MusM Music (Performance Studies)

This course unit represents the MusM Music (Performance Studies) major project, in which students design and deliver a live performance (40-45 minutes) in their chosen first study area of creative practice (instrument or voice), for public presentation in the Summer. Work is supported through regular one-to-one lessons with a specialist instrumental or vocal tutor, as well as group seminars with performance staff. Individual supervision is offered by the Course Unit Director or other Performance staff, and students benefit from a series of regular workshops and masterclasses with invited professionals from across the music industry. The final performance is supported by a portfolio of professional presentation materials (Press Pack) which will include short curatorial notes, artist statement, repertoire list and/or practice rationale, alternative programme(s), high resolution images and relevant media links.

• Design and deliver a substantial performance project with a clear and coherent artistic rationale. 
• Perform engagingly and with confidence in a public setting, demonstrating a thorough and refined level of embodied technique.
• Present their artistic practice via written materials and other media, in accordance with relevant professional standards. 

• Demonstrate comprehensive absorption of musical material within chosen area of first study practice   
• Show significant depth of knowledge of repertoire, and of styles and approaches in relation to their instrument or voice 

• Show a highly developed ability to analyse and interpret musical materials, together with a sophisticated critical awareness of their context 
• Demonstrate a critical awareness of a range of performing approaches and strategies 

• Demonstrate advanced, professional-level technical skills on their chosen instrument or voice, with sensitive artistry and musicianship, strong projection and personal expression 
• Display advanced skills in performative communication 

• Design, develop, and deliver performances at or approaching a professional levels of embodied technique, musicianship, stagecraft, and presentation  
• Show a disciplined approach to time management, self-motivation and critical self-awareness 

• Formative: Verbal or written feedback 
• Summative: Written feedback 

• Davies, Stephen, Musical Works and Performances: a Philosophical Exploration (Oxford, 2001) 
• Dunsby, Jonathan, Performing Music: Shared Concerns (Oxford, 1995) 
• Godlovitch, Stanley, Musical Performance: A Philosophical Study (London and New York, 2003) 
• Rink, John (ed.), Musical Performance: A Guide to Understanding (Cambridge, 2002) 
• Rink, John (ed.), The Practice of Performance: Studies in Musical Interpretation (Cambridge, 2005)