Michelle Phillips
Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester
What does a 21st-century music degree look like?
The study of music in higher education may include many different aspects, for example, performance, composition, musicology, music history, music psychology, ethnomusicology, music analysis, and many other sub-disciplines. Different degree-level programmes within institutions may offer different mixes and balances of such elements, and may also offer different levels of flexibility to students in terms of whether they aim to generalise, or specialise, in one of these areas. Given this complexity in what a music degree might look like, how should institutions design their programmes? Specifically, this talk will ask the question of what the differences between a university and a conservatoire degree might be, and will discuss how students might choose what option suits them. Is there a role for ‘joint course’ programmes, offered between conservatoires and university music departments, such as that offered by the Royal Northern College of Music and the University of Manchester, UK? What might the benefits of such a joint offering be, and the challenges? Moreover, how can we make sure that we prepare students for a 21st-century music industry in our degree programmes?