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This course provides opportunities for ensemble playing in particular idioms under the guidance of specialist tutors. While the focus is on playing together, students will also gain a practical and theoretical background to support their playing. 

The following option is available in 2026/27:   

• Gamelan

Gamelan

This option provides a practical and theoretical introduction to Sundanese gamelan music from the Indonesian province of West Java. You will explore a broad spectrum of musical styles and techniques on two contrasting sets of Sundanese gamelan instruments: gamelan degung and gamelan saléndro. Your repertoire will include classical concert pieces, music for traditional and modern dance, and contemporary compositions and arrangements. You will also develop skills in improvisation and group composition. To give you an understanding of cultural context, you will be guided through a selection of listening, video and reading material, and you will learn about Indonesian society, history, folklore and language. Your studies will culminate in an assessed performance for which you will prepare, as a group, a set of pieces that showcase your newly acquired skills and repertoire. Your studies will culminate in an assessed performance. For 2026-27, this option will be taught by visiting tutor Dr. Robert Szymanek. 

• To expand upon skills already established in MUSC 10600 by confronting performance contexts involving collaboration with other musicians.
• To facilitate the development of students’ creative imagination and skills of critical self-awareness when working in a collaborative performance context.
• To learn about music from other cultures through performance.

Medieval Song

This option is mainly for singers, including those for whom voice is not their first study, but is also open to instrumentalists. You will be introduced to the repertoire in a weekly series of workshops exploring and trying out some of the oldest music in Europe, from chant to the 14th century. You will then form ensembles of no fewer than two singers and no more than seven, and each ensemble will prepare and rehearse a 20-minute recital, along with detailed programme notes on performance issues. Accompanying instruments may be used where appropriate. Your studies will culminate in an assessed performance. For 2023/24 this option will be taught by Barry Cooper and Katherine Rudge.

On completion of the Medieval Song option, student should be able to:

• Demonstrate a practical understanding of the structural forms and stylistic conventions used in Medieval vocal music.
• Communicate a theoretical and historical knowledge of the repertoire through programme notes on performance issues.
• Demonstrate the ability to work both individually and collaboratively in teams.
• Apply knowledge of the stylistic conventions of this period to performance.

Contemporary and Experimental Music Ensemble

This option provides a series of workshops and coachings on performing contemporary and experimental music. Students will be allocated into smaller groups within the cohort, and will learn, rehearse and perform repertoire which may include works from the repertoire, graphic/text scores or experimental works involving improvisation, and student compositions for specific groupings. Your studies will culminate in an assessed performance. For 2023/24 this option will be taught by Richard Whalley and Gavin Osborn.

On completion of the Contemporary / Experimental Music option, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate a practical understanding and openness in approach to performance, in search of solutions to diverse musical challenges
• Demonstrate an ability to collaborate, listen and respond effectively to other ensemble members through rehearsal and performance.
• Demonstrate an ability communicate effectively through instrumental or vocal ensemble performance.

Teaching for this course unit is organised around regular practical sessions. These will consist of workshops with specialist tutors, group rehearsals, and discussion, supported by background reading and listening. The course tutors may also set individual or group tasks for you to undertake between classes. Some options include an element of improvisation, arranging or group composition. 

By the end of this course students should be able to:

• Demonstrate increased understanding of how music works and the contexts in which it is performed.
• Agree on an interpretation or arrangement with other performers; and apply an informed understanding of musical style and structure in the realisation of that interpretation.

By the end of this course students should be able to:

• Show an enhanced ability to understand and apply analytical skills to music, and convey that understanding to other musicians.
• Engage with other musicians in meaningful dialogue about music and its interpretation.

By the end of this course students should be able to:

• Demonstrate enhanced performance abilities in the skill areas cultivated in your chosen option
• Respond to and collaborate with other musicians whilst performing.

By the end of this course students should be able to:

• Demonstrate enhanced skills in problem-solving, interpersonal communication, rehearsal techniques and the practical application of analytical and interpretative insights.
• Demonstrate the confidence and interpersonal skills to work effectively in groups, showing skills relating to teamwork, negotiation, decision-making and leadership.

Workshops/coaching sessions; group discussion; individual discussion with tutor; reflection on informal performances; written feedback on final assessed performance.

 
The following titles provide overall support and context for ensemble performance:  

Davies, Stephen, Musical Works and Performances: a Philosophical Exploration (Oxford, 2001).

Dunsby, Jonathan, Performing Music: Shared Concerns (Oxford, 1995).

Godlovitch, Stanley, Musical Performance: A Philosophical Study (London and New York, 2003).

Rink, John (ed.), Musical Performance: A Guide to Understanding (Cambridge, 2002).

Rink, John (ed.), The Practice of Performance: Studies in Musical Interpretation (Cambridge, 2005).

On the performance of music from 'world’ cultures, see:

Schippers, Huib, Facing the Music: Shaping Music Education from a Global Perspective (New York, 2009)

Solís, Ted (ed.), Performing Ethnomusicology: Teaching and Representation in World Music Ensembles (Berkeley, Los Angeles and London, 2004).

Your tutors will direct you to specific resources relevant to each option. 

Each option has its own schedule of workshops/coaching sessions and group rehearsals: see course outline for details.