What is a typical day on your course like?
A typical day involves being much more proactive than you would have been at school. The contact hours for music are relatively small, but I still usually have a lecture and a seminar every day. However, this means that I have to approach my degree independently, meaning lots of work outside of these contact hours. This can result in undertaking a range of tasks, ranging from reading and research to write an essay, to composition work in the computer cluster for the studio and paper composition modules, to instrumental practice either at home or in the practice block. After completing whatever work I set myself for the day, I have the evening off to relax or possibly complete some work set in a seminar. For example, weekly chorale exercises are normally set for the Tonal Harmony and Counterpoint Lectures and Seminars.
What are you involved in outside of your studies?
I am currently involved in a huge range of things outside of studies, the majority of which are musical. I maintain commitments to 2 of the University’s choirs, the University Chorus and Chamber choir, and also rehearse several times a week with a student led band and a Jazz Trio with two other music students. I performed with this Jazz Trio and the National Music for Youth competition in Lincolnshire. I have also participated in a number of concerts with both the University Chorus and Chamber choir, including a performance at the Birmingham Town Hall. These ensembles normally conduct at least one large concert every term, and have weekly rehearsal schedules.
I am also involved in sports, playing 5 a side football on a weekly basis, while also running regularly in order to maintain fitness. This allows me to be involved in other aspects of University life, while also introducing me to people outside of my course. I also maintain a commitment to the University of Birmingham’s Politics society, and attend a number of debates during the course of the year. The most interesting of these was the Scottish Referendum debate conducted by members of the society, which addressed and discussed controversial issues ranging from economic to social questions.
Furthermore, I was fortunate enough to secure one of the Birmingham Internship Undergraduate Program (BUIP) placements, and undertake an 11 week internship as a Digital Content Producer within the College of Life and Environmental Sciences. This was a fantastic opportunity, which allowed me to develop and apply a wide range of skills and also gain fantastic experience for future employment. I was able to secure this internship due to skills gained from studying music, such as teamwork due to regular attendance of rehearsal, and technical software skills due to the Studio Composition module in First year.
How have you found living in Birmingham? What do you like about Birmingham as a city?
Living in Birmingham is fantastic; there is a huge range things to do, ranging from superb restaurants along Brindley Place, to the attendance of a wide range of fantastic music performances and any one of Birmingham’s fantastic venues. Superb shopping is also available at the Bullring shopping centre, while easy access is provided by the University’s very own train station. The city itself is hugely friendly and people will generally be happy to help you when shopping, ordering food in a restaurant or attending a concert. Specifically for music students, there are a number of high quality music shops and luthiers around the University to service instruments. Overall Birmingham is a vibrant and exciting city, with much to see and do.
What Music venues do you visit in Birmingham?
There are a number of venues within Birmingham which cater to all types of musicians. The Birmingham Symphony Hall is one of the best venues in the country, where Music Students at Birmingham have the opportunity to see the breath taking Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Tickets are discounted to £5 for students. I recently attended a concert where their repertoire for the evening including Elgar’s Cello Concert, appropriate due to Edward Elgar’s relationship with the department. A fantastic Jazz venue in Birmingham is called the Wheel, which regularly plays host to a wide range of Jazz and Fusion musicians.
The Elgar concert hall and Bramall foyer also regularly hold performances, with the Elgar holding orchestral and choral performances and the Bramall foyer providing intimate jazz sets. The University’s own ensembles regularly perform here, and the past year has seen performances from the Symphony Orchestra, Big Band, Chamber Choir, Jazz Collective and Wind Band. Furthermore, comedians occasionally perform in the Elgar, adding variety to the already stunning performances. The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is also a fantastic venue, where music students can attend concerts weekly for free. Performers from the recent year include Sir Thomas Allen performing Schubert’s Winterreise and the Dante Quartet performing a range of String Quartets ranging from composers as diverse as Haydn, Bartok and Debussy.
Would you recommend Birmingham to prospective students?
Absolutely! Birmingham offers significantly more than other University’s due to its unique large and green campus which is also only 10 minutes away from the city centre. The range of opportunities for music students here are fantastic, with anything from Classical to Jazz catered for either by the University or within the city itself. Due to the University’s vicinity to the city centre, Birmingham is able to take advantage of tuition at the Birmingham Conservatoire, which is second to none, and which other top University’s, such as Durham, cannot match. Birmingham also presents a number of opportunities outside of the music department, due to the huge number of societies, particularly with regard to sport. Birmingham is actually ranked in the top 3 Universities in the country for sport. The music department also has links with universities around the world due to the Erasmus program, which gives students the opportunity to study in countries ranging from Australia, to Canada to Germany. Birmingham is unique in what it offers, and it is a combination of variety, quality and opportunity which other Universities cannot hope to match.
Why did you choose your degree programme? What interests you about the subject?
I choose to study music due to my interest in the subject, but also in the breadth of traversable skills I knew I would be able to gain from studying music. Furthermore, I have the opportunity to specialise further in my chosen area of study, composition, now that I have completed my first year, which is opening up possible further education options and other employment options. Music students are regarded highly by a range of employers due to their initiative, creativity, leadership and team work abilities and their ability to think independently and overcome challenges in a way which graduates of other subjects cannot match. For example, regularly attending rehearsals and in some cases even conducting entire ensembles results in fantastic communication and leadership skills for graduates, while difficult technical challenges for a students respective instrument representative patience and independent initiative when overcoming them. The evidence of these transferable skills is only solidified by my successful application to the Birmingham Undergraduate Internship Program (BUIP), which had over 470 applicants for 12 places. I was able to gain extremely valuable experience due to the skills I had developed through my study of music. I am opening up a huge range of future opportunities by attending Birmingham as a Music student.
Why did you choose to study at the University of Birmingham?
I chose to study at Birmingham because of the wide range of opportunities it offered me, and the fact that the department has the best teaching, highest quality facilities and broadest and most diverse range of opportunities in the country. The highest quality instrumental tuition is also provided at the Birmingham Conservatoire, while the city itself is culturally diverse, interesting and also able to provide a large number of interesting musical events at fantastic venues such as the Birmingham Symphony Hall. Tickets to attend these concerts are extremely cheap for students, often as low as £3, meaning that a music student here is exposed to a larger range of musical performances than they would be at any other university.
How are you finding the transition from school/ college to university? Was it easy to settle in?
I found the transition to be a longer process than I thought it would be, and I didn’t feel totally confident until the start of the 2nd term. However, I was always made to feel welcome and valued within the department, and pushed to achieve the absolute maximum possible. Getting used to the independent working is something which I dropped into really naturally as I preferred being able to set my own work times. The change from being provided information at School to having to do your own independent research was a little bit difficult at first, but once you’ve done it once you understand exactly how to do it the next time.
What have you enjoyed about the first year so far, and what are you looking forward to?
I’ve really enjoyed the independence and the new approach to learning we’ve been introduced to at University. Its much more rewarding to learn and fully understand something, rather than to just understand it to the extent that you can regurgitate it for an exam. Furthermore, I’ve had the chance to become involved in a large number of ensembles within the music department, and societies and sport outside of the department.
Do you have a favourite module? If so, why?
I think my favourite module is Paper Composition. We’re able to compose freely with specific aims, such as melodic writing in the style of a certain composer, such as Debussy, and are not constrained to filling the requirements of a composition syllabus for an exam.. The topics we have covered are very interesting, and introduced me to some music and ideas which I hadn’t previously considered. Furthermore, being able to compose for the specific instruments in your workshop group and have your music played by a very talented musician rather than Sibelius is infinitely more rewarding and a very refreshing way to teach composition. The tutors are also extremely knowledgeable and talented composers, who are able to provide constructive criticism and feedback to actively improve your compositional ability.