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Music Performance MMus

2025-26

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This course is eligible for Master's loan funding. Find out more.

Start date

22 September 2025

Duration

1 year full-time
2 years part-time

Places available (subject to change)

25-35 (This number may be subject to change)

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About the course

Reasons to study

  1. Reputation - The department publishes on its own labels: Huddersfield Contemporary Records and Pennine Records. 
  2. Knowledge and Expertise - Members of staff perform regularly at festivals and concert halls, including all the major London venues, and often feature on BBC Radio 3 as performers and guest speakers. 
  3. Professional Links - We regularly host conferences and events in partnership with scholarly societies, such as the Performance Studies Network, and the Royal Musical Association. 

This course is designed to enable you to pursue music performance at an advanced level, allowing you to specialise in particular areas and genres of music performance as well as develop your skills as a rounded and expert performer. You will do so as part of a vibrant, stimulating and energetic community for music performance at the University of Huddersfield.

As well as advancing your technical skills and confidence as a performer, you will work to gain a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the repertoire you perform, develop your intellectual and creative skills required for a high level of performance, and apply research skills with a view to making an original contribution to the professional context of music performance.

You may choose to specialise in the following areas, reflecting and drawing upon the expertise within Music and Music Technology at the University of Huddersfield:

  • Brass Band performance
  • Choral Conducting
  • Conducting (1 place per year)
  • Historically Informed Performance
  • Improvisation
  • New Music Performance
  • Organ Studies
  • Piano Accompaniment
  • Popular Music performance

Alternatively, you may also select to pursue a broad programme of study within classical music.

Staff teaching on the MMus Music Performance are themselves active as performers, as soloists and ensemble members, giving regular live concerts and releasing recordings to international critical acclaim. We offer expert instrumental/vocal tuition appropriate to the specialisms from tutors who are experienced and highly regarded in their fields.

Performing Arts at the University of Huddersfield has an international reputation, and hosts one of the largest postgraduate music communities in the UK. You will benefit from our regular research seminars and workshops, and will be a member of the Centre for Music, Culture and Identity which provides a focus for musicological research in the department.

The University presents regular concerts throughout the academic year, hosting a wide variety of professional performers across a range of genres and styles. Additionally the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and Electric Spring offer performances given by leading practitioners within the field of new music.

Course detail

Researching Music

On this module you will be introduced to a range of significant and contemporary scholarship relating to the study of music, including that pertaining to music production, composition and sonic arts, and all kinds of performance. You will learn about diverse approaches to music research, and receive training in managing research professionally and ethically. Central to the module is the development of research skills appropriate to postgraduate level work and to your own research interests and creative practices. Attendance at research seminars will offer diverse models for your own research in performance, musicology, or creative music production.

Performance 1

On this module, you will explore and perform a range of repertoire and skills appropriate to your instrument/voice or specialist route. You will identify areas of performance that are innovative, or which explore a particular dimension of the specialism, such as ensemble performance, performance utilising particular techniques or approaches to  style, use of electronics, and many others. Example performance specialisms might include: Historically Informed Performance, New Music Performance, Brass Band Performance, Popular Music Performance, and more. You will identify appropriate research questions relevant to your specialism and design a recital which addresses  one or more of these.

Performance in Context

On this module you will examine recent and current scholarship relating to music performance and performance studies. You will compare the key texts and methodologies in the field as well as more specialism-specific texts and approaches. You will apply methods and approaches learned about through research to your practice and will articulate the ways in which practice and research impact upon the other, such that your practice informs your understanding and discussion, and your research conditions and develops your practice.

Performance 2

This module is worth 60 credits in total (therefore comprising one-third of your degree) and along with Performance 1, it is the primary context within which you will develop your performance skills, focusing upon repertoire appropriate to your specialism. You will give three recitals in total, the final one of which will represent the culmination of your research and development as a performer.

You will take 180 credits at Master's level, made up of four modules, two of which are focused upon your performance skills, whilst the other two support and develop your understanding of research and performance studies in ways that support and enhance your performance.

Entry requirements

You are required to have a minimum of a 2:2 honours degree from a recognised University or equivalent institution. Your application materials (or previous qualifications ) and live audition (or documentation of your performance) should be able to demonstrate a strong understanding of performance and instrumental/vocal/other technique. Auditions should comprise of two contrasting pieces, one of which should relate to the your proposed specialism in performance.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.5 overall with no element lower than 6.0, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.

Student Work

Your career

Previous graduates from courses in this subject area have gone on to work in a variety of roles such as Musical Direction, teaching, producing, technical support and music performance.*

*Source: LinkedIn
**Percentage of the University’s postgraduate students go on to work and/or further study within fifteen months of graduating. (HESA Graduate Outcomes 2021/22, UK domiciled, other activities excluded).

93.4%** Graduates employed

Student support

The school has dedicated Academic Skills Tutors (AST) who deliver a range of generic skills. The AST offers help and advice with general study skills, IT, literacy and numeracy as well as research skills. The AST may also refer students for specialist support and assessment e.g. for Dyslexia.

In line with the Equality Act 2010, the School will make reasonable adjustments in order that disabled students can fully access their course. The University's Disability Services provide information and advice to disabled students about the support available and liaises with members of staff on disability related issues.

Important information

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by our terms and conditions, Handbook of Regulations and associated policies. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan.

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons

Changes to a course you have applied for but are not yet enrolled on

If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment. We may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will discuss with you other suitable courses we can transfer your application to. If you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

Changes to option modules:

Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have an equivalent range of options to that advertised for the course. We will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

Major changes:

We will only make major changes to non-optional modules on a course if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change is a change that substantially changes the outcomes, or a significant part of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum. For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators or a commissioning or accrediting body. We may also make changes to improve the course in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback or to ensure you are being taught current best practice. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment, or pandemics.

Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but may happen sooner in an emergency. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed in accordance with the student protection plan.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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