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Home > Music > Courses > Postgraduate > Guildhall Artist Programme > Composition

Composition

MMus/MComp in Composition (Guildhall Artist Masters)


Introduction to the programme

  • Part One (MMus)
    one year full-time/two years part-time
  • Part Two (MComp)
    one year full-time
  • Progression to Part Two is conditional on results from Part One
  • MMus/MComp can also be studied as a purely electronic specialism - see the Electronic Music department page for more details on the principal study options available.

About the programme

Guildhall School offers some of the most stimulating and creative training for composers in the UK. Studying Composition at Guildhall Artist Masters level prepares you for professional life as a composer. It allows you to explore and refine your individual artistic voice within the collaborative atmosphere of a busy, modern conservatoire, while also giving you the space for self-reflection. 

The programme centres around weekly one-to-one Principal Study lessons. You will be allocated to one of the Department’s distinguished Faculty of composers, who will guide your creative participation on core projects across the year. The outcomes of core projects are all workshopped, rehearsed, publicly performed and recorded. Weekly composition seminars and open sessions support technical, aesthetic and professional development, and a choice of elective modules support specific aspects of your development.

Part One (MMus)

Part One of the programme is centred around weekly one-to-one Principal Study lessons and participation in five creative projects. A range of elective choices complement compositional study and development.

While compositional activity will take up most of your study time, you can also take classes in electronic music and writing for film and television. You can pursue these areas further within the elective programme, which also offers elective modules in areas including performance, jazz and improvisation, aesthetics and analytical or historical research.

The programme is built around a central strand of weekly seminars, in which both staff and visiting composers lead discussion and score analysis of recent contemporary music. An eclectic mix of composers, musicologists, performers and music administrators cover a range of practical and theoretical topics.

Recent visiting composers include John Adams, Steve Reich, Louis Andriessen, Michael Finnissy, Rozalie Hirs, Michel van der Aa, Claudia Molitor, James MacMillan, Howard Skempton, Jennifer Walshe and Alwynne Pritchard. Prominent publishers, copyists and administrators also offer practical insights into the music business.

Creative and collaborative opportunities

There is a focus on the collaborative nature of compositional practice, and the Department benefits from a number of long-standing external partnerships including with London Contemporary Dance School (LCDS) and the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO). Recent projects have included generating new work for Plus-Minus Ensemble, EXAUDI and Voiceworks at Wigmore Hall, as well as work with choreographers and dancers from LCDS performed at The Place. See the Composition Principal Study pages for further information on departmental opportunities.

In addition to coursework, we encourage students to take advantage of the many creative and collaborative opportunities Guildhall School has to offer. These might include working on one of the Drama Department’s many productions, collaborating with the jazz students or developing new work with postgraduate performers and singers.The School’s New Music Society, New Music Ensemble and annual projects with the vocal ensemble EXAUDI, new music specialists PlusMinus and City Chamber Choir all provide excellent platforms for public performance.

The Department has enjoyed strong links with the London Symphony Orchestra’s Panufnik Young Composers Scheme, LSO SoundHub, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Young Composer programme, which have all featured Guildhall composers. 

Part Two (MComp)

After successful completion of Part One and on achieving the required grades, students may opt to progress to Part Two (MComp). 

During this year, you will be supported to develop three projects across the year including the Creative Platform, an opportunity to curate and produce your own event. There is also the option to write for chamber orchestra, with players drawn from the LSO working alongside instrumentalists from Guildhall’s Orchestral Artistry programme. 

During Part Two, creative projects are developed and designed by students themselves, with a greater degree of curatorial freedom; in Part One, projects are set, designed and provided by the Department. 

Extended Guildhall Artist programme

Students who are enrolled on the Extended Guildhall Artist programme will need to pass an introductory year before progressing to Part One. See the Guildhall Artist Masters page for further details.

Find out more

Visit our Music pages for further information on teaching staff, audition requirements, open days and how to apply.

Postgraduate Funding Support

Find out more about government financial support that is available for this programme.

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