Master of Arts in Musical Performance - instrument/voice

Institut Klassik | The degree programme offers a sound artistic education for anyone who wants to pursue music as a form of expression and a vocation. The focus is on personal development and making music at the highest level.

The FHNW Master of Arts in Musical Performance programme specifically prepares students for artistic careers in a wide variety of areas within the classical music industry. The focus is on developing personalities who, with their instrumental/vocal skills and artistic expressiveness, are not only able to compete internationally, but are also capable of helping to shape the music industry/market of the future.
Minors can broaden horizons and open doors as additional qualifications.

Graduates of the Master of Arts FHNW in Music Performance find employment on stage as soloists, chamber musicians or orchestral musicians. The professional field of musicians will often be a combination of the above-mentioned activities, depending on additional qualifications, also in connection with instrumental/vocal lessons or music teaching tasks.

This study course is aimed at highly gifted instrumentalists/vocalists who already hold a Bachelor degree.

Orchestra

The orchestra of the academy of music Basel is an important part of Music Performance and performs under the guidance of internationally renowned conductors such as Heinz Holliger, Ronald Zollman, Jonathan Nott, and Gábor Takács-Nagy, primarily large-scale repertoire works from the 19th and 20th centuries, often also in collaboration with the music academies in Lucerne, Geneva and Zurich.

Works performed included:
Franz Schubert: Messe in Es-Dur für Chor, Soli und Orchester, D 950
György Ligeti: Atmosphères
Richard Wagner: Vorspiel zum 1. Akt der Oper Lohengrin
Gustav Mahler: Sinfonie Nr. 4 G-Dur für Sopran und Orchester
Arthur Honnegger: Le Roi David für Soli, Chor, Blaser und grosses Schlagwerk
Gustav Mahler: Sinfonie Nr. 1 (Der Titan)
Richard Strauss: Suite aus der Oper Der Rosenkavalier
Johannes Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem für Soli, Chor und Orchester op. 45

Chamber Academy

The Chamber Academy Basel, the chamber orchestra of the Basel Academy of Music, performs without a conductor under the direction of the concertmaster, playing solo concertos and orchestral works from the Baroque period to the 20th century, often with professors from the academy as soloists.

Chamber choir

The chamber choir is considered the concert choir of the Basel Academy of Music FHNW. In addition to demanding a cappella vocal music, the chamber choir, conducted by Martin Wettges, also performs works with orchestra. Those who sing in the chamber choir are exempt from participating in the ‘large choir’. Chamber choir can also be taken as an elective subject. Participants must pass an entrance exam. Most of them receive voice training or attend lessons with singing teachers. The choir conducting class is also involved, leading sectional and full rehearsals.

Works performed included:
Franz Schubert (1797–1828): Messe in Es-Dur für Chor, Soli und Orchester, D 950
Heinrich Schütz jubiliert – Glückwünsche aus dem Jenseits mit Musik von Giovanni Gabrieli, Claudio Monteverdi, Johann Hermann Schein, Johann Sebastian Bach, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Johannes Brahms, Hugo Distler, Knut Nystedt und Heinrich Schütz

Large Choir

All first- and second-year Bachelor's students sing in the large choir of the Basel Academy of Music FHNW. The focus is on discovering one's own voice, targeted voice training and a general introduction to choir singing and the a cappella vocal repertoire. One concert is held per semester. In addition to Martin Wettges, guest conductors also regularly lead this choir.

Final concerts

The final concerts offer students of all study courses at the Basel Academy of Music a unique opportunity to perform publicly as a soloist on the main stage, accompanied by the Sinfonieorchester Basel or the Kammerorchester Basel.
The selection process takes place within the framework of an internal university competition.

The internationally oriented two-year degree programme focuses on the practical examination of interpretational and instrumental/vocal issues. Students deepen their knowledge and skills from the bachelor's programme with a view to concert work and the ability to find their own ways of interpretation and convincingly implement these on the concert platform. They are accompanied by experienced lecturers.
The main subject lessons are the most important part of the programme in terms of quality and the necessary preparation and follow-up time. Chamber music, ensemble and orchestral playing as well as a reflective level (theory/analysis) form another important part of the programme. In addition to the elective subjects, optional minors allow students to focus on their own personal specialisations.

The BA and MA degree programs at the Basel Academy of Music are based on modules.

The legally binding structure provides an initial guide to the content and weighting of the subjects on the degree program.
The detailed content and modalities of the individual subjects can be found in the module descriptions.
The study regulations come into force together with the study and examination regulations of the Basel Academy of Music FHNW and form the legal framework.

Admission criteria
In order to enter the FHNW Master of Arts in Musical Performance programme with an instrumental or vocal major, applicants must be awarded a Bachelor in Music/Music and Movement or equivalent as well as they must have passed the entrance exam and were offered a free place at the Academy (limited places). Applicants who have submitted all the necessary registration documents in time and have passed the first round of the entrance exam will be invited to play a live audition. For further information on the admission criteria, please see the Studienreglement of the Master of Arts FHNW in Music Performance.

Required skills

• Prospective students should have a sufficiently advanced manual/technical mastery of the instrument/voice that no longer requires them to work on acquiring practical and theoretical foundations, thereby enabling them to concentrate fully on the artistic, stylistic and performance-related aspects of playing music.

• Prospective students should have a sufficiently firm grasp of the different styles within the basic repertoire that they are able to concentrate on consolidating and expanding their knowledge of instrumental/vocal styles in order to achieve the standard necessary for a professional qualification and for professional performance.

• Prospective students must demonstrate a strong desire to express themselves musically and to develop and actively pursue their own performance-related ideas. They must also be able to convincingly inform and communicate through the medium of music.

Students are expected to have a high degree of autonomy and self-awareness (healthy self-esteem), and to be broadly familiar with certain areas beyond their particular specialisation   that could be beneficial to their career as a professional musician.

Admission criteria for internal Bachelor applicants
Internal Bachelor candidates absolve the entrance exam within their Bachelor qualification which they need to graduate with at least the grade 5.5. Further requirements are:
- Having passed the Master preparation course
- The jury must unanimously recommend that the student continues in the Master study course
- The consent of the Major professor

Language Skills
We recommend having sufficient German language skills.

Entrance exam

At Hochschule für Musik Basel, students have the opportunity to participate in various project and ensemble programmes.
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Basel Academy of Music

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