The Master of Music at the Utrecht Conservatorium offers the programs Performing Musician for the Stages, and Performing Musician in Applied Contexts.

As Performing Musician for the stages you focus on performing as a musician on all kinds of stages. This program is open for students who finished their BMus in classical music, historical instruments, jazz&pop, composition or choir conducting.

Within the program for Performing Musician in Applied Contexts, as a musician you focus on applying your musicianship in all kinds of contexts, such as teaching/transfer, community music, cultural entrepreneurship, production in and around churches. This program is open for students who finished their BMus in classical music, historical instruments, jazz&pop, composition or choir conducting, carillon, church music and students who finished their Bachelor of Music in Education (ODM).

More about the Performance pathway

Within the Music Design pathway, you can specialise in Composition, Music Production, Music Technology and Sound Design. You can follow this pathway if you have successfully completed a Bachelor’s course in composition, music production, music technology, sound design, or a similar course.

More about the Music Design pathway

As a student, you are expected to have an independent attitude and working method, which will continually be tested on a clear and well-founded vision of the future. You will describe this vision of the future – your own focus on and vision of your future professional practice – in a study plan. At the start of your study, you will be coached in writing a study plan in which you describe what you want to learn, why you want that, and how you are going to achieve this. Due to writing a study plan you will have a clear focus and all subjects will relate to this plan. We consider it important to develop not only your instrumental or musical skills, but to work on presentation, entrepreneurship, and reflection as well in order to prepare you as optimal as possible for the professional music field.

More about the study programme

If you wish to put yourself forward as a candidate for the Master of Music, you must have completed a professional music course at Bachelor’s level. To apply for admission, you should fill in an application form and submit it along with a letter of motivation, in which you explain your study goals, your CV, and the results of the English test (TOEFL or IELTS). A broad-based admission committee will assess whether you can be admitted on the basis of an audition, interview and the documents submitted. You must also be able to show that you have completed a professional music course in the Netherlands or a similar course abroad before 1 September of the new study year.

• innovative and multidisciplinary projects
• personal study plan
• personal coaching by tutor, supervisors and teachers
• practice-oriented research
• practice-oriented internship
• contacts with the professional field: venues, music organizations, etc.
• training in business and organizational skills
• master classes and clinics

And within the Pathway Performance, also:
• Training in professional musicianship including audition and performance training
• Focus on the applied musical context like: community music, education, or entrepreneurship


And within the Pathway Music Design, also:
• Interdisciplinary projects in cooperation with animation, modern dance, theatre, film, games, fine arts, et cetera.
• Artist in residence projects
• Collaboration with the Music Design research group: presentations and conferences.

More about admission to the Master of Music

The Master of Music is given at Utrechts Conservatorium (for Carillon at the Dutch Carillon School in Amersfoort) and at the Faculty of Arts, Media & Technology in Hilversum.

The Performance pathway is offered by the Utrechts Conservatorium (Faculty of Music). The Music Design pathway is offered by the Faculty of Art, Media & Technology.

The Composition specialisation is offered by both faculties: Composition for the Stage is taught at the Utrechts Conservatorium and Composition for the Media and Composition Electronic Music at the Faculty of Art, Media & Technology.

The language of instruction is Dutch or English. Some subjects are only given in English. Students from abroad are required to have a good command of English. Proof of a pass in the IETLTS or TOEFL test is part of the admission procedure (for more information, see Application, the Utrechts Conservatorium). Other languages are possible for the (individual) main subject, depending on the teacher of the main subject.

You can get more information about the Master of Music during the open day. For further information about the Master of Music at Utrechts Conservatorium, you can contact the tutor of this course, Marin Rutgers: marin.rutgers@muziek.hku.nl.

For more informatio about the programme at the Faculty of Art, Media & Technology, you can contact the head of the Master of Music, Pathway Music Design: Mr. Jeroen van Iterson: jeroen.van iterson@kmt.hku.nl