- Leads to qualification: Bachelor in conducting
- ECTS credits: 240 ECTS credits – full-time over four years
Admission requirements
General university and college admissions certification (or equivalent) and successful audition.
Programme description
Bachelor in conducting is a four-year programme designed to train conductors to work professionally. The aim of the programme is to develop accomplished and independent conductors who are able to work with different types of ensembles and take responsibility for their own artistic and creative development. The programme is offered with specialisation in either choral conducting or orchestra/wind orchestra conducting. Instrument performance is also a central part of the programme.
Learning objectives
Upon completing the Bachelor's programme in conducting, the candidate is expected to
- be able to convey and realise their artistic intentions at a professional level
- be able to work conscientiously and independently overtime on artistic projects
- take responsibility for their own creative and artistic development
- show a broad understanding of music as an art form from a historical, cultural, social and academic perspective
- be able to document and apply relevant theoretical and practical musical knowledge
- be able to work in a purposeful and goal-oriented manner, individually and with others
- have knowledge of relevant artistic research and development, and be able to apply this to their work
- be able to meet the demands and expectations that the music industry places on professional conductors
- be able to communicate around disciplinary knowledge both in an oral and written manner
- have knowledge of and relate to academic- and work ethical guidelines in a reflective manner
Organisation
The programme is organised into two modules, each lasting two years. The students study two principal instruments, i.e. conducting and a musical instrument, up to and including the penultimate semester of the programme. In the first module, the students practise fundamental musicianship within the confines of a relatively rigid study programme. The students acquire conducting practice with the Academy's in-house ensembles as well as external ensembles. The students must pass the conducting exam at the end of the first module in order to proceed to the second module. An instrument exam is also held at the end of the first module. Instrumental tuition is provided up to and including the autumn semester in Year 4, culminating in a final recital. The second module of the programme sees an expansion of the topics studied, and the students may also choose different specialisations from a wide range of elective courses. This allows the students to either specialise in some of the topics covered in the mandatory part of the programme or choose new courses and specialised topics. There may be limited spaces on some of the elective courses.
The study programme consists of teacher-led classroom instruction, academic supervision and independent study in connection with this instruction. It is expected that a significant part of the student's work time is used for individual practice and preparation.
As a general rule, class attendance at the Academy is not compulsory. However, there are certain courses in which attendance is required. The reason for this is that the activity in the classroom itself provides students with experiences that lead to insight, understanding and skills in the subject area, which cannot be documented/demonstrated on a test or examination. The individual course descriptions specify whether class attendance is compulsory.
- Regulations concerning absences and leaves of absence (lovdata.no – in Norwegian).
Study
credits are used as the unit of measure to express the scope of the courses in the study programme. The complete Bachelor's degree programme consists of 240 credits. One year of full-time study is equal to 60
credits. One credit corresponds to 27–30 hours of work, including classroom instruction and independent work.
Assessment
The Academy’s course portfolio is comprised of courses that use the marks “pass/fail” and courses that use marks on a scale of A to F, where E is the lowest passing mark. The individual course descriptions state which system of marks will be used.
Additional provisions on assessment and examination are laid down in Chapter VI of the Regulations governing the study programmes at the Norwegian Academy of Music. A diploma will be issued when the student has passed all the courses required for a degree. The final main instrument examination grade is presented on the diploma alongside instrument specification and study credits.
Exchange
The Norwegian Academy of Music facilitates exchange for students as part of the study programmes and agreements are made with the leading institutions in Europe as well as exciting and high rated music institutionsn around the world. Duration and progress of your programme need not be affected by going abroad. If you take advantage of our established programmes and exchange agreements, your studies abroad can fulfil the credit requirements and courses you would otherwise have obtained at the Academy. The exchange period will thereby not affect the duration of your programme and time of graduation. In this particular study programme the third year is the ideal time for exchange.
Please refer to our exchange web page (student.nmh.no) if you would like to know more about how and where you can go on exchange.
Education quality assurance
The Academy has a system for educational quality assurance and development that applies to all aspects of the education provided. Students play a vital role in these efforts by, among other things, participating in student evaluations of courses and programmes.