networked workstations offering internet access and Sibelius are available in Wettons Terrace. You’ll also have 24-hour computer access to general College computing facilities. Practice facilities and rooms for instrumental teaching are situated in Woodlands. The department enjoys an excellent stock of pianos, qualifying it as an ‘All Steinway School’ (one of the few universities in the UK with this designation), and owns a number of modern, Renaissance, and Baroque instruments, including two harpsichords and a fortepiano. A new percussion studio is under development in Woodlands Cottage which, besides housing a wide array of new orchestral percussion instruments, will include a rehearsal space with drum kit and fixed amplifiers for electric guitars. In addition, the Chapel boasts a fine Harrison organ which is available for practice to those students taking organ lessons. Most large-scale concerts take place in the 400-seat Windsor Building Auditorium, while chamber music performances tend to be held in the attractive Picture Gallery. Two rooms dedicated to World Music are located in the North Tower of the Founder’s Building. The Sundanese gamelan is permanently set up in one room and the Andean instruments in another. Also located in the North Tower are two teaching studios and three music technology workstation rooms dedicated to undergraduate option courses in Composing with Technology, especially of music for film and television. These rooms are equipped with industry standard Apple based music/media workstations, primarily using Logic sequencing software, alongside Reason and Sibelius. Undergraduates taking Composing with Technology courses are allotted at least 12 hours individual studio time weekly, enabling sole use of a workstation room rather than the need to share a lab and to use headphones. Composing with technology is very vibrant at Royal Holloway and undergraduates often go on to postgraduate studies in this field. (Please note that we do not offer courses in audio recording or engineering). The beautiful surroundings of nearby Windsor Great Park (14,000 acres) are a mere 10 minutes walk from the College. For further information on all our facilities, visit royalholloway.ac.uk/music
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Two types of award will be available to students entering the department: • Scholarships for Instrumentalists and Singers: six scholarships of £350, renewable for up to two years. Instrumental and vocal scholars are expected to play an active role in the College’s musical life in conjunction with its various orchestras and choirs and to participate actively in and help to organise musical life at Royal Holloway. • Choral and Organ scholarships: one organ scholarship of up to £1,500 and a number of choral scholarships of £700, normally held for three years. Choral Scholars are required to sing in the Chapel Choir and to attend regular choir practices and other events which may occur outside of the academic term. Organ Scholars are expected to give general help with all the Chapel services, and, like Choral Scholars, to make a full commitment to the Chapel Choir.
Auditions
College Open Days
• Applicants for instrumental and vocal scholarships must put Royal Holloway as their unconditional or conditional first choice and are asked to supply an authenticated CD of their performances lasting 15 minutes to be submitted to the College by the end of March.
An Open Day at Royal Holloway offers a unique opportunity to come and see the College for yourself. You will have the chance to meet our students and teaching staff, and get a taste of what university life is really like. Parents and friends are very welcome to come with you.
• Applicants for Organ scholarships are auditioned for approximately 20 minutes, and are asked to perform two contrasting works, to sight-read, to provide an accompaniment to a hymn and psalm, and to improvise. During an interview, applicants will also be asked to score-read some choral music at the piano.
Dates of Open Days can be obtained from the main College website royalholloway.ac.uk/studyhere/opendays
• Applicants for Choral scholarships are asked to perform two contrasting songs and one or two pieces of sight-reading. • Application forms and full details for all scholarships are in the booklet Financing your Studies which you will receive when we invite you to an Applicant Visit Day (after considering your UCAS application form). • Candidates for these scholarships should submit their UCAS application forms as early as possible.
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Your future career We are in the top 10 UK Music departments for career prospects (Complete University Guide, 2014) Music graduates from Royal Holloway have had particular success in gaining employment, and are in even greater demand if they have taken advantage of the opportunities to study other subjects, or have studied abroad. About a third of our graduates go into further training in a conservatoire or university (including teacher training), a third go into music-related jobs (such as arts administration or the media), and a third go into all sorts of other professions (including accountancy, law, and management). Music is not just a vocational degree, and you will find Royal Holloway’s music graduates working in orchestras, concert halls, opera houses, and cathedrals, and come across them in rock groups, in the media, and in arts management. Our graduates have gone on to success in all walks of life – some examples are listed on the right. Recent employers include English National Opera, Surrey County Arts Service, EMI and Slaughter & May. Many of our graduates set themselves up as successful independent performers and/or teachers. 85% of our most recent graduates are in employment or enhancing their skills with further study*. Music graduates are highly employable, given the social, technical, creative, and verbal skills developed during their studies (not to mention the evidence of self-discipline and commitment provided by those long hours of practice). The strengths our Music degree will give you: • Powers of memory, physical dexterity and concentration, developed in practice and performance. • Communication skills, gained through performing and engaging listeners. • Teamwork, from working in bands or orchestras as a player, leader or manager. • Self-management, physical and mental self-discipline achieved through regular practice. • Performing under pressure and the ability to overcome nerves through exams, concerts and auditions. • Planning, organisational and project management skills. • Commercial awareness, from managing any income gained from performance or teaching. • Technical skills from using technology to create and record music. • Critical reflection – giving and receiving criticism, learning from mistakes and striving for improved performance.
*six months after graduating, KIS 2013
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The department works with the College’s dedicated Careers Service to work with you to enhance your employability and prepare you for the choices ahead. Music students can access a wide range of tailored opportunities on campus, for instance a part-time jobs fair which provides students with access to local employers; a wide variety of skills workshops; and a series of themed careers weeks including ‘Creative Careers’, offering you the chance to explore the diverse range of occupations available to you. royalholloway.ac.uk/careers And when you eventually move into the world of work, we like to keep in touch with you around the world wherever possible and are always delighted to hear how your chosen career is progressing. royalholloway.ac.uk/alumni Some of our graduates
Composers
Performers
• Ivan Moody (BMus 1985) Composer/conductor
• Dame Felicity Lott (BA 1969) Internationally acclaimed soprano • David Barrell (BMus 1979) Principal baritone with Welsh National Opera
• Joby Talbot (BMus 1992) Founding member of The Divine Comedy; Classic FM’s first Composer-in-Residence
• Susan Bullock (BMus 1980) International opera singer and Company Principal at English National Opera
Academics and education
• Elisabeth Cottam (BMus 1986) Violinist with National Opera of Lyon
• Professor David Clarke (BMus 1980) Professor of Music at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne
• Felicity Hammond (BMus 1993) Soprano with National Opera Studio
• Martin Sutton (BMus 1980) Director of Music, Oundle School
• Sarah Fox (BMus 1995) Soprano
• Liz Coombes (BMus 1982) Music Therapist, Programme Coordinator for the MA in Music Therapy, University of Wales, Newport • Helen Reid (BA 2000) Finalist, BBC Young Musician of the Year, Pianist, Professor of Piano and Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Photo: Johan Persson
• KT Tunstall (BA 1996) Singer-songwriter, Best British Female Solo Artist at the Brit Awards 2006
• Tony Bennett (BMus 1974) Lecturer in Music at the University of Sheffield
David Burke (BA 1996) General Manager & Finance Director, London Philharmonic Orchestra
KT Tunstall (BA 1996) Singer-songwriter, Best British Female Solo Artist at the Brit Awards 2006
“My studies in Music & Management at Royal Holloway enabled me to gain a greater understanding of all the basics, from marketing to international finance, historic analysis to performance practice. Whether it is appreciating the detail of the work of our musicians,
Joby Talbot (BMus 1992) Founding member of The Divine Comedy; Classic FM’s first Composer-in-Residence
or statistical analysis of the latest ticket information, I probably use 90% of what I learnt on a regular basis.” David Burke, General Manager & Finance Director, London Philharmonic Orchestra
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Arts administration and media
Other industries
• Roger Wright (BMus 1977) Controller of BBC Radio 3 since 2002
• Victoria Cannell (BMus 1997) Training Consultant, Lloyds TSB
• Peter Owens (BMus 1981) Business Enterprise Manager for Trinity College of Music and Laban Conservatoire of Contemporary Dance
• Helen Chaffey (BMus 1984) Murphy Cobb & Associates, Head of Operations North America
• Joanne Talbot (BMus 1983) Music Critic for The Strad and International Piano
• Adrienne Freeman [née Olby] (BMus 1984) Music therapist, NHS Trust
• Emma-Jane Stokely (BMus 1988) Classical Music Agent, Konzertdirektion Schmid
• Anna Ferro (BMus 1989, MMus 1990) Associate Solicitor, Blaser Mills
• Yvonne Gerrard [née Romaine] (BMus 1992) Marketing Co-ordinator, Polygram Records
• Nicola Robinson (BMus 1994) Research Analyst, Goldman Sachs International
• Laura Gibbon (BMus 1999) Music Librarian, English National Opera • James Eggleston (BMus 2000, MMus 2002) Head of Publishing, Boosey and Hawkes • Rebecca Driver (BMus 2002) Media Relations consultant for the performing arts including the BBC Proms
Dame Felicity Lott (BA 1969) Internationally acclaimed soprano
Susan Bullock (BMus 1980) International opera singer and Company Principal at English National Opera
“Performing in Royal Holloway’s Picture Gallery was always a memorable occasion. I especially enjoyed the (public) lunchtime concerts which I found very good experience for my future career. When I was a student I
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also began teaching. In terms of transition from student life to professional life I learnt a lot from Royal Holloway.” Helen Reid, Professor of Piano, Guildhall School of Music & Drama
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Roger Wright (BMus 1977) Controller of BBC Radio 3 since 2002
Academic staff Dr Geoff Baker MA Oxon, MMus RAM, PhD London Latin American music (colonial and popular); urban music and musicology; music acquisition, transmission and education; digitization.
Professor Stephen Downes BA Exeter, MMus, PhD, London 19th- and 20th century music, particularly of Central and Eastern Europe; topics in decadence, eroticism, sentimentalism; analytical and hermeneutic studies of romanticism and modernism; aesthetics.
Dr Rachel Beckles Willson GRSM (Hons) London, MMus Glasgow, PhD London, LRAM Cold War music politics, especially in Eastern Europe; music in Palestine; 20th-century historiography; anthropology of performance.
Ms Helen Grime Composition.
Dr Ed Bennett Resident composer. Dr Mark Berry MA, MPhil, PhD Cantab Intellectual and cultural history from the 18th-century onwards; opera; Mozart; Wagner; Schoenberg; Adorno; German idealism and Marxism. Dr Mark Bowden BMus Huddersfield, MMus RCM, PhD London Composition; conducting. Dr Julie Brown BMus Melbourne, MMus PhD London AMusA Early 20th-century music: theory, criticism and history; music and the moving image. Dr Helen Deeming MA, MPhil, PhD Cantab, FHEA Medieval and Renaissance music; the cultural history of musical notation; music iconography.
Dr J. P. E. Harper-Scott BA Dunelm, DPhil Oxon Analysis and hermeneutics of early modernist symphonic music, Wagner, and 20th-century opera (especially Strauss and Britten); philosophy, gender studies, ideology critique, and psychoanalysis (especially Heidegger, Badiou, Marx, and Žižek). Dr Anne Hyland BMus, MMus Dublin, PhD Cantab Schubert, music analysis, 19th-century musical form. Professor Julian Johnson BA CNAA, MA, DPhil Sussex Music History of the 19th and 20th centuries, Philosophy of Music, Modernism (especially Mahler and Second Viennese School). Professor Erik Levi BA Cantab, BPhil York Political history of music, music of exiled composers during the Nazi period; performance, interpretation and recording history. Mr Brian Lock BA East Anglia, MPhil Cantab, PGDip Chopin Academy Warsaw Composition – commercial, cross-genre, electronica, experimental, film; music technology; music and technology; orchestration; 21st‑century music, especially in the UK, France and Poland. Rebecca Miller Fellow in Performance. Dr Anna Morcom BA, PhD London Ethnomusicology; music and dance in India and Tibet; issues of film and media, power and politics, gender and sexuality and modernity. Professor Tina K. Ramnarine GRSM (Hons) RAM, MMus Edinburgh, DPhil Manchester, LRAM Ethnomusicology, especially Northern European and Caribbean music; performance studies. Dr Stephen Rose BA York, MPhil, PhD Cantab German music 1500–1750, especially Bach; Purcell; performance practice; music-printing; social history of music. Dr Henry Stobart MPhil PhD Cantab, ABSM Ethnomusicology, especially Bolivian music, indigeneity, digital media, music piracy, sound studies and environment; Renaissance and Baroque performance practice. Dr Shzr Ee Tan BMus, MMus, PhD London, ARCM Ethnomusicology, especially musics of Taiwan, Singapore and the Chinese diaspora; music and new media.
The terms and conditions on which Royal Holloway, University of London makes offers of admission to its programmes of study, including those covered in this booklet, may be found in the Undergraduate Prospectus or Postgraduate Prospectus, copies of which are available on request from:
royalholloway.ac.uk/studyhere The information contained in this brochure is correct at the time of publication but is subject to change as part of the department’s policy of continuous improvement and development.
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Royal Holloway, University of London Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX T: +44 (0)1784 434455 royalholloway.ac.uk