Master’s in Music & Performance
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Ensemble Modern / Varese: Deserts - Bill Viola | Image: Barbara Fahle
In the master's and doctoral programmes, the interaction of music and performance is examined from a wide variety of perspectives. The term "performance", borrowed from English, encompasses both general aspects of performance and staging as well as performance art in the narrower sense. Thus, music theatre in its entire spectrum (opera, operetta, dance, musical, revue, cabaret), music and theatricality (concerts, street music culture, and pageants as theatrical events), music and audiovisual media (film and television), as well as the interactions of music and visual art can be the subject of investigation.
The forms of cultural transmission and practices that are dealt with show themselves in various medial states, from live performance to audiovisual storage. In their materiality, they are among the most fascinating things that cultural history has to offer, and require a multi-perspective approach that uses methods and findings from film, theatre, and art and dance studies, and then pursues these independently.
Overview of the degree programme
The Music & Performance degree programme involves students intensively in current work of the Research Institute for Music Theatre Studies at the University of Bayreuth (fimt) and, by resolutely promoting academic excellence, prepares them both for later work in research and for positions of responsibility in cultural management.
The orientation of the degree programme with regard to later professional activities and perspectives is thus twofold. Work strategies required for the professional field of the humanities and cultural studies are engendered and refined. In addition, the programme also caters to cultural managers who have already received basic training, but who wish to further qualify and specialise for more challenging tasks.
The master's programme is completed after 4 semesters with the Master of Arts degree.
Since the amendment to the programme in the 2011/12 winter semester, the programme can also be taken part-time (for more details, see the updated regulations below).
What do students appreciate about this degree programme?
... the informal atmosphere and the good teamwork
... the willingness of the lecturers to respond to the individual interests of students and to take these up in the seminars
... the many opportunities to gain practical experience in addition to theory, be it through projects in the University's theatre space or through internships
Sebastian Krauß
What I value most about the Master's in Music & Performance is the opportunity to introduce my own topics - both through the elective courses from other degree programmes and in my own courses. There is a great intellectual openness to new ideas and trends, and individual suggestions are encouraged and valued.
Isabelle Pyka
(Image: Norbert Mebert)
Personally, the broad understanding of musical theatre gives me the opportunity to deal academically with topics that are often only treated incidentally in theatre and music studies. The close cooperation with fimt and the insights into the academic way of working encouraged me in my career aspirations, and I feel very well prepared for my future work thanks to the degree programme.
Thomas Rufin
Berufliche Perspektiven
The degree programme prepares students for the following professional fields in music theatre (multi-genre) and in the field of media:
- Dramaturgy
- Direction, assistant direction, stage management
- Cultural management and administration
- Music journalism (press, radio, television)
- Work in music publishing (editing, public relations) or in the music industry
Alumni des Studiengangs
As there were only a few of us students, we were very close and shared an intensive way of studying. Due to their size, the courses were tailored to us much more, and the collaboration was a lot of fun. The relationship with the lecturers and the attention they paid to each and every one of us was highly motivating. Besides that, the facilities in the academic area - with the libraries, the research institute ... I have never experienced anything comparable at another university. On the one hand, the degree programme gave me a lot of access to material and knowledge - including interdisciplinary matter, for example through courses in law, such as copyright law, which I now have to deal with every day in my job. On the other hand, it has not limited me professionally at all.
Lena Normann
Assistant to the director and dramaturge (Puppentheater Zwickau)
Application
Admission to the programme is only possible in the winter semester. Applications are sent via the Campus Online platform, where applicants register without obligation and submit their documents digitally.
After the documents have been checked, the applicants are invited to an aptitude test. The aptitude test comprises an interview of approximately 20 minutes based on a written statement of reasons for applying for the programme.
The deadline for applications is 15 July each year. As a rule, the aptitude test takes place at the end of July and admission is granted at the beginning of August.
Any questions?
Programme coordinator Prof. Dr. Anno Mungen and students in the programme (currently Jonas Würdinger) are available to answer questions about the programme and the aptitude test procedure.
More documents (in german)
| Modulhandbuch |
| Prüfungs- und Studienordnung |
| Studiengangsflyer |