Overview
The Professional Diploma (ProfDip) in Musical Direction and Coaching is a one-year programme of intensive full-time study which trains students for a career in musical theatre.
It is highly competitive and is taught by industry professional Musical Directors, each of whom has a different style and specialisation. The programme of is structured according to your individual needs and experience, and operates in tandem with the Musical Theatre programme.
The course has been highly successful in providing a multi-skilled training programme at the highest level in a professional environment. Graduates enjoy outstanding success in major West End shows and international productions.
Classes and Activities
In addition to one-to-one piano tuition and a 30-minute weekly singing lesson, students specialising in this area focus on a wide range of skills including conducting, arranging and orchestration. You will attend and accompany relevant Musical Theatre classes and workshops as your timetable allows. You will act as Musical Director on performance projects, collaborating with a professional director, and will accompany and conduct public performances and competitions.
Industry Development
You will have the opportunity to work with professionals in performance, direction, casting, musical direction, choreography, performance coaching and psychology to formulate and practise strategies for breaking into the industry. How best to prepare and strategically bridge directly into the Musical Theatre Industry as a Musical Director is fundamental to this course.
Masterclasses
Visiting performers, composers and directors give masterclasses and workshops during which they share their insight into the industry. Sessions held by representatives of professional bodies and mock auditions with guest professionals are also arranged. Recent guests have included Claude-Michel Schönberg, Pippa Ailion, Hadley Fraser, John Bucchino, Jenna Russell, Imelda Staunton and Cynthia Erivo.
Projects
Practical projects are rehearsed and performed throughout the year, allowing you to put everything you have learnt into practice. They are selected according to the individual needs of students and the company as a whole and are directed by top industry directors, both established and emerging. Past projects have included musicals, revues, concerts, cabarets, plays, showings of devised work, interdepartmental collaborations and recordings.
As a Musical Director you will work in collaboration with an external director to oversee the music of these projects and assist the director in leading the company.
Agents' Showcase and Production
You will take part in a showcase with an invited audience of agents and casting directors, as well as full-scale musical productions. Recent end-of-year productions have included Nine, Assassins, Spring Awakening and Into the Woods. These are all accompanied by the Academy Musical Theatre Orchestra in the Susie Sainsbury Theatre.
Entry Requirements
- Performance: Applicants should have a performance standard at least equivalent to recognised postgraduate degrees and a clear sense of a direction (specialism) for further study.
- Academic: Applicants should have a Master’s qualification or equivalent (in a relevant subject), but the Academy welcomes applications from students who may not meet the usual academic requirements.
See Entry Requirements for further information.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many hours a week will I study?
This is a highly intensive course and core classes and some independent study time are scheduled from 9am-6.30pm each weekday. During term time there are also frequent evening and weekend masterclasses, rehearsals and competitions.
How many productions will I work on during the course?
Each term culminates in public or industry-facing performance/s in the Susie Sainsbury Theatre. There are also project and competition performances in each term for invited guests.
What are my career options after graduation?
Most of our graduates go into the Musical Theatre industry as a performer or MD (depending on their pathway on the course), most benefitting from agent and industry relationships that they made during their final two terms. Some also go on to act in non-musical theatre and/or screen productions, to create their own work, to teach singing or to work in other roles within the stage and screen industries.
Auditions
The audition for Musical Direction and Coaching is designed to assess your musicianship, pianistic ability, stylistic versatility and potential to develop professionally as a musical director and coach.
Candidates come to the programme through a range of musical and professional routes, and there is no single profile that defines a successful applicant.
Experience of musical directing, conducting, accompanying, arranging, orchestration and music technology is valuable, but applicants are not expected to have experience in all of these areas.
The selection process takes place in two stages:
- Round One: Digital Video Audition
- Round Two: Live Recall Audition
Round One: Digital Video Audition
Round One is assessed through material submitted digitally via Acceptd and focuses primarily on your piano playing, musicianship and stylistic range.
Two contrasting piano performances
Please submit performances of two contrasting pieces at the piano.
Your choice of repertoire is deliberately flexible. You may perform:
- one classical piano work and one musical theatre selection; or
- two contrasting pieces from the musical theatre repertoire.
Your selections do not need to be songs. Suitable musical theatre repertoire might include:
- a song or song accompaniment;
- an overture or entr’acte;
- a dance sequence;
- an instrumental extract from a musical theatre score; or
- a piano work associated with musical theatre or related repertoire, such as a solo piano work by Gershwin.
Choose repertoire that allows us to hear both your technical command of the piano and your musical personality. Contrast may be demonstrated through differences in style, period, rhythmic language, texture, character or technical demands.
We are particularly interested in rhythmic assurance, stylistic understanding, sensitivity, flair and your ability to communicate character through your playing.
You are not required to sing. You may include a self-accompanied vocal performance as one of your selections if you wish, but this is entirely optional. If you do, the voice and piano performance should take place simultaneously rather than being recorded or edited separately.
Accompanying a musical theatre singer
Please also submit a performance in which you accompany a singer performing a musical theatre song.
This should demonstrate your ability to work sensitively and confidently with a singer and to support and guide their performance. We will be listening for musical responsiveness, stylistic awareness, ensemble, timing and collaborative musicianship.
You are not required to demonstrate coaching in Round One. Coaching skills are explored during the live recall audition.
Additional material
If you already have relevant footage of yourself conducting an orchestra, leading an ensemble, or musical directing from the keyboard, you may include this as supplementary material where the application system permits.
Applicants with experience of arranging or orchestration may also provide examples of their work.
All additional material is optional and does not form part of the core audition requirements.
What we are looking for in Round One
The principal focus of Round One is the quality of your musicianship and piano performance. We will consider:
- security and fluency of piano technique;
- musical imagination and communication;
- rhythmic confidence and a strong sense of time and groove;
- stylistic versatility;
- sensitivity and responsiveness when accompanying a singer;
- awareness of the practical role of the musical director; and
- potential to develop through advanced professional training.
Round Two: Live Recall Audition
Candidates selected following Round One will be invited to a live recall audition at the Academy.
The recall allows the panel to explore your musicianship in greater depth and to see how you respond to the practical, creative and collaborative situations encountered by a musical director.
The session may include workshop elements and involve members of the Academy’s musical theatre community, but it remains part of the formal audition and selection process.
Practical musicianship
During the recall, you should be prepared to undertake a range of practical musical tasks, which may include the following.
Sight-reading
You will be asked to sight-read material drawn from the musical theatre repertoire.
We are interested not only in note accuracy, but also in your ability to maintain musical flow, pulse, style and character while responding to unfamiliar material.
Transposition
You will be asked to transpose a short musical passage or accompaniment into another key.
Accompanying
You will work with a singer on musical theatre repertoire, allowing the panel to explore your ability to accompany with sensitivity, flexibility and stylistic understanding.
Coaching
The recall may include a practical coaching session with a singer.
This allows us to explore how you listen, communicate and respond in rehearsal, and how you use your musicianship to help shape a performance. We are interested in your musical instincts and your ability to work constructively and collaboratively, rather than in any predetermined coaching method.
Improvisation
You should be prepared to demonstrate improvisational skills in styles commonly encountered in musical theatre.
We may explore your ability to recognise and reproduce stylistic conventions, establish an appropriate groove, respond to musical prompts and develop material spontaneously at the keyboard.
Interview
The recall will also include a conversation with members of the Musical Direction and Coaching team.
The interview gives us an opportunity to learn more about your musical development, professional experience, interests and ambitions. Depending on your background, we may discuss your experience of areas such as:
- musical directing shows, concerts or rehearsals;
- conducting or leading performances from the keyboard;
- accompanying singers and working in rehearsal;
- musical theatre repertoire and different musical styles;
- arranging and orchestration;
- music preparation and notation software such as Sibelius and Dorico;
- music technology and software such as Logic and MainStage;
- keyboard programming and hardware; and
- your current professional practice and future aspirations.
You are not expected to have extensive professional experience in every area. The discussion helps us understand what you already bring to the programme, where your particular strengths and interests lie, and how you might benefit from further specialist training.
Preparing for Your Audition
Successful musical directors combine accomplished keyboard skills with musical curiosity, stylistic flexibility and the ability to respond quickly and creatively to other performers.
In preparation for the audition, we encourage you to develop your familiarity with a broad range of musical theatre repertoire and to maintain regular practice in:
- piano technique;
- sight-reading;
- accompanying;
- transposition;
- improvisation;
- rhythm, pulse and groove; and
- recognising and reproducing contrasting musical styles.
If you have experience of conducting, arranging, orchestration or music technology, you should also be prepared to discuss this work at recall.
Above all, the audition should give us a clear sense of your musicianship, your individual musical voice and your potential to develop as a musical director and coach.
