MA Specialised Performance | Choral Conducting

Basel Academy of Music

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Is it your professional goal to conduct choirs professionally? Would you like to develop an expressive conducting language and practise working with university choirs, student ensembles and external orchestras during your studies? Would you like to develop, rehearse and perform your own concert project? Then our Choral Conducting degree is the next step after a successful BA or MA degree in Music.

Factsheet

Degree: Master of Arts FHNW in Spezialisierter Musikalischer Performance, Studienrichtung Chorleitung
Study mode: Full-time
Learning mode: Onsite
ECTS credits: 120
Next start: 14.9.2026
Duration: 4 semesters
Teaching language: B1 level in German required
Stay abroad: Possible
Application fee: 200 CHF
Semester fee: 750 CHF (CH) | 1000 CHF (EU/EFTA) | 1250 CHF (Not-EU/Not-EFTA)

At a glance

Expansion of the ensemble’s repertoire by incorporating historical performance practice and sources
Development of an expressive conducting language with practical relevance to various choirs and ensembles
Critical study of sources

Why study this?

Perfecting conducting, vocal and instrumental techniques
Students will work with both secular and sacred choral music. This specialised graduate programme aims to produce knowledgeable, versatile and flexible professional choral conductors. Students perfect their conducting, vocal and instrumental techniques, and benefit from tuition that draws on the latest research in a variety of fields such as historical performance practice. Students also learn to adopt a critical approach to the use and reading of primary sources.

The course contents the following topics:

Evaluating and honing one’s own conducting practice and methods
Development of an individual and expressive conducting idiom based on the technical knowledge and skills acquired to date
Expanding one’s conducting repertoire in preparation for a future career (repertoire for equal or mixed voices; a cappella and instrument repertoire; sacred and secular works; works of varying degrees of difficulty)
Practical work with university choirs, student ensembles and an external orchestra
Extensive exposure to and examination of historical performance practice, relevant source material and academic literature, writing a term paper
Conducting a concert of one’s own devising (Master’s qualification)

Holders of a FHNW Master of Arts in Specialised Music Performance Choral Conducting are qualified to lead choirs and other vocal ensembles, whether amateur, semi-professional or professional, and different line-ups.

This study course is aimed at musicians who wish to specialise in choral conducting and pursue a career as a choral conductor.

Study variant available

The combined master's program – Choral Conducting and education in music pedagogy

MA Music Pedagogy | instrument/voice | Choral Conducting

Structure and programme contents

The BA and MA degree programmes 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 programme.
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.

Structure

Module descriptions

Study Regulations

Lecturers

Martin Wettges

More details

Institut Klassik

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All Lecturers

Requirements, admission, entrance exam

In order to enter the FHNW Master of Arts in Specialised Musical Performance programme with a Major in Choral Conducting, applicants must be in possession of a Bachelor in Music (or an equivalent degree) as well as they must have passed the entrance exam and were offered a free place at the Academy (limited places of admission). Applicants who have submitted all the necessary registration documents in time will be invited to a live audition.
For further information on the admission criteria, please see the Study regulations of the Master of Arts FHNW in Specialised Music Performance.

We expect students to have sufficient German language skills at the beginning of the studies. Students who are not German native speakers must present a B1 German language certificate according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) at the beginning of the studies. This certificate must be complete, i.e. all modules (reading, listening, writing, speaking) have been tested separately and passed at least at level B1 overall. Only certificates that have been certified with the ALTE-Q-Mark seal of approval (e.g. the B1 certificate of the Goethe-Institut or the telc certificate) are accepted. The required certificate B1 must be submitted with the confirmation of admission but not later than 31st May. Exceptions will be decided upon by the head of degree programme.

General Registration Procedure All about Studying in Basel