Masterclasses and lessons from guest teachers will help you hone your skills even further. You will also be introduced to music from other cultures. You will lay the theoretical foundation in subjects such as harmony, analysis, arranging and the rudiments of music.
Playing in ensembles plays a major part in your training. Utrechts Conservatorium has designed a balanced learning process for this element.
Ensembles first year
In the first year of your course you will learn all the fundamental skills entailed in ensemble playing
• Playing in swing and straight time
• Working specifically on rhythm, modality and the function of all band members
• Building up a repertoire of jazz and pop standards
Interim examinations are in the form of a session assignment where all first-year students play in continually changing line-ups, performing a medley of pop and jazz repertoire.
Ensembles second and third years
In the second and third years of the course you can sign up for some fifteen different ensembles. You choose for yourself whether you want to specialize in pop or jazz and in how many and which bands you want to play. An excellent opportunity to get a taste of Latin jazz, electronics, duos/trios, improvisation, big band and close harmony, for example.
Each ensemble project concludes with a concert and an interim exam presentation in which you will receive feedback from both a team of teachers and a team of fellow students.
Ensembles fourth year
In the fourth year of the course, you have become sufficiently independent to form your own band with the musicians, repertoire and even the teacher of your choice. The teachers can be either from Utrechts Conservatorium or external musicians. A fantastic opportunity to invite the musicians you admire to come and teach your band. Naturally, this band will also give concerts. You will conclude the project with an interim exam presentation.
Ensembles: presentations and assessments
In January and May there is an ensemble week in which all ensembles play before a committee of a minimum of three ensemble teachers and everyone is assessed. Each ensemble week includes five evenings of short concerts. All ensembles also perform each semester in venues such as ’t Oude Pothuys, Vredenburg Leeuwenbergh and our own hall.
Lessons and projects are supported digitally wherever possible. On the Utrechts Conservatorium intranet you can find midi samples and examples of the subjects of lessons and projects. In the first year’s theory lessons, you work with the Virtual Music School (VMS). This digital method has been tested within Utrechts Conservatorium and is also suitable for self-instruction.
More about the Virtual Music School
Once you have graduated – and sometimes already before – you will enter the professional scene. To survive, you need more than talent alone. To prepare you as thoroughly as possible for a professional career, Utrechts Conservatorium provides extra business skill subjects, such as:
• ICT
• Presentation techniques
• Written skills
• Audition and application skills
• Business aspects of a professional career
• Entrepreneurship
The teachers who give lessons in Utrecht have already made themselves a name in the music business. They inspire you by applying their experience in your lessons. It can be good to take lessons from various teachers, at the same time or one after another. One teacher may have a clear, systematic approach, while with another you will learn much more from the artistic point of view. Both ways of teaching are a highly valuable part of your course. You can also ask to take lessons for a while from a teacher from another main subject.
Once you graduate, you will have a Bachelor of Music degree, which you can add to your name in the abbreviated form of BMus. This degree includes a supplement stating your specialisation, subjects and projects during the course.
