Masters Conducting Programme | Postgraduate Course Introduction

Introduction

Our conducting programmes provide you with the comprehensive and integrated training required of a professional conductor. You will concentrate on the technique and craft of conducting through diverse practical experience with the Royal Conservatoire orchestras, our opera department, and various classical and contemporary ensembles.

Our extensive professional links offer unmatched opportunities to work in observation and collaboration with the country’s major orchestras, such as the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, the BBC SSO and the RSNO. In fact, the RSNO generously give the conducting cohort a whole day to experience professional demands a day that the students unreservedly appreciate.

Through individual lessons, in-house opportunities and aural classes you’ll develop perception, listening skills, and self-awareness to become a responsive leader in rehearsal and performance.

In addition to the MMus/MA programme, the Royal Conservatoire also offers a highly prestigious two-year Conducting Fellowship.

Programme structure

MMus/MA Programme Structure

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.

Stage 1: PGDip

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

Stage 2: MMus

Principal Study 2 — 90 SCQF credits

Supporting Studies 2 — 30, 20 or 10 SCQF credits

Options — 0, 10 or 20 SCQF credits

Stage 2: MA

Negotiated Study (or HIPP dissertation) — 60 SCQF credits

Principal Study

The primary focus of your learning will be the Principal Study. This core activity will refine the skills essential to meeting the artistic and technical expectations of the programme. It will equip you with many of the skills needed to exercise independent learning and develop the autonomy necessary for a professional career. As well as regular conducting lessons, the Principal Study offers the opportunity for public performances with ensembles such as the RCS Symphony, Chamber and Concerto orchestras, and new music ensembles such as Music Lab and Red Note.

Supporting Studies

Supporting Studies incorporates many of the distinctive features of conservatoire study, and contributes towards the creation of a near-professional learning environment. In this module, you will have the opportunity to take part in a range of negotiated activities in support both of your Principal Study and your development as an emerging professional. As a conducting student you take part in a range of supporting studies activites that will allow you to work with ensembles ranging from two pianos through to a full orchestra.

Practice Research

This module challenges you to examine critically an aspect of your arts practice by means of an individually-negotiated portfolio of research, reflection and/or documentation. Over the course of your studies, with the support of a supervisor, you will assemble a portfolio of documentation and reflective writing that interrogates a self-chosen research focus and communicates your findings.

Options

Options give space within the curriculum for you to engage in studies which enhance your professional versatility, by pursuing areas of interest either close to or far away from your core discipline. The range of modules available is very wide, including otions drawn from the undergraduate programmes in both the School of Music and the School of Drama, Dance, Production and Film. The design of the programme puts no restrictions on the level of the options/s chosen. There is a significant range of choice available in the amount of credit taken in this way, with students free to choose pathways which place greater weight on Supporting Studies.

MMus or MA?

The MA and MMus programmes share many similarities, with the first three terms of the programme being common to both. The chief differences are in the length and volume of study, and in the pattern of delivery in relation to the four terms that make up the academic calendar. There are also some differences in the programme aims and learning outcomes, and in the proportional number of hours available for principal study lessons.

The MA degree is designed for students who wish to achieve a Masters level qualification in one year, with 180 SCQF credits at level 11 (90 ECTS credits). The programme runs full-time for four terms, 43 weeks in total, with the fourth term being dedicated to a largely independent project. 31 weeks of 90 minutes principal study lessons are offered, to a total of 46.5 hours. (15 minutes a week extra may be allocated to additional study of a related instrument, where appropriate).

The MMus degree is intended for students who are seeking an extended and thorough professional grounding at Masters level in their chosen area of specialism. This is a two-year, full-time programme, leading to 240 SCQF credits at level 11 (120 ECTS credits). The majority of the teaching and learning takes place in terms one, two and three of both years, to a total of 81 hours across the two years. (15 minutes a week of additional study may in some cases be allocated to a related study instrument)

Why choose us?

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is in the World Top 10 for performing arts education 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021 (QS World Rankings)

Extensive professional links offer unmatched opportunities to observe and collaborate with the country’s major orchestras, such as the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Opera and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Close links with the national companies mean you will have the opportunity to build a strong professional network
The programme is flexible to offer a clear focus on performance, with substantial scope for both interdisciplinary collaboration and intellectual and academic challenge
Weekly aural classes dedicated solely to conductors
Our conductors achieve great success in international competitions, including the Solti Competition, James Conlon Conducting Prize at the Aspen Music Festival and the Augsburg International Conductors’ Competition

Teaching staff

Visiting Professor of Conducting

Martyn Brabbins

Martyn Brabbins is Music Director of the English National Opera. An inspirational force in British music, Brabbins has had a busy opera career since his early days at the Kirov and more recently at La Scala, the Bayerische Staatsoper, and regularly in Lyon, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Antwerp. Brabbins studied composition in London and conducting with Ilya Musin in Leningrad, subsequently winning first prize at the 1988 Leeds Conductors’ Competition which launched his international career. He is also Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Music and Artistic Advisor to the Huddersfield Choral Society alongside his duties at ENO, and has for many years supported professional, student and amateur music-making at the highest level in the UK. In his role as Visiting Professor of Conducting, he leads the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s conducting programme, as well as mentoring the Leverhulme Conducting Fellows and teaching on both the MMus/MA and BMus Joint Principal Study programmes.

Lecturer in Conducting / Conducting Coordinator

Michael Bawtree

Michael Bawtree is responsible for the day-to-day running of the Conducting Department, arranging teaching, masterclasses, performances and opportunities for the Leverhulme Fellows and conducting students at the RCS.

Contact Michael.

Visiting Lecturer in Conducting

Joseph Swensen

Joseph Swensen is Artistic Director of the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra (Wroclaw), Conductor Emeritus of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada and Artistic Partner of the Northwest Sinfonietta (USA). A sought-after pedagogue, Joseph Swensen teaches conducting, violin and chamber music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow.

Masterclasses

Regular masterclasses and intensive individual teaching is offered, with recent sessions led by Teddy Abrams, Christopher Adey, Ryan Bancroft, Martyn Brabbins, Baldur Brönnimann, Nicholas Cleobury, Jessica Cottis, Antony Hermus, Christian Kluxen, James Lowe, Jean-Claude Picard, Michael Seal, Christopher Seaman and Garry Walker.

Graduate destinations

Graduates progress to work in the professional field.
Recent examples include:

Fergus Macleod Recipient of the English National Opera
Charles Mackerras Fellowship
Ciarán McAuley Resident Conductor of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
Jessica Cottis Previously Assistant at the Sydney Symphony, and now Principal Conductor of the Glasgow New Music Expedition
Holly Mathieson Assistant Conductor,Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Jirí Rožen Assistant Conductor, Czech Philharmonic
Kerem Hasan Chief Conductor, Tiroler Symphony Orchestra

Our conducting students have won the Marko and Salzburg Nestlé competitions, were second prize winners in the Solti and Princess Astrid competitions, and our last two Fellows have Assistantships with the RSNO and Czech Philharmonic.

Simon Proust 2nd Prize Princess Astrid Competition 2018
Ryan Bancroft Malko Competition Winner 2018
Kerem Hasan Salzburg Nestlé Competition Winner 2017

Fees and scholarships

Tuition fees for academic year 2021-22

MMus Conducting (2 years) UK Students – £9,543
MMus Conducting (2 years) International Students (Including EU) – £18,699
MA Conducting (1 year) UK Students – £12,945
MA Conducting (1 year) International Students ( Including EU) – £22,476

From the next academic year (21/22) all EU students commencing study in Scotland will pay fees at the International rate.

Scottish

New Scottish domiciled students may be eligible for a Postgraduate Tuition Fee Loan. All eligible students will be able to apply directly to Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) for a non-means-tested loan of up to £3,400. See the SAAS website for further details of the PSAS scheme.

Scottish domiciled postgraduate students on eligible courses can also apply for a Postgraduate Living Cost Loan up to £4,500 towards living expenses. This is in addition to the existing loan available towards the cost of their tuition fees.

English

Postgraduate students from England can benefit from a postgraduate loan of up to £11,222 (in 2020/2021) to be used towards tuition fees and/or living costs.

Northern Irish

Students from Northern Ireland may be eligible to apply for a Postgraduate Tuition Fee Loan of up to £5,500 to help with the cost of their course fees. Please see the Student Finance NI website for more details.

Welsh

From 1 August 2019, students ordinarily resident in Wales (and those from the EU studying at a Welsh institution) may be entitled to a combination of loan and grant as a contribution to costs while studying a postgraduate Master’s degree course. The total amount of support available is non-means-tested and is paid directly to the student. The total support available to an eligible student is £17,000. A grant of up to £6,885 is available, depending upon household income. The balance of support is a loan.

Support comprises of the following elements:

A non-means-tested contribution to costs base grant of £1,000 is available to all eligible students. ï‚·
An additional means-tested contribution to costs grant of £5,885 is available to eligible students with a household income of up to £18,370 per annum. For every £6.937 of household income per annum above this threshold, the amount of additional means-tested grant will be reduced by £1.
A non-means-tested contribution to costs loan is available to all eligible students. The amount of loan available will be equal to the level of total support (£17,000 in 2019/20) less the total grant (base grant plus additional grant) a student is eligible for.

For part-time study, support is allocated over the number of years the course is studied. Support is capped in each academic year; for example, £17,000 for a one year course, £8,500 per year for a course lasting two years and £4,250 per year for a course lasting four years. Full-time courses between one and two years are eligible for support. Part-time courses of up to four years are eligible for support.

EU Students

The Royal Conservatoire is resolutely international in outlook and we celebrate and are enriched by the diversity of our community of students and staff. Students from across the globe are -welcome and valued members of the RCS community and we continue to welcome applicants from across the EU and throughout the world.

Q: What is the fee situation for EU students?

A: On July 9 2020 Scotland’s Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science, Richard Lochhead announced changes to the fee regime for EU students studying in Scotland. From next academic year (21/22) all EU students commencing study in Scotland will pay fees at the International rate.

Q: I’m an EU student looking to start my studies in 2021-22. How does this impact me?

A: From the next academic year (21/22) all EU students commencing study in Scotland will pay fees at the International rate.

Only EU nationals who are ‘settled’ or ‘pre-settled’ in the UK will remain eligible to apply for home tuition fees providing they meet the residency conditions.

Other EU nationals and associated groups, starting a course of study in academic year 2021-22 or later, are not eligible to apply to SAAS for tuition fee support.

Because of a long-standing agreement between the UK and Republic of Ireland, new students from the Republic of Ireland starting their studies in 2021-22 will be eligible to pay the UK fee.

Scholarships

Any potential student who auditions for a place at the Royal Conservatoire will automatically be considered for a scholarship. They are awarded on a combination of talent, potential and financial need. More information about Scholarships is available on our Fees and Funding page.

Sources of external funding

For more information about alternative funding sources, including external scholarships and bursaries, please visit our Fees and Funding page.

The Conservatoire’s International and Student Experience team are available to advise and assist applicants and current students in respect of queries about funding your studies at the Conservatoire. Please email or telephone +44 (0)141 270 8281/ +44 (0)141 270 8223 for further information.

Entry requirements

Our admissions processes are designed to be fair, transparent and efficient. The audition/interview approach serves the dual nature of allowing the panel to assess first-hand an applicant’s suitability for their chosen programme and it also affords the applicant the opportunity to gain a deeper insight into the nature of that programme and the opportunities offered by the RCS.

In arriving at its recommendation, the audition/interview panel will take account of all aspects of the applicant’s profile i.e.:

Academic Entry Requirements

Candidates for both the MMus and MA are normally expected to hold a good honours (at least 2:2) degree, or its overseas equivalent, in a subject area relevant to the demands of the programme.

Language of Study

The language of study is English. Applicants who first language is not English will be required to provide evidence of proficiency in English. We accept the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Level 6.0 (with a minimum score of 5.5 in each component) is required of applicants to the School of Music.

Direct Entry

Applications for direct entry beyond Year 1 will be considered on a case-by-case basis and in accordance with the Royal Conservatoire’s Recognition of Prior (Experiential) Learning policy. If you wish to apply for direct entry, please mark the point of entry on UCAS Conservatoires application as 2.

Non-standard Entry

We welcome applications from individuals whose academic qualifications or English language qualifications do not match (in terms of equivalence) or fall short of the normal entrance requirements, where specified*. Having satisfied the Audition Panel that they meet the selection criteria and demonstrated that they have the capacity to pursue the proposed course of study, such applicants will be considered through examination of contextualised data provided in accordance with the Non-Standard Entry Policy. The appropriate Head of Department/ Programme will make a case in support of the applicant for consideration by the Directors of the Schools and Convener of the Quality and Standards Committee.

*Note that UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) imposes minimum English Language qualifications in respect of international (non-EU) applicants who require a Tier 4 Visa to study in the UK.

Mature Students

RCS welcomes applications from mature students, i.e. students over the age of 21 at entry to the programme. Whilst the selection procedures will still be applied, consideration will be given to appropriate artistic experience not normally expected in school leavers, which is deemed to compensate for any lack of traditional entrance qualifications. Successful mature applicants, as for all other applicants, must convince auditioning panels that they have the ability and potential to cope with the demands of the programme. Their progress, especially in the early stages of the programme, will be closely monitored and appropriate advice and support given.

Auditions

After making an application through UCAS Conservatoires, Conducting applicants should submit a video recording by 15 October 2021 for shortlisting. Recorded auditions can be easily submitted online using Acceptd.

If you submit your audition recording after this date, we cannot guarantee that your audition recording will be reviewed by the audition panel.

The recording should consist of two contrasting works, preferably including both performance and rehearsal time. Your video footage should be between 20-25 minutes and include extracts from at least two contrasting works, if possible showing you in rehearsal and performance. We appreciate COVID-19 may have limited your opportunities to work with ensembles and you may include footage of yourself working with pianos if necessary. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend an online interview. In the first round of the audition procedure, applicants will normally be required to conduct a work with piano.

All decisions will be posted on UCAS Conservatoires following your audition via UCAS Conservatoires track (you will need your username and password). We aim to post outcomes before Christmas (week commencing 13 December 2021).

How to Apply

Conducting Fellowship

Applications are now open for the 2021 Leverhulme Conducting Fellowship.

Our two-year Leverhulme Conducting Fellowship programme is for young conductors on the verge of a career. The Fellowship is offered in association with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and includes a generous bursary for the successful candidate.

The Conducting Fellows will work extensively with Martyn Brabbins (Visiting Professor of Conducting), other Conservatoire teaching staff and visiting conductors, and with all the orchestras and ensembles within the Conservatoire. The fellowship will provide a unique blend of training within the context of a supportive Conservatoire environment and extensive professional links with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

The aim of the fellowship is to provide a final bridge between a young conductor’s postgraduate study and their eventual access to the profession itself. Previous Leverhulme Conducting Fellows who have made successful entries into the profession include Jessica Cottis, Ciaran McAuley, Holly Mathieson, Jiri Rozen, Sergej Bolkhovets and Simon Proust.

The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the application process for the 2021 Fellowship appointment. The revised timetable for applications, shortlisting and auditions is as follows:

– Wednesday 31 March 2021: applications close via https://app.getacceptd.com/rcs

– Friday 16 April 2021: shortlist announced and candidates contacted

– Thursday 27 & Friday 28 May 2021: in-person auditions in Glasgow

Applications

You must submit an application via Acceptd where you will be invited to upload your personal information and media. In addition to filmed footage of your conducting, you are invited to submit film of you performing on your principal instrument or recordings of original compositions if you would like to do so in support of your application. If you have already submitted an application earlier in the process via Acceptd, you are welcome to update your contact details, content and/or media links. Please email admissions@rcs.ac.uk directly with any updated information.

Auditions

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend Glasgow for two days (Thursday 27 and Friday 28 May). As part of the selection process, candidates will work with Red Note Ensemble as well as singers and instrumentalists studying at the RCS. Two or three candidates will be selected from the auditionees to work with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under the guidance of Professor Martyn Brabbins. Full details of required repertoire will be forwarded to candidates after the closing date.

Please contact Michael Bawtree, Conducting Coordinator, for any further information: m.bawtree@rcs.ac.uk

	UCAS Conservatoires Application Deadline	Audition Recording Deadline
Applicants	1 October 2021	15 October 2021

Last decision by	Your reply date is
3 January 2022	1 February 2022
15 March 2022	12 April 2022
15 May 2022	1 June 2022
12 July 2022	29 July 2022
2 August 2022	8 September 2022

Conducting

Introduction

Programme structure

Why choose us?