Master of Arts in Musical Performance - Instrumental/vocal

Preparing for a career as a professional artist with help from renowned teaching staff

At the core of this internationally aligned, two-year Master’s programme is a practice-oriented engagement with interpretative and instrumental/vocal issues. The knowledge and abilities possessed by the students at the beginning of their studies will be consolidated with a view to a subsequent concert career. This expertise will then be expanded upon so that they reach the standard necessary for a professional qualification and for professional performance.

With respect to quality and with regard to the time to be invested in preparation and follow-up work, this Master’s programme gives the greatest weighting to the major subject.
Students will also receive extensive practical training in chamber music and ensemble playing and these are complemented by a focus on issues of interpretation and a reflective learning process (theory/analysis).

In addition to the broad range of elective subjects, students may choose to specialise in a particular subject by enrolling for elective minors.

The city of Basel and the campus in particular offer the ideal environment in which to learn, work and find inspiration.

Rafael Rosenfeld, lecturer

Overview

Core curriculum

Major module (84 CP):
Individual and group tuition
Major-specific courses/regulations

Complementary courses

Practical module (14 CP):
Chamber music, new chamber music
Orchestral projects, repertoire rehearsals/orchestral studies

Theory/Music in context module (2 CP):
Interpretationsforum, Colloquium 48
Theoretic and contextual events/activities

Elective courses

Personalised module (20 CP):
Minor or courses/activities chosen from the electives on offer

Detailed module description

Structure

In order to be considered for the FHNW Master of Arts in Musical Performance with a instrumental/vocal major, applicants must hold a Bachelor degree in music (or equivalent qualification) from another higher education provider. They must also pass the entrance exam and win a place on the programme (numbers are limited).

Only applicants who have submitted the required registration documentation duly completed and on time will be invited to take the entrance examination. Applicants must also be sufficiently proficient in the German language from the outset (A2 level).

Teaching staff

Our internationally renowned teaching staff

to teaching staff

Admission process

Admission criteria

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.

Entrance exam

Exam duration: 30 minutes
Duration of the repertoire: 30-45 minutes
Applicants should prepare a repertoire comprising works from at least three eras
Playing/singing from memory as professional practice dictates