Course details

Summary

Expand your musical technique and understanding within your choice of classical or jazz performance, composition, popular music or musicology at New Zealand’s largest tertiary music school.

Composition major

Composition, like performance, is fundamental to music. The School of Music’s vibrant Composition programme offers a unique and holistic overview of the skills required to create music in today's world, by including the study of both instrumental and vocal composition, and sonic arts (studio-based composition and music technology). Technique in writing for solo instrument, ensemble, voice, choir and orchestra is studied, along with modules such as composing for film and video gaming, composition for acoustic instruments with live electronics, and multi speaker anosmatic works.

Performance and recording of student compositions is encouraged, and opportunities for this range from the weekly composition workshops and annual composition prize concerts through to exciting collaborative projects with professional or community based ensembles, which may include the NZTrio and the Auckland Philharmonic Inspire Partnership programme. International and local composers and musicians are frequent visitors to the workshops.

Degree structure

What you'll be studying

In the undergraduate degree you will progress through a series of core Composition courses that focus on the development of technique, creativity and craftsmanship in the areas of instrumental and vocal composition and sound based/computer aided composition. In addition to this you will take courses in orchestration and/or electronic music studies. This allows you to begin to take a more specialized interest in one or other of these areas. Elective studies are available in areas such as music technology/sound recording and production, conducting, music education and others.

You will also take two General Education courses offered by other faculties from across the University to acquire a broader range of skills and understanding, and be exposed to cross-disciplinary research.

Further study

The BMus, and associated conjoint programmes, lead into further study options at the School of Music. Our postgraduate degree programmes encourage initiative, critical analysis and independent thought about music in social, cultural and academic contexts as well as creative excellence.

Research programmes

• Master of Music (MMus)
• Doctor of Music (DMus)
• Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Taught programmes

• Bachelor of Music (Honours) (BMus(Hons))
• Postgraduate Diploma in Music (PGDipMus)
• Graduate Diploma in Music (GradDipMus)

Jobs related to this programme

• Arranger/composer
• Arts administrator/manager/director
• Conductor
• Music director
• Music journalist
• Performer
• Radio/television/digital media/recording producer
• Sound engineer

Entry criteria

Secondary school qualifications

You need to have one of the following:

International Baccalaureate Diploma with a minimum total score of 24.

General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level. You must have completed a minimum of three A-Level subjects with at least a 'C' grade or higher. General Studies or similar general papers cannot be included.

GCE ‘A’ Level requirements apply to ‘A’ Level qualifications examined by bodies such as AQA, OCR, Edexcel, WJEC, CCEA, Pearson Education Limited and CIE taken outside of New Zealand.

English language requirements:

IELTS 6.0; TOEFL (iBT) 80; TOEFL (paper-based) 550; CAE or CPE 169; PTE 50; MELAB 80.