1. Welcome to the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Message from the Dean

IMAGINATION - INSPIRATION - INNOVATION

The Sydney Conservatorium of Music, affectionately known as the Con, is a place for artists and scholars, a magical and wonderful setting where our talented faculty members, students and visitors engage with the dynamic music and ideas of our time, as well as with the great masters and musical traditions of the past.

Today, the Conservatorium is Australia’s premier music educator, a destination for the finest musicians from across Australia and around the world. The strength and heart of the Conservatorium’s excellence lies with our talented faculty and their significant contributions to research, creative activity and outstanding teaching. Among the faculty are award-winning performers and composers, world-class scholars and acclaimed musicians whose high-level contacts in the music world span Europe, the USA and Asia.

Illustrious visiting artists and scholars, including the greatest names in the music world, regularly give lectures and masterclasses at the Conservatorium.

Along with the quality of the faculty, the quality of the students attracted to SCM is the most important and exciting factor in maintaining SCM’s outstanding reputation. Excellent candidates in our degree programs have a variety of characteristics: musical, intellectual, personal, and come from a wide variety of backgrounds and preparation. Our scholars collaborate in research to push the boundaries of instruments, composition, repertoire, history and performance. Our students enjoy extensive opportunities to perform, teach and present in cosmopolitan Sydney, nationally and internationally while living in the most vibrant, beautiful and livable city in the world.

In the increasingly global music conversation, the Conservatorium has ensured that its courses remain amongst the finest in the world and more easily enable its graduates to take their place in the international music market; 2008 saw the introduction of nine new internationally benchmarked degrees and diplomas. These include the combined awards -the innovative Bachelor of Music Studies and Graduate Medicine program and the Bachelor of Music Studies and Bachelor of Arts. Conservatorium courses range from undergraduate studies through to the highest levels of music performance, conducting and research doctorates in academic and performance specialisation.

With an outstanding orchestral and ensemble program (featuring jazz, early music, contemporary, symphonic, chamber orchestra, opera, choral, wind symphony and gamelans), the Conservatorium also provides opportunities for students to perform in professional ensembles such as the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony. The opera program provides students the opportunity to observe rehearsals with Opera Australia and to perform three operas a year.

All courses focus on developing students' talents on their exciting journey to become leaders in their fields: the Conservatorium’s alumni enjoy exceptional careers worldwide as performers, composers and scholars in the finest musical company.

We offer the largest number of significant music scholarships in Australia providing premium places, in addition to the HECS-HELP free places for performers, composers and scholars. Uniquely, SCM offers key scholarships for students to study abroad as part of their SCM course through numerous exchange opportunities. The state-of-the-art facilities for the study of music are unrivaled.

In 2008 the Conservatorium participated along with nine other premier institutions (Julliard, Yale, Salzburg Mozarteum, Royal Academy of London, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul etc.) in the Musicatholon in Beijing.

Welcome to the musical dialogue here in Sydney.

Professor Kim Walker
Dean and Principal of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Mission of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

The Sydney Conservatorium of Music is an innovative cultural catalyst inspiring the study, research, creation and performance of music in all its forms to prepare students for artistic performance and scholarship at the highest level of excellence, to foster lifelong commitment to music and culture and to provide enjoyment and enlightenment to all people.

Graduate Attributes

Students of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney, will have a stance towards knowledge, the world, and themselves that sets them apart from other graduates in their lives and work.

SCHOLARSHIP – an attitude or stance towards knowledge:
Graduates will have a scholarly attitude to knowledge and understanding. As scholars, the University's graduates will be leaders in the production of new knowledge and understanding through inquiry, critique and synthesis. They will be able to apply their knowledge to solve consequential problems and communicate their knowledge confidently and effectively.

GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP – an attitude or stance towards the world:
Graduates will be global citizens, who will aspire to contribute to society in a full and meaningful way through their roles as members of local, national and global communities.

LIFELONG LEARNING – an attitude or stance towards themselves:
Graduates will be lifelong learners committed to and capable of continuous learning and reflection for the purpose of furthering their understanding of the world and their place in it.

Students will be supported in achieving these broad outcomes during their studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music through the development of the following generic attributes:

Research and Inquiry

Graduates of the University will be able to develop new knowledge and understanding through the process of research and inquiry.
For example, students will:

• be able to identify, define and analyse problems in written work, composition, teaching or performance and identify or create processes to solve them
• be able to exercise critical judgement and critical thinking in creating new understandings in relation to some or all of the following: music analysis, music composition, music education, music history, music technology, and music performance
• be creative, imaginative and independent thinkers in their artistic endeavours
• have an informed understanding of the principles, standards, values and boundaries of current music knowledge, pedagogy and performance practice
• be able to question critically and to evaluate current music knowledge of compositional, pedagogical and performance practices, acknowledging global and historical diversity and recognising the limitations of their own knowledge

Information Literacy

Graduates of the University will be able to use information effectively in a range of contexts.
For example, students will:

• be able to recognise the extent of information needed for professional and informed music performance, composition, teaching and research

• locate needed information efficiently and effectively using a variety of printed, audiovisual and digital media and online sources
• evaluate information and its sources
• use information in critical thinking and problem-solving contexts to construct knowledge and improve music composition, performance or teaching
• understand economic, legal, social and cultural issues in the use of printed, audiovisual and online information
• use contemporary technology and audiovisual media to access and manage information
• recognise the importance of observation of the composition, performance and music education practices of others, as a source of knowledge

Personal and Intellectual Autonomy

Graduates of the University will be able to work independently and sustainably, in a way that is informed by openness, curiosity and a desire to meet new challenges.
For example, students will:

• be intellectually curious and able to sustain intellectual interest
• be capable of rigorous and independent thinking
• be open to new ideas, methods and ways of thinking
• be able to respond effectively to unfamiliar problems in unfamiliar contexts
• be able to identify processes and strategies to learn and meet new challenges in scholarly work, composition, teaching or performance
• be independent learners who take responsibility for their own learning
• recognise and be able to undertake lifelong learning through reflection, self-evaluation and self-improvement
• have a personal vision and goals, and be able to work towards these in a sustainable way by establishing good work practices in music scholarship, composition, teaching or performance

Ethical, Social and Professional Understanding

Graduates of the University will hold personal values and beliefs consistent with their role as responsible members of local, national, international and professional communities
For example, students will:

• strive for truth, honesty, integrity, open-mindedness, fairness and generosity
• acknowledge their personal responsibility for their own value judgements and behaviour
• understand and accept social, cultural, global and environmental responsibilities
• be committed to social justice
• have an appreciation of and respect for diversity
• hold a perspective that acknowledges local, national and international concerns
• work with, manage, and lead others in music teaching contexts, research partnerships or performance ensembles in ways that value their diversity and equality and that facilitate their contribution to the group and to the wider community

Communication

Graduates of the University will recognise and value communication as a tool for negotiating and creating new understanding, interacting with others, and furthering their own learning.
For example, students will:

• use oral, aural, written and visual communication to further their own learning
• make effective use of appropriate forms of communication to critique, negotiate and create understanding
• use spoken, audiovisual, written media and music performance as communicative tools for interacting with and relating to others

Degrees at the Conservatorium

Degrees post-2008

These degrees are available to all new students enrolling from 2008 onwards and to any other student who wishes to transfer from a degree they started prior to 2008:

Bachelor of Music (Composition)
BMus(Comp) – Four years full-time

Bachelor of Music (Music Education)
BMus(MusEd) – Four years full-time

Bachelor of Music (Musicology)
BMus(Musicol) – Four years full-time

Bachelor of Music (Performance)
BMus(Perf) – Four years full-time

Bachelor of Music Studies
BMusStudies – Three years full-time

Bachelor of Music Studies (Honours)
BMusStudies(Hons) – One year full-time
This course may also be taken as part of the following combined degrees on offer

Bachelor of Music Studies/Bachelor of Arts
BMusStudies/BA – Five years full-time (optional honours year in Music Studies and/or Arts)

Bachelor of Music Studies/Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery
BMusStudies/MBBS – Three years full-time followed by four years Graduate Medicine (optional honours year in Music Studies)

Diploma of Music
DipMus – Two years full-time

Advanced Diploma of Opera
AdvDipOp – Three years full-time

Degrees pre-2008

These degrees are only on offer to students who commenced their degree prior to 2008:

Bachelor of Music (Composition)
BMus(Comp) – Four years full-time

Bachelor of Music (Music Education)
BMus(MusEd) – Four years full-time

Bachelor of Music (Musicology)
BMus(Musicol) – Four years full-time

Bachelor of Music (Performance)
BMus(Perf) – Four years full-time

Bachelor of Music Studies
BMusStudies – Three years full-time

Bachelor of Music Studies (Honours)
BMusStudies(Hons) – One year full-time
This course may also be taken as part of the following combined degrees.

Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Music Studies
BA/BMusStudies – Five years full-time (optional honours year in Music Studies and/or Arts)

Bachelor of Music Studies/Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery
BMusStudies/MBBS – Three years full-time followed by four years Graduate Medicine (optional honours year in Music Studies)

Diploma of Music
DipMus – Two years full-time

Diploma of Opera
DipOp – Three years full-time

Bachelor degrees

Bachelor of Music

The Bachelor of Music is a degree for musically talented students aspiring to a professional career in music. The goals of the program are:

• to develop musicianship and performance, musicology, composition or music education;
• to develop students’ ability to see themselves, their musical art and their educational activity in a wide cultural perspective; and
• to develop the generic attributes of graduates of the University of Sydney

Bachelor of Music Studies

This is a flexible course of study without specialisation: students may study in the four key areas of playing music (performance), writing music (composition and music skills), writing about music (historical and cultural studies) and teaching music.

If you enrol in the Bachelor of Music or Bachelor of Music Studies degrees you can generally choose from subjects common to both courses with the option to transfer at the end of the first year. Both degrees allow for study in other faculties at the University of Sydney if you wish to pick up subjects in non-musical disciplines.

The Conservatorium now offers a fourth year Honours program in the Bachelor of Music Studies and its combined degrees for students who meet the criteria.

Combined degrees

The combined degree Bachelor of Music Studies/Bachelor of Arts allows students to acquire musical skills in performance, composition, music education or musicology together with expertise in an arts discipline within a broad humanities context.


The combined Bachelor of Music Studies/Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery award course will allow students to combine their demonstrated interests in music and in medicine.

Students in either degree may also choose to apply for the Bachelor of Studies (Honours) award in the fourth year.

Principal Study

If you are enrolled in a Bachelor of Music or Bachelor of Music Studies degree or the Diploma of Music you will need to select a unit of Principal Study based on the performance or academic areas for which you have successfully auditioned and/or been interviewed. If you choose a Principal Study in a performance unit, it will consist of instrumental or vocal lessons as well as Performance Workshop or small group study, giving you plenty of chances to perform. You can choose from a range of brass, early music instruments, keyboard, organ, strings, woodwind, percussion and jazz performance instruments, as well as voice (opera, classical or jazz). You can also choose a Principal Study in composition or musicology.

Diplomas

The Diploma of Music is a specialised vocational course that provides training in high-level performance skills and develops artistic and intellectual knowledge that will prepare you for a career as a professional classical or jazz musician.

The Advanced Diploma of Opera will teach you to sing with technical proficiency and to perform with a sense of musical style and dramatic interpretation. This is complemented by an awareness of the professional and practical demands of the theatre and its environment. You will also be able to acquire basic piano skills, demonstrate a thorough understanding of musicianship, sing in the major operatic languages, perform movement and dance sequences and build a character on developed stagecraft skills. You need to be at least 21 years old on 1 March of your first year in the opera course.

Bachelor of Arts (Major in Music)

Arts is a generalist degree with wide career potential. A large number of students undertake specialised research training in a subject and go on to gain an honours degree followed by a higher degree or postgraduate diploma. You can major in music as part of the Bachelor of Arts degree. Duration: 3 years (4 years honours). The Arts Music Unit of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music is located on the main campus of the University of Sydney. Students from all faculties including the Con can study a wide range of subjects including music skills, musicology and ethnomusicology, performance and composition. All classes are held on the main university campus.

First year music courses accommodate a wide range of skills in musical literacy placing significant emphasis on critical listening. It is possible to begin music study without any prior knowledge of notation although literacy as well as aural skills are developed in an appropriate musical language course during the first year. There are no audition requirements for entry to first year units. Successful completion of 12 junior credit points in Music permits access to a wide range of Senior units of study including courses in Musicology (both western and non-western), Composition and Performance. Media and technology courses are also available.

A full Music major and Honours program are available and can be taken as part of a B.A. or combined Arts degree in many faculties of the University (Economics, Education, Engineering, Law, Nursing and Science).

Students should consult the Arts Faculty for further details on admission and degree requirements.

Career pathways

Studying music offers a variety of pathways to a vast array of rewarding careers: composition and/or arrangement; writing about music as a musicologist, journalist or critic; broadcasting and music recording; performance including conducting, as soloist or ensemble player; teaching, from early childhood to secondary; music therapy; arts administration including cultural planning, marketing, and festival or venue management. For further information:

• go to the Careers Good Guide at: http://jobguide.dest.gov.au
• or enquire with the University's Careers Centre: www.careers.usyd.edu.au

Concerts at the Conservatorium

Performance opportunities, creation of musical works and an enhanced appreciation of live performance are at the heart of your musical education. The Conservatorium hosts an extensive concert program, giving all the students an opportunity to perform alongside renowned musicians including our talented faculty and visiting performers.

Our concert series, including the popular Lunchbreak concerts and the Sensational Sunday series, is known for its diverse musical repertoire and attracts receptive audiences of music lovers including members of the faculty and the general public. You are encouraged to invite your friends and family to come hear you and your fellow students play.

Booking information

Many events at the Conservatorium are free for Conservatorium and University of Sydney students and faculty. To ensure you receive the best seats in the hall for reserved seating and ticketed events, advanced booking is recommended. You can book in person, over the phone or through our website. Advanced bookings are accepted until 3pm on the last business day prior to the concert. Any remaining seats will be available for sale at the Conservatorium on hour before the concert.

In Person: City Recital Hall Box Office, Angel Place, Sydney. Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Telephone Bookings: +61 2 8256 2222
Online bookings: www.music.usyd.edu.au

Conservatorium Open Academy

The Sydney Conservatorium of Music’s commitment to providing the finest music education training and training for children, young musicians, adults and teachers has a very long and distinguished tradition, commencing in 1916 when the Conservatorium enrolled its first students.

The Open Academy is the Conservatorium’s specialist public outreach unit and through its programs, shares the outstanding teaching resources and facilities of the Conservatorium with thousands of students, teachers and professional musicians annually. It researches, creates and delivers the following non-tertiary programs to the wider music community in Sydney and throughout regional NSW:

• K-12 Music Academy for young musicians 5-20 years provides non-tertiary courses including HSC Music Revision Workshops, Vocal School and the Saturday Junior and Senior Schools
• Community Open Program offers short casual programs for adults in general interest and leisure courses, and practical courses in music literacy and instrumental, ensemble or vocal performance
• Professional Development Academy including Summer and Winter Schools and Pedagogy Workshops for Teachers
• Regional Outreach Program including MusicLink for teachers, students and music communities across regional NSW

The Open Academy is also supported by the Minister and Department of Education and Training to deliver these programs.

For information on the Open Academy, please call +61 2 9351 1207/1208/1209 or email or go to the website at: www.music.usyd.edu.au/community.