(1 year full-time; 2 years part-time)
Course Leader: David King, BA GDBM


An intensive course for performers and conductors wishing to specialise in contemporary musical genres - brass and wind bands, jazz and popular music.

Students are assigned to a specialist instrumental, vocal or conducting tutor, and are encouraged to develop their own performing ability to the highest level of proficiency. Students also participate in a series of seminars and workshops in which both practical and theoretical/academic aspects of advanced performance are considered. Particular attention is paid to matters of repertoire (notated and recorded), interpretation, and musical and performing style.

Salford University has an established reputation for its work in contemporary musical genres, and several members of the Music Division are successful performers and conductors. The specialist instrumental tutors include many leading orchestral players and session musicians, and brass band musicians of international standing. The College has four well equipped recording & mixdown studios, and extensive production and editing facilities.

The College currently has some three hundred music students enrolled on its Honours degree courses in Band Musicianship and Popular Music and Recording. This presents MA students with an ideally stimulating environment within which to study performance to an advanced level. All undergraduates take performance as part of their degree programmes, and the College's bands and ensembles are noted for their outstandingly high standards of performance.

Assessment of the Postgraduate Diploma is by public recital/concert performance plus some smaller project assignments. Students taking the MA also submit a dissertation on a related aspect of performance, and deliver a lecture-recital based upon an issue of their choice, such as repertoire or performance practice.

Applicants should possess, or expect to achieve, an honours degree, graduate diploma or equivalent qualification in music. They will normally have specialised in performance during their undergraduate studies. Exceptionally, applications may also be considered from candidates who lack formal qualification but who can demonstrate equivalent achievement in performance, and have a proven capacity for analytical thought and fluent written expression.

Application forms are available from:

Admissions Tutor
MA Performance
Faculty of Media, Music and Performance
University College Salford
Adelphi
Peru Street
Salford
Manchester
M3 6EQ

Tel: 0161 2956117
Fax: 0161 2956023

Or email: d.king@salford.ac.uk