Students at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) are first and foremost players or singers, even those training to be teachers, composers, conductors or arrangers. With their inspiration, motivation and ambition, they commit themselves fully to the professional and artistic training provided by the CvA. CvA students learn to approach their profession in an independent, reflective and responsible manner, develop discerning professional personalities and acquire an innovative attitude that corresponds to the demands of musical life.
In addition, the CvA wishes to pay special attention to the training of young talent and to the individual learning tracks of students enrolled in professional training courses and the advanced programmes for the highly gifted. The CvA trains musicians who possess a highly developed mastery of their instrument, a well-developed and versatile imagination, an inquisitive mind and specific pedagogical competences.

Education at the CvA is intended to dovetail naturally with today's and tomorrow's diverse professional music world. The music world needs musicians who can continually develop in a rapidly changing environment. For this reason it has been decided that differentiated degree programmes in which not only the principal subject but also the student's individual learning track and specialization should prepare students for the often diverse music profession.

Moreover, the professional music world has in itself always played an important role in the education provided by the CvA. It maintains relationships with all segments of the professional world at the local, national and international levels. In this regard, the conservatory aspires to combine learning and working, particularly with respect to the master's degree programmes.

The CvA is nourished by the lively, diverse and international cultural climate of Amsterdam and is committed to providing education possible as gauged by national and international criteria. The CvA reacts alertly and conscientiously to cultural and social developments and continuously examines how this pluriform, dynamic environment should be represented in its education, internship and target-group policies.

The CvA collaborates with various sister institutions providing professional musical training, with the other institutions of the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten providing professional training in the field of art and with the Universiteit van Amsterdam.

In the degree programmes it offers, the CvA focuses primarily on the métier, its approach based on proven quality and tested methods. Musical tradition constitutes the foundation from which innovation is explored and the familiar is revitalized. It is the CvA's view that professional training and artistic development always imply an investigation of as yet unfamiliar paths.

The CvA emphasizes the close connection between tradition and innovation manifest in the curricula of the bachelor's and master's degree programmes. In this respect, attention is given to both a deepening of historical awareness and the exploration of new developments in the field of music.

The degree programmes offered by the CvA are multifaceted and to enhance the quality and versatility of the musicians, provide them the opportunity to focus on related fields like music management or music technology. The CvA aims to afford students and teachers the opportunity of broadening and revitalizing their professional endeavours through research, possibly in connection with university education.

The structure and coherence of the curriculum are dictated by the importance of music-making, the view on tradition and innovation and the preparation for entering the music profession. The student's individual development requires variety and adequate space for the student to make independent, motivated choices in both the bachelor's and the master's degree programme. The CvA stands out in this respect by consistently emphasizing the relationships between practical an theoretical training, general and specific development, and the curriculum and the professional world.

The CvA has elected to provide a programme that produces professional musicians; within the bounds of this programme, students may choose to focus to a greater or lesser extent on performing, teaching or composition. On the basis of their talents and interests, students are given the opportunity to focus on one these fields while taking part in the programme.

Particularly in the master's degree programmes, students can put together their own educational and research curriculum, basing their choices on their talents, interests and ambitions. Students are given guidance throughout this entire process and are provided with information, mentoring and a monitoring system.

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