Professional preparation
At the Royal Conservatoire we endeavour to prepare musicians and dancers to the highest artistic standard for their future professional career. Our aim is to not only prepare students for, but also integrate them into the professional practice. This is tackled in two ways: 1) through intensive collaboration with our external professional partners and 2) through curriculum courses that cover the necessary skills needed to succeed in a mixed professional practice. Throughout the programme students are encouraged to engage in self-reflection in order to develop their ability to function as ‘reflective practitioners’ in the profession.
1. Intensive collaboration with professional partners
The Royal Conservatoire offers a number of unique programmes that have been designed in consultation with our professional partners. In these programmes, teaching and practice are intertwined to give students a realistic impression of the profession, and provide them with an opportunity to gain a foothold in the profession during their studies, and thus give them the best possible preparation for the reality of the professional practice. Examples of such programmes include:
2. Curriculum courses to succeed in a mixed professional practice
The Royal Conservatoire offers regular projects in cooperation with professional partners, and our students are guided in their artistic development by teachers who are themselves professional and international artists. In addition, students are encouraged to actively think about their future careers as the curriculum places great value on the development of professional, career and entrepreneurial skills.
For example, our Career Skills courses run throughout the Bachelor of Music curriculum and focus on topics such as communication, self-management, artistic identity, and creating awareness of the range of career possibilities. Career Skills courses include Entrepreneurial Bootcamp, Meet the Professionals and The Business of Music. Additionally, the curriculum covers a wide range of practical courses in which students learn skills for various career path elements, including Educational Skills, Critical Music Studies, Chamber Music, Stage Skills and Training Orchestral Parts. Our Master students are required to create their own Master Project that combines artistic development, research and professional integration activities. Courses include Introduction to Research in the Arts and Introduction to Project Management. The Master Project approach gives students the opportunity to experiment with developing a personal professional practice during their studies.
Entrepreneurial Bootcamp
The Entrepreneurial Bootcamp is an intensive project week outside the Conservatoire, during which second-year students are asked to develop a project for a new audience, often at unusual venues and locations in the heart of the community.
Master Specialisation Orchestra Master
An ambitious Master student in the Classical Music department will naturally want to gain as much practical experience as possible. That is the objective of the Orchestra Master, a unique Master’s specialisation that we offer in association with the Residentie Orkest. Students who have been admitted to the Master of Music in Classical Music programme can audition for this course. Students will play full concert programmes with the Residentie Orkest and receive coaching from a member of the orchestra. This mentor will write a report on each project, in which students will also be able to describe their own experiences.
More information about professional preparation at the Royal Conservatoire can be found on this page.