MA Musical Leadership

Your practice as an ensemble leader is placed at the centre of this course. By studying a variety of key concepts relating to leadership, ensemble interaction, and musical development, you will reflect on your existing practice to further understand how it may improve. We will support you as you initiate new strategies in your practice inspired by your research.

On the course you will be given multiple opportunities to participate in university-based ensembles as a musical leader and work with your existing external ensembles too.  This will see you perform in venues across the historic city of York to a range of audiences. All of this experience broadens your scope as a musical leader and prepares you for future employment avenues. 

When you study our Reflective Practitioner module, you will work alongside students from the other courses on our postgraduate Music suite. This allows you to gain a cross-disciplinary awareness of musical leadership and its relationship with other key areas of musical study. Your Ensemble Independent Project module builds on the taught modules and allows you to apply new theories, ideas and strategies to areas of your practice you would most like to improve. This research may encompass work your conduct with external groups, or draw on your experience with university ensembles. Whatever aspect of musical leadership you choose to study, your academic supervisor will be there to support you through the process. 

Qualifications

Entry onto this postgraduate course requires a minimum of a 2:2 undergraduate degree in a related subject.

If your undergraduate degree is not in a related discipline but you can provide evidence of professional experience in leading musical ensembles, your application may still be considered.

International Students

If you are an international student, you will need to show that your qualifications are equivalent to those above.

If your first language is not English you must show evidence of English Language competence at IELTS level 6.0 (with no skill below 5.5) or equivalent.

APEL policy

If you can't meet these minimum requirements it may be possible to take into account evidence of Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) as an alternative way to meet the entry requirements. Appropriate references, records of employment, and artistic portfolios can be presented to support your case for admission.

This degree can give you the tools to progress in a career you are passionate about. 

This course can help you in your career if:

• You are a freelance musician looking to improve your ability to lead ensembles in performance, production and pedagogic contexts.
• You are a freelance musician looking to improve the quality of ensembles you lead and participate in as a gigging musician.
• You are a freelance musician who wants to focus on recording with your ensemble, making you more efficient in achieving the desired quality of performance.
• You are a teacher who leads ensembles as part of your work – regardless of if you teach primary, secondary, or tertiary education.
• You are a community musician who wants to improve your ability to facilitate ensembles within the community