Learning and teaching

Principal Project

In this module, you will work with your principal tutor to identify one or two significant artistic outputs as a focus for your studies. These will typically be performances, but may also be compositions, recordings, or documented research. As well as offering an artistic vehicle, it is expected that you will seek opportunities that will support your future professional development: examples might include: entering competitions; freelance work; professional recitals; and/or high quality audio and/or video recordings.

This module is supported by 20.25 hours of one-to-one lessons from a specialist tutor, typically delivered as a 90 minute lesson every fortnight across 27 weeks. The choice of tutor is made by negotiation with your Head of Department, who will seek to match your individual needs with the expertise of particular teachers. A student may if necessary be re-assigned to an alternative teacher: it may also be appropriate for your principal study to be shared between a number of teachers.

We expect you to exercise a significant degree of autonomy both in identifying suitable projects and undertaking the individual work necessary to bring them to fruition.

Supporting Project

In the Supporting Project module, you will receive support and mentoring from a personal supervisor, who will help you to create an individual portfolio of supplementary activities to complement your main artistic projects. You will be encouraged to draw upon learning opportunities within your Department, the School of Music, and the Conservatoire as whole. Examples might include: performance classes and masterclasses; departmental classes and ensembles; attendance at concerts; critical reflection on performances recorded on video; peer mentoring; research department events, including the Exchange; auditing classes and modules either close to or far from your discipline; and/or creative interdisciplinary projects in collaboration with students from other programmes.

Your supervisor will also assist you in undertaking research into the works being prepared for your principal project, drawing on written and audiovisual resources available to you through the Whittaker Library and other print and online sources.