Important information
Late applications will be considered.
The Guitar and Harp Department at RCS is structured to directly reflect musical realities in the 21st century. Most successful musicians live varied musical lives, it is our desire to prepare you for the profession and we feel you must acquire as broad a range of skills as possible in order to become excellent musicians and interesting, expressive artists.
Weekly individual, group tuition, chamber music and orchestral performance are a focal point of the newly formed department. Regular collaborations with composers in creating new repertoire, side by side opportunities with all of Scotland’s national orchestra’s, classes in technique and performance practice, history and repertoire, improvisation, business skills, techniques of teaching, alongside regular masterclasses with visiting international soloists all are integral to the development of an aspiring and versatile musician.
The guitar and harp department consists of an exciting, forward-looking team of lecturers, who are all experienced soloists, chamber musicians, orchestral players and teachers in their own right. They are on hand to give invaluable advice and tuition drawing from their own experience of life as professional musicians.
The MMus/MA programme is divided into Stage 1 and Stage 2. Stage 1 is common to both degrees, and may also lead to the exit award of PGDip. In Stage 2, MMus and MA students follow different pathways leading to their respective degrees.
Principal Study 1 — 80 SCQF credits
Supporting Studies 1 — 30, 20 or 10 SCQF credits
Practice Research — 10 SCQF credits
Options — 0, 10 or 20 SCQF credits
Principal Study 2 — 90 SCQF credits
Supporting Studies 2 — 30, 20 or 10 SCQF credits
Options — 0, 10 or 20 SCQF credits
Guitar and Harp graduates have gone on to further study in the US and Europe, become heads of university departments, International concert solo artists, orchestral principal harpists, teachers in private practice and festival directors.
Guitar alumni include:
Sean Shibe – the first guitarist to be admitted to the prestigious BBC New Generation Artists Scheme and the only solo guitarist to have received a Borletti-Buitoni Fellowship. In 2009 Sean won first prize in the Ivor Mairants Guitar Award of the Worshipful Company of Musicians and in 2011 he became only the second guitarist ever to win the Royal Over-Seas League first prize and gold medal. Nominated for a BBC Music Magazine Award for his recent album Dreams and Fancies, which debuted at No.3 in the Classical Album Chart. In 2018 he received the RPS ‘Young Artists Prize’.
Laura Husbands received a full scholarship to complete an Artist Diploma at Lamont University, Colorado 2009. In June 2011 she received an Artist Diploma in classical guitar performance as well as Lamont’s Outstanding Graduate in Performance Award. Laura Husbands was the winner of the Denver Classical Guitar Society 2010 Debut Competition and the 2011 Portland International Guitar Competition.
Marek Pasieczny is one of the most popular contemporary polish composers and guitarists of his generation. He completed a Masters in Guitar Performance with distinction as well as in Composition, first studying at Karol Lipinski Academy of Music in Wroclaw under Professor Piotr Zaleski, and then RCS. Established as a successful performer, composer and teacher, his career has taken him all over the world.
Harp alumni include:
In November, RCS hosted Guitar Digifest; a two day online festiveal of all things classical guitar. From competitions to masterclasses, showcases and concerts.
Here is a showcase of some of our current students performing.
The Guitar and Harp department also offer prestigious concerto opportunities to students to perform with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC SSO as well as the RCS Symphony Orchestra. We enjoy close collaborations with distinguished teaching artists from around the world, including our Associate artist in guitar – Paul Galbraith and harpists Ruth Potter & Karen Vaughan, amongst many others.
The Royal Conservatoire owns a 3x seven course lutes, 1 David Rouse Concert guitar, 1 Ramirez 1E Concert guitar, 1x Altamira Classical guitar, 1x Manual Contreras Classical Guitar, 1x theorbo, 1x electric bass, 1x DPA contact microphone, 1x 19th century guitar and 3 AER compact 60 acoustic amplifiers. We also have 4 concerts harps — 2 Salvi, 1 Camac & 1 Horngacher. We recently received a large donation of sheet music forming a guitar specific library.
All of the above is available for students to borrow. All of the instruments are kept in the guitar room or in the AV Store. RCS students are welcome to use all of the instruments, but they are responsible for care of the instruments when they are using them.
The Guitar and Harp department has access to the many facilities and resources RCS has to offer. As well as a fabulous library and several computer suites, our students have access not only to a purpose-built recording studio but the use of an expert recording producer. Recordings can be made for course assessments and also at any time for personal use.