Music with Theatre and Performance BA (Hons) Undergraduate - September 2023/24* Entry

The course is a perfect blend of music and theatre with a strong emphasis on performance. It is designed to train musicians and performers in a mixture of academic, creative and practical skills, to instil broad and specialist knowledge and understanding of musical and theatrical repertories, and to develop students as independent critical thinkers. In theatre you will develop your own creative work, experiment with devising performance work from scratch and explore and develop playwriting and directing skills. You will also be encouraged to venture beyond the artistic and understand how producers, marketing managers and artistic directors work within the industry and explore community theatre and practice on a local and international level.

At Bangor you will be part of a thriving music and performance community, performing and attending music and theatrical performances at Powis Hall, John Phillips Theatre and the magnificent Prichard-Jones Hall. You will enjoy unrivalled facilities in our arts and innovation centre, Pontio, which includes a Studio Theatre for performance with technical support from industry professionals. Pontio also features the 450-seat Theatre Bryn Terfel which regularly attracts world-class theatre productions and musical events. You will also benefit from Bangor’s close links with local and national theatre companies, and music and theatre practitioners who regularly visit and offer workshops and masterclasses.

Why choose Bangor University for this course?

• Music and theatre making community: choirs, orchestras, bands, student ensembles, drama and musical theatre societies, opportunities to perform and collaborate with local and national practitioners.
• Two Music buildings, two professional concert halls, soundproofed practice suite, four state-of the-art electroacoustic studios, two professional theatre studios and large proscenium arch stage.
• Strong links with professional companies and practitioners on a local, national and international level.

Additional Course Options

Watch - Drama, Theatre and Performance

Your Music with Theatre and Performance degree programme at Bangor is flexible: you will shape your degree course to reflect your interests and strengths. In Music you will begin your studies in a genuinely all-embracing way, engaging with musical theory and practice from modal polyphony to electroacoustic composition, via every genre in between. You will use this broad framework as a launch pad for developing your own expertise in one of several fields of musicology, performance or composition, including 20th-century music, classical performance, editing, music in health and well-being, and all styles of composition. In Theatre and Performance, you will learn through practical exploration and critical analysis, with the opportunity to bring ideas and performances to life and explore the relevance of theatre and performance in today’s society. There will be opportunities to collaborate and work individually on a range of different techniques and genres. A broad spectrum of performance is explored and innovation within performance allowing you to question how we can continue to reinvent performance into the future.

Teaching is primarily carried out in small groups, providing a stimulating and supportive learning environment. You will have around 12 hours of lectures, seminars and tutorials each week. Solo Performance is taught through an innovative combination of individual tuition, workshops and masterclasses. In addition, you will spend time on background reading, listening to music, completing essays and coursework and preparing for seminars as well as rehearsing and performing in ensembles, choirs and orchestras. Several modules may include field trips, for example to concerts, archives, recording studios and composition workshops. We have excellent links with leading organisations in the UK, including the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (with whom we have an annual composition workshop), the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Sain (Records) etc. Others involve short placements outside the University (for example, the Community Arts Placement module). You will also spend either one-third or two-thirds of your final year working on independent, supervised music projects. With theatre there are weekly practical workshops to practically explore and put into practice what is discussed in the more structured seminars. Guest practitioners and artists often host workshops. You are encouraged to read a variety of theatrical texts and watch a range of live and recorded performances. In your final year there is an opportunity to work independently on a creative dissertation as well as creating and partaking in a performance at Pontio Arts Centre.

Modules for the current academic year

Module listings are for guide purposes only and are subject to change. Find out what our students are currently studying on the Music with Theatre and Performance BA (Hons) Modules page.

Course content is for guidance purposes only and may be subject to change.

General University Costs

Home (UK) students

• The cost of a full-time undergraduate course is £9,000 per year (2021/22 entry and 2022/23 entry).
• The fee for all placement, international, and sandwich years is £1,350 (2021/22 and 2022/23).
• More information on fees and finance for Home (UK) students.

International (including EU) students

• International Student Tuition Fees
• International Student Living Costs and Scholarships

Additional Costs
There are also some common additional costs that are likely to arise for students on all courses, for example:

• If you choose to study abroad or take the International Experience Year as part of your course.
• If you attend your Graduation Ceremony, there will be a cost for gown hire (£25-£75) and cost for additional guest tickets (c.£12 each).

Course-specific additional costs
Depending on the course you are studying, there may be additional course-specific costs that you will be required to meet. These fall into three categories:

1. Mandatory Costs: these are related to a particular core or compulsory module that you’ll be required to complete to achieve your qualification e.g. compulsory field trips, uniforms for students on placement, DBS Check.
2. Necessarily Incurred Costs: these may not be experienced by all students, and will vary depending on the course e.g. professional body membership, travel to placements, specialist software, personal safety equipment.
3. Optional Costs: these depend on your choice of modules or activity and they are shown to give you an indication of the optional costs that may arise to make sure your choice is as informed as possible. These can include graduation events for your course, optional field trips, Welcome Week trips.

General University Requirements

To study for a degree, you’ll be asked for a minimum of UCAS Tariff points. For a fuller explanation of the UCAS Tariff Points, please see www.ucas.com.

We accept students with a wide range of qualifications and backgrounds and consider each application individually.

All students need to have good basic skills and the University also values IT and communication skills.

As part of the University’s policy, we consider applications from prospective disabled students on the same grounds as all other students.

We also consider applications from mature students who can demonstrate the motivation and commitment to study a university programme. Each year we enrol a significant number of mature students. For more information about studying as a mature student, see our Studying at Bangor section of the website.   

EU and International Students' Entry Requirements

For detailed guidance on the entry requirements for EU and International Students, including the minimum English Language entry requirement, please visit the Entry Requirements by Country pages. International applicants can also visit the International Education Centre section of our website for further details.

Bangor University offers International Incorporated Bachelor Degrees for International students whose High School qualification is not equivalent to the UK school leaving qualification. The first year (or Year 0) is studied at Bangor University International College, an embedded College on our University campus and delivered by Oxford International Education Group.

Employment prospects are excellent, with a wide range of career options available. Our graduates have gone on to work in a range of roles, including: music and drama performance; work in the theatre (both on and behind the stage); work in media and recording companies; creative writing; professional writing and publishing; composition; acting and presenting. Many graduates choose to become music or drama teachers at all educational levels, others take up administrative posts with orchestras, theatre companies, opera houses or arts centres.

Opportunities at Bangor

The University’s Skills and Employability Service provides a wide range of resources to help you achieve your graduate ambitions. 

The Bangor Employability Award (BEA) 

The BEA is a comprehensive online course that you can work through at your own pace, taking you through all the steps you need to take to explore, prepare and apply for your dream career.

Internships

Bangor University runs a paid internship scheme within the university’s academic and service departments. 

Student Volunteering

Volunteering widens your experience and improves your employability. Find out more about volunteering on the Students’ Union’s website. 

A 'with Foundation Year' option is available for this course. Apply for Music (with Foundation Year).