Master of Arts - Music: Performance Practice

The MA Music: Performance Practice Pathway prepares students for careers as performers and scholars. Students will combine the studies of contemporary performance with those of historical practice.

This pathway differs from the Performance Pathway in that it incorporates a more substantial academic component, representing an ideal training model for future performer-scholars.

Full time staff include Director of Performance Ceri Owen, an award-winning collaborative pianist and scholar, and scholar-performer and early music conductor Andrew Kirkman. They join forces with Simon Halsey, renowned chorus master of the CBSO and Berlin Radio Choir, and orchestral conductor Daniele Rosina, plus instrumental and vocal lessons arranged with the faculty of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Students also receive the opportunity to take advantage of the early performance opportunities afforded by the Centre for Early Music Performance and Research (CEMPR).

Students wishing to study performance practice pre-1800 will benefit from access to these facilities, as well as period-specific resources. Those wishing to study music of the mid- to late-19th century will have access to an 1851 original Erard piano which can be used for performance of relevant repertoire. Those with an interest in 20th and 21st Century music will have the opportunity to work with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.

The MA in Music at Birmingham offers first class, internationally-renowned staff who are experts in their fields, meaning students learn from specialists who really are the best at what they do.

Students study within the excellent facilities available with the Elgar Concert Hall, which is one of the most flexible concert halls of its type in any UK university.