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Explore our Music facilities with Guildhall students

Guildhall has prepared me for a career in music therapy from searching for jobs to having brilliant work experience from the placements they chose for me

Emma Barber
MA Music Therapy

Emma Barber
Guildhall had a crucial role in my success. The very high quality orchestral projects and masterclasses prepared me for professional life

Joao Seara
BMus Double Bass

Joao Seara
Studying at the Guildhall School has been a life-changing and unforgettable adventure

Rebekah Carpio
MMus Clarinet (Orchestral Artistry)

Rebekah Carpio
Working in pairs during the MA has helped me developer a deeper understanding of how opera composers work and how to spark their imaginations with a libretto.

Zoe Palmer (writer)
MA Opera Making and Writing

Zoe Palmer (writer)
The relationship between the Barbican, BBC, and Guildhall is absolutely invaluable as it provides opportunities for students that cannot be found elsewhere.

Emiko Edwards
MPerf Piano

Emiko Edwards
Writing music for theatre has been a highlight of my time at Guildhall, as it has allowed me to explore an art form in which I have a great amount of interest and to work towards a professional finished product.

Alexander Hall
BMus Composition

Alexander Hall
Barbican is a key partner of Guildhall, and we can often get artists who perform there to do a masterclass or project with us, and we often do performances at Barbican events.

Ieva Vaitiekunaite
BMus Electronic Music

Ieva Vaitiekunaite
Whether it is in sit-in rehearsals, side-by-side projects or chamber orchestra sessions, the LSO players offer invaluable guidance and provide a glimpse of the exceptional standards we aspire towards.

Rees Webster
MPerf Oboe (Orchestral Artistry)

Rees Webster
I was excited to cover a role in the UK premiere of Andrew Norman's 'A Trip to the Moon' in the Barbican, have a solo recital at LSO St Luke's and also to sing on the stage of Wigmore Hall.

Mirjam Mesak
MPerf Vocal Studies

Mirjam Mesak
I knew about the fantastic tutoring and resources, but the friendly and stimulating environment clinched it for me.

Eden Lonsdale
BMus Composition

Eden Lonsdale
I had the opportunity to play percussion with the Guildhall Studio Orchestra which gave me the chance to learn from, and play alongside, amazing senior players, as well as to perform with the incredible Liane Carroll.

Dave Adsett
BMus Jazz Drums

Dave Adsett
Guildhall is an institution that knows it has to be connected to the outside world - that's the key thing. It's not a bubble. It has roots in the city and in the world.

Jonathan Ferrucci
Artist Diploma Piano

Jonathan Ferrucci
One minute you could be playing in the Guildhall Studio Orchestra with jazz musicians, the next you could be playing in the opera pit, then the next minute you'll b e with actors doing the musical and then playing a symphony in the orchestra.

Millie Ashton
BMus Violin

Millie Ashton
The departmental philosophy of returning opera back to something that is essentially produced as part of a company is a really great thing.

Klara Kofen (writer)
MA Opera Making and Writing

Klara Kofen (writer)
The quality of teaching is amazingly high. With the guidance and help that I've been given, I feel my work has got dramatically better over a short space of time.

Lucy Armstrong (composer)
MA Opera Making and Writing

Lucy Armstrong (composer)
I set up a piano trio when I arrived, and we have weekly coaching with members of the Endellion Quartet and the faculty. It has been very rewarding.

Leo Popplewell
MMus Cello

Leo Popplewell
It seemed like this was a place to go and experience a complete world of art and performance and see what happened - a place that really encouraged you to make things that you want to make.

Vittorio Angelone
BMus Percussion

Vittorio Angelone
Home > Music > Principal study > Historical Performance
Historical Performance musicians

Historical Performance

Historical Performance at Guildhall encourages students to inhabit music from the past and explore ways of communicating with a modern audience.

Three study pathways are designed to support anticipated professional career-paths:

Historical Performance Principal Study: Keyboard and plucked continuo instruments

Postgraduate performers on keyboards and plucked continuo instruments (including those who also have an interest in vocal accompaniment, coaching, and directing) find their home within the Historical Performance department. Generous scholarships and fee-reductions are available in return for their weekly work with Vocal Studies and their support of cross-School ensembles. 

In addition to principal study lessons, teaching is centred around weekly continuo classes and historical stagecraft classes. Performance platforms give the space to discuss both playing and wider concerns surrounding historical performance, whilst projects paced over a term offer a deep approach to a specific repertoire or aspect of our craft.

Prospective students may apply for both Guildhall Artist Masters and Advanced Diploma programmes. Students are also welcomed into the department through the MPhil/DMus and MPhil/PhD programmes.

Keyboard and plucked continuo instruments should apply as Historical Performance Keyboards, Historical Performance Guitar/Theorbo/Lute, or Historical Performance Harp.

Audition requirements for continuo instruments can be found on our auditions page.

Vocal students working with the Historical Performance department 

Singers interested in historical performance should join the Vocal Studies principal atudy, taking advantage of the breadth of technical and performance training necessary for a singer, whilst being able to choose performance projects, masterclasses and electives that are led by the Historical Performance department.

In addition to project-based work, singers are frequently welcomed into weekly principal study classes, forming close relationships with a continuo team. They receive coaching in performance platforms, work on declamation through historical stagecraft, and gain insight into ensemble dynamics in continuo classes.

Second Study & Postgraduate electives: historical winds, strings and keyboard instruments

Performers of historical instruments are increasingly expected to be fluent in multiple idioms and on both modern and historical instruments.

Players of orchestral instruments opt to develop their skills on historical instruments through the Historical Performance elective modules of the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes; their Principal Study remains within the Strings, Keyboard or Wind, Brass and Percussion departments. The School has a collection of historical instruments to lend to students.

In addition to project-based work, instrumentalists are frequently welcomed into weekly principal study classes, forming close relationships with a continuo team. They receive coaching in performance platforms, work on declamation through historical stagecraft, and gain insight into ensemble dynamics in continuo classes.

Students can also join the department through the MPhil/DMus and MPhil/PhD programmes.

Teaching

Under the supervision of Head of Historical Performance, Christopher Suckling, the Department provides opportunities for students to critically engage with and challenge current performance practices before entering an evolving profession.

Through a combination of ensemble and project-based learning, supported by individual tuition from some of the country's leading performers, studies centred around rhetorical delivery and historical stagecraft provide an introduction to a different ethos to performing music, giving you the experience necessary to continue your development as you embark on a varied career.

Recurring projects include Baroque Opera Scenes, the Baroque Orchestra (including a side-by-side project with the Academy of Ancient Music), the Cantata Project, and the Guildhall Consort. These projects are mutually supportive; instrumentalists, for example, might first encounter the seventeenth century by playing in consort with singers whilst vocalists develop stylistically through performing with experienced continuo players. These projects can be supported through a Research Elective which gives students the opportunity to develop their own practice-as-research projects.

Associations

Our relationship with the Academy of Ancient Music offers students masterclasses with principal players and side-by-side ensemble workshops and performances. The partnership also allows access to major artists working with the AAM, to AAM open rehearsals and to networking opportunities. 

The Guildhall Consort is directed by Eamonn Dougan, Assistant Conductor of The Sixteen, and offers excellent opportunities for refining vocal ensemble techniques. For continuo players, working with Eamonn and his colleagues offers an intensive experience in coaching and directing. The Consort has also formed the chorus for performances in the Barbican Hall with visiting ensembles such as the Venice Baroque Orchestra and the English Concert.

Applications

Keyboard and plucked continuo instruments should apply as Historical Performance Keyboards, Historical Performance Guitar/Theorbo/Lute, or Historical Performance Harp.

Audition requirements for keyboard and continuo instruments can be found on our auditions page.

Orchestral Instruments should apply via their principal study department (Wind, Brass & Percussion or Strings) then select the relevant Historical Performance electives during their course.

For further information and to discuss whether Guildhall's approach to historical performance is suited to your developing career, please contact the Head of Department, Christopher Suckling.

Vocal Studies applicants with an interest in Historical Performance should apply apply via the Vocal or Opera principal study department. Applicants should also email Music_Applications@gsmd.ac.uk to register their interest in Historical Performance.

For more information regarding Historical Performance department or auditions please contact HP@gsmd.ac.uk.

Find out more

See our departmental highlights, successes & alumni.

Explore our teaching staff, audition requirements and how to apply.

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