MA Music (Classical) (2025)

New for 2025!

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MA Music (Classical) at Leeds Conservatoire

Kickstart your music career with our Music MA, specialising on Classical Music (Classical). This practical postgraduate degree is designed to develop your artform and enhance your musical skills, professional approach, and innovative thinking, equipping you for the dynamic nature of today's music industry. 

At Leeds Conservatoire, students take charge of their personal, creative, and intellectual development, maturing into accomplished musicians and thoughtful professionals ready to achieve long-lasting success in the music industry. 

Your unique passions and talents will be championed and you'll be encouraged to delve deep, experiment, and discover new ideas and approaches to your artistry. 

You’ll also gain the confidence to produce your finest work and make your mark in the competitive international music arena. 

This course is part of a brand-new suite of postgraduate music courses including:

  • Starts:
  • Duration: 1 Year
  • Tutors: Dr Lewis Kennedy, Dr Jack Harbord
  • UCAS Code: 806F
  • UCAS Institution Code: L31
  • Apply Via: UCAS Conservatoires
  • Study Mode: Full Time
  • Validated By: University of Hull

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Course Overview

Master Your Skills

Alongside developing your music practice as a performer and connecting with your audiences, we also encourage our students to embrace adaptability and explore new perspectives - essential skills for standing out from a crowded field.  

Specialist tutors, peers, and industry guests provide invaluable support, constructive critique, and expert insights across a spectrum of disciplines.  

You’ll also engage in theoretical and research activities that will place your talent within a range of philosophical, historical, sociological, industrial and critical contexts within your chosen discipline.  

As a graduate, you’ll have developed the resilience and creativity needed for enduring success in the ever-evolving landscape of the creative industries. 

A Collaborative Curriculum

Collaboration is an integral part of the ethos at Leeds Conservatoire. Musical Theatre Creatives students will share core modules with students from the other Theatre MAs, where they generate new work in a collaborative, student-led environment. This encourages students to work in new and interdisciplinary ways where they can find and hone their individual creative voices as artists and practitioners. Throughout the year there will be several opportunities for these developing works to be performed in a range of contexts and environments.


Continue your classical music journey with our new postgraduate degree, in partnership with Opera North, offering you unique orchestral and vocal opportunities, collaboration and diverse performance. 

You’ll perform in our stunning concert hall on campus and have the chance to connect with Leeds concert venues to grow your audience and promote your music. You’ll collaborate with students from other pathways to create innovative music, blending classical with other genres and art forms. 

You’ll be able to participate in core ensembles like our orchestra, choral ensemble, chamber orchestra, brass and woodwind ensembles and big band as well as working alongside Musical Theatre and Film students to hone your commercial skills. 

By exploring classical music from traditional to contemporary styles, you’ll gain an in-depth understanding of classical harmonic techniques and build a robust composition portfolio as well as recording your music and develop essential recording skills. 

We’re the only English conservatoire to hold the coveted All-Steinway School status, meaning 90% of our world-class rehearsal and performance pianos come from the highly respected Steinway family. 

What you will study


 

Specialist Study modules in trimesters 1 and 2 enables students to consolidate and develop their skills as they work towards achieving greater originality, technical proficiency and creative fluidity in their practice. Students will work towards submitting a performance or portfolio based on their chosen discipline.

In preparation for a performance, public sharing, or portfolio submission, students will, through collaborative investigations with tutors in both one-to-one sessions and taught group sessions, work on improving and refining their practical, creative, and presentational skills.

This work will draw from a range of inspirational sources including influential figures from minority groups. This process involves identifying and addressing technical weaknesses, exploring and analysing a variety of repertoire and/or original material, and developing coherent presentation skills that align with the demands of their chosen idiom.

Concepts in Music modules in trimesters 1 and 2 will facilitate learning by addressing and exploring relevant practical, theoretical and critical frameworks in lectures, group seminars and directed independent study. The module allows students to analyse and interrogate musical systems and approaches that relate to their chosen discipline.

The module will also focus on developing skills that relate to all pathways such as, presentation skills, developing social conscience, ethical practice, intellectual property, funding applications, social media, location recording techniques and understanding national arts organisations.

Within the module, students will focus on a diverse range of influential figures, drawing from both global majority and minority group artists.

The programme culminates in the 60-credit Major Project in Music module, in which students will embark on an ambitious, complex, and substantial project supported by small-group supervision.

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Careers

With a deep understanding of the creative and industrial contexts within which your practice exists, as an alumnus you will be prepared for a career as a musician. 

Our postgraduate students have received commissions, performed at regional and international festivals including South by South West, The Reeperbahn Festival, Glastonbury and Live at Leeds, progressed to teaching positions, and created public installations.

Meet our Alumni

Entry requirements, fees & applying

Course Type: MA Postgraduate Degree
Duration: 1 year
Study Mode: Full Time
Start date: September
Validated by: University of Hull

 

Apply via UCAS Conservatoires

UCAS Code: MA Music (Classical) – 806F

UCAS Institution Code: L31

Apply directly to Leeds Conservatoire

Alternatively you can apply directly to Leeds Conservatoire - the direct application link will be available later in 2024.

Find out more about the application process.

  • A good honours degree in any subject, with a 2nd (2:2) classification or equivalent 

OR 

  • Professional experience equivalent to a good honours degree (see our APEL process) 
  • All suitable applicants are invited for interview and/or audition
  • All international students must have a British Council English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 6.0

Postgraduate applicants will be expected to submit an audition or portfolio. The auditions process will be communicated later in 2024.

Funding options

Student Loans for Masters level study are available for many Home applicants.

There are also a range of Scholarships & Bursaries available.

Read more on our Postgraduate Fees & Funding page.

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Our community

Our eclectic community comes from all over the world to write, interpret, discover, explore and reflect upon original and existing forms of music. 

Postgraduate students have the opportunity to meet industry guests from across the spectrum, with recent guests including: 

  • Anna Meredith MBE – Composer, producer and performer
  • Neil Davidge – Producer with Massive Attack
  • Harry Escott - Film score composer
  • Tom McRae - Singer, songwriter, recording and touring artist
  • Malcolm Joseph - Bass guitarist with Grace Jones
  • Ayanna Witter Johnson - Composer, performer and musician
  • Scanner - Electronic musician and multimedia artist
Postgraduate Open Days

Find out what it’s like to study at Leeds Conservatoire by coming along to an Open Day. 

Both Online and On-Campus Open Days allow you to find out more about our postgraduate courses, meet our teaching staff and see our facilities.

Find out more
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