Broadening musical horizons
Whether you are a performer or a composer, work in your principal-study discipline at the Academy will take place in the context of a formal programme of study. Our programmes are designed to enable you to develop your musical knowledge and the broad range of musical, intellectual and life skills that are essential for a successful career in music in the 21st century.
Studying at the Academy is a transformative experience. Of course, lessons with your principal-study teacher will strengthen and extend your technique, and — together with a wide range of performance opportunities — they will give you encouragement and the space to develop as an interpreter. But we also aim to broaden your musical horizons in other ways, whether by exploring the contexts of music-making, introducing you to new repertoires, deepening your knowledge of performance traditions, boosting your musicianship through high level aural training, or getting to grips with the notational, theoretical and critical issues that can inform your understanding of
musical possibilities.
Above all, we will encourage you to make connections between all these activities: to think musically and creatively for yourself. We believe that all Academy students should be able to communicate the power of music not just in their performing or composing, but also in written and spoken form.
We recognise that studying at this level is demanding and we take great care over the ways we support our students’ learning. This is not just a question of the enviable collective range of expertise and experience of the Academy’s teaching staff, or the incomparable resources of our library, collections and museum, but also the emphasis on individual lessons and small group teaching at the core of our programmes.
All our programmes of study benefit from the Academy’s vibrant research culture, which has particular strengths in the investigation of musical creativity. In the 2008 national Research Assessment Exercise 70% of the Academy’s research submission was judged to be ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ with a further 25% ‘internationally significant’, giving the Academy a significantly higher research quality profile than the other British conservatoires.
The Academy’s outstanding track record in postgraduate professional and research training was recognised in 2009 by the award of a Block Grant Partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council, guaranteeing a number of postgraduate grants over the next five years and giving the Academy greater autonomy over the awards.
