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Explore our Music facilities with Guildhall students

Guildhall has a unique buzz and vibe to it…a great sense of community and friendliness

Rebecca Carson
BMus Flute

Rebecca Carson
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
Such incredible musicians and inspiring teachers and the opportunity to hear from world-class visiting artists has been invaluable

Vijay Prakash
MMus Jazz Trombone

Vijay Prakash
In my first year, I was given the opportunity to play with the Britten-Pears Orchestra. We performed a number of concerts and our CD, recorded at one of those concerts, went on to win the BBC Music Magazine Award for Best Opera Recording.

Andrew McCoy
BMus Tenor Trombone

Andrew McCoy
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
I feel that the people here really make the institution. I found Guildhall to be a really supportive environment that gave me room to explore, take risks, and mature as a musician, and as a human being.

Francesca Chiejina
MPerf Vocal Studies

Francesca Chiejina
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

Keyboard and plucked continuo instruments.

Historical Performance specialism is also available through the Vocal Studies Principal Study. Study of historical string, wind, and brass instruments is available through elective modules.

Programmes

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

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 and studies centred around rhetorical delivery and historical stagecraft, we provide an introduction to different approaches to performing music, giving you the experience necessary to continue your development as you embark on a varied career.

Teaching is primarily through ensemble performance projects supported by individual and group tuition from some of the country’s leading performers and scholars. Recurring projects include Baroque Opera Scenes, the Baroque Orchestra, the Cantata Project, and the Guildhall Consort. These projects are mutually supportive; instrumentalists, for example, might first encounter the 17th century by playing in consort with singers.

Working with Historical Performance

There are several different ways to engage with historical performance at Guildhall.

Postgraduate performers of keyboards and plucked continuo instruments who have an interest in vocal direction, accompaniment, and coaching find their home within the Historical Performance department. Generous scholarships are available in return for their weekly work with Vocal Studies and their support of cross-School ensemble projects. Prospective students may apply for both Guildhall Artist Masters and Advanced Diploma courses.

Postgraduate singers join the Vocal Studies principal study, taking advantage of the breadth of technical and performance training necessary for a singer, whilst being able to choose performance projects and electives that are led by the Historical Performance department.

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 or Wind, Brass and Percussion departments. The School has a collection of historical instruments to lend to students.

Students are also welcomed into the department through the MPhil/DMus and MPhil/PhD programmes and through the Erasmus programme.

Teaching

Whichever way you choose to work with historical performance at Guildhall, teaching is primarily through ensemble performance projects supported by individual and group tuition from some of the country's leading performers and scholars. 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.

An academic elective takes a similar approach; the class is led through a research project that addresses current performance issues and teaches the techniques required to engage with source material before offering students the opportunity to develop their own practice-led 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, nd offers excellent opportunities for refining vocal ensemble techniques, performing music from Victoria, Palestrina and Schütz through to Bach, Schumann, Stravinsky and Arvo Pärt. It 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

Vocal Studies applicants with an interest in Historical Performance should apply as Vocal Training Voice Type. Applicants must also email Music_Applications@gsmd.ac.uk to register their interest in Historical Performance.

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

Audition requirements for both Vocal Studies and continuo instruments can be found on our auditions page.

Orchestral Instruments should apply via their principal study department 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.

See our departmental highlights, successes & alumni.

Find out more

You can find teaching staff, audition requirements and how to apply.