Performance at Bristol
Performance within our BA programmes
Performance is an entirely optional part of the Music BA and joint honours programmes; nobody is forced to perform at all. But if you are a keen performer, it can be a major part of your BA studies at Bristol. If you wish, 20 credits of your studies can involve solo performance in your first and second year (that is, 1/6 of each year). In the final year, some students choose a 20-credit solo performance unit, some choose 20-credits of chamber music performance, some select our 40-credit solo performance unit, and the really dedicated performers can combine 40-credit performance with 20-credit chamber music, meaning that half of their final year is performance based.
We train performers in classical music, jazz, and/or Musical Theatre, and have a strong track record of training students with backgrounds in (for example) rock or pop in jazz and blues.
Instrumental teaching
Our instrumental and vocal tutors are all professional musicians, and many of them teach in major British conservatoires. Our list of instrumental and vocal teachers includes those who have current students within the Department of Music. If your instrument does not appear on the list, please don't worry; we will be able to provide you with a suitable teacher drawing on our extensive contacts locally and nationally.
We pay for all performance students to have private lessons on their first study instrument/voice with our approved teachers. All solo performance units culminate with a recital (ranging from ten minutes long in First Year, to thirty minutes for a 40-credit recital in Final year).
Masterclasses and workshops
We have a close relationship with several ensembles-in-residence, including Bristol Ensemble. Weekly Creative Performance sessions help students to develop collaborative and individual skills as well as professional development. In 2023 and 2024, visitors have included Pulitzer prize-winning composer Anthony Davies, conductors Martyn Brabbins and Jonathan James, classical singer Emma Tring, jazz singer Rob Short, and clarinettist Michael Collins, and we have had staff-led workshops on Makam, mindfulness for musicians, electro-acoustic performance, vocal expression and creating improvisatory sound circles, as well as workshops where students can showcase repertoire for their upcoming assessed recitals.
Our active student community
The University of Bristol has a vibrant music scene, involving both music students and non-music students, and across multiple musical genres. Here we introduce you to a selection of the opportunities for making music with other Bristol students.
Within the Music Department, staff-led ensembles include the University Symphony Orchestra, University Singers, New Music Ensemble and Schola Cantorum. Bristol University Music Society organises multiple classical-related performance activities, both auditioned and non-auditioned, including a brass band, wind orchestras and several choirs, and Bristol University Symphonia runs two orchestras. Through the Music Society, Music department activities, and through more informal channels, student composers have many opportunities to get their music performed.
Our Music students are often involved in theatre, either as singers or instrumentalists, including with the Operatic society, Music Theatre Bristol and the Pantomime Society. The A Capella Society has numerous choirs.
The Bristol Big Band Society runs both an unauditioned jazz orchestra and the Hornstars, and the Jazz Funk Soul Society runs a fortnightly jam session at renowned Bristol venue, Mr Wolfs.
Many of our students are in bands of various kinds, from covers bands to those creating original material (and such bands quite often feature in final year Studio recording projects).
Music volunteering
Many of our students volunteer with our flagship Thinking Music project, offering students professional training in primary school music engagement, together with accredited school placements in the local area.
Opportunities in the city of Bristol
Bristol is home to some of the best concert venues in the UK, including Bristol Beacon, St George's Bristol, and the Bristol Hippodrome, which each offer discounted tickets to students. Our students sometimes have the opportunity to play in these spaces, or take up internships, placements and work experience posts.
Local churches and the cathedrals offer organ and choral scholarships, which our students are encouraged to audition for at the start of the academic year.
Many professional musicians live in and around the city and there is an abundance of choirs and orchestras, together with regular visits by top national and international orchestras and opera companies, including the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra and Welsh National Opera, which brings most of its new productions here.
Students also take advantage of Bristol's legendary live music scene, from soul to hip hop, from folk to blues.
Find out more about
Studying Music at Bristol gave me the freedom to pursue all of my musical interests and think creatively about what a career in music looks like. Being able to give equal weight to my interest in performance and musicology was hugely valuable and prepared me well for Master’s study at a conservatoire. My time at Bristol gave me access to high-level tuition and thinking, a greater understanding of the music industry, and confidence in pursuing my current portfolio career in performance and community music facilitation, project management, and research.