the programme

the academy I the teaching I the teachers I the stage I international I further study I preparatory course I Rotterdam I to conclude

Do you dream of a career as a professional musician in a big symphony orchestra or as a conductor of a brass band? Do you want to give top performances on the (inter)national concert stage? Do you want to make a career out of your approach to classical music? Then opt for the multifaceted bachelors’ course at the Rotterdam Classical Music Academy.

The academy
In the course the total classical repertoire can be studied and a great deal of attention is paid to contemporary music. In the academy you are challenged to go to the limits of your own artistic ability and you are given the space to broaden your horizon. In this way, for your study you can draw on a world of music styles at the conservatoire such as jazz, world and pop music.
The artistic profile of the Rotterdam Classical Music Academy is characterised by the pillars of 'professionality, adventure and diversity'. Teachers place the focus on artistic and technical training. Students meet strongly motivated and dedicated teachers who enjoy name and fame in their professional field.
The music at Rotterdam Classical Music Academy has main subjects in five areas: instrumental, vocal, conducting, composition and music theory. The lessons in the main subject form the core of your study. For about 60% of the time, you work on performance presentation, technique and the repertoire of your main subject. Theoretical subjects and lectures on profession and policy prepare you for a career as a musician. After you have successfully completed your course, you will receive the title Bachelor of Music.
Rotterdam Conservatoire was founded in 1930 and is one of the large conservatories in the Netherlands. About 1,000 students are studying at the conservatoire.

The teaching
Students follow the bachelors’ course in Music. Competency-oriented professional music training is emphatically aligned with the future working practice of today’s student. Of the general HBO (higher professional education) competencies, nine of them are particularly applicable to professional music training. These competencies involve: vision and creativity, communication, ability to work together, technical ability, analytical potential, focus on your surroundings, enterprise, innovation, and acting methodically and reflectively. The course packets of the Bachelor of Music and the Bachelor of Music in Education are assembled on the basis of these competencies.
In our teaching, the focus is always on the student. We try to assemble a made-to-measure course for and with you. Gaining technical skills will always play a prominent role. After all, broadening your musical horizon should not occur at the cost of a proper basic training. In addition, we make sure that you can obtain maximum profit from the broad knowledge which is present in the conservatoire.

In the propaedeutic phase in the first year, the foundation is laid for your study. You will get an overview of your study and can already explore the professional possibilities. At the end of the first year it must be apparent that your level and motivation are sufficient to successfully complete the rest of the course (the post-propaedeutic phase). The second to fourth years are devoted to more in-depth studies and broadening your main subject. Towards the end of the course you write a thesis about a musical topic which is related to your main subject and/or you provide a presentation.

If your main subject is an orchestral instrument, your course will be partly directed towards playing in orchestras and ensembles. Each student plays in various orchestra and ensemble projects. Thus you might be playing with the Rotterdam Symphonic Jazz Orchestra, Codarts Symphonic Orchestra, Codarts String Orchestra and the Codarts Brass Group.

The main subject is the component with the greatest study load and the most study credits. In addition to the weekly lessons and the masterclasses, the student is expected to spend a great deal of time on self-study. The music-theoretical and ensemble lessons are inextricably linked with the main subject lessons. Rotterdam Conservatoire also attaches a great deal of importance to educational theory subjects, the internship and the thesis. The side-subject piano (except for main subjects harp and piano) is also a core subject, because it fulfills an indispensable function with regard to the study in music-theoretical subjects.

Instrumental and Vocal
With a main subject in the instrumental and vocal area of study, you are trained to be a performing musician. In the weekly lessons, you work with your main teacher on performance presentation, technique and repertoire. The regular lessons are supplemented with masterclasses in which renowned musicians from at home and abroad offer you the possibility to add depth to your knowledge and skills. Every study year there is a broad range of orchestra and ensemble projects available, varying from percussion ensemble to chamber orchestra, led by well-known musicians such as Arie van Beek en Henk Guittart. The orchestra and ensemble projects offer you the chance to build up experience on stage. The ensembles have gained a regular place at diverse venues. Are you interested in chamber music? Within the course there are also plenty of opportunities on hand for this.

At the Rotterdam Conservatoire classical music academy you can choose from the following main subjects: viola, bass clarinet, bass trombone, cello, double bass, bassoon, flute, harp, oboe, horn, clarinet, organ, piano, percussion, trombone, trumpet, tuba, violin and voice.

Conducting
With conducting you will be trained as a conductor of ensemble, choirs and/or orchestras (and fanfare). The main subject lessons, in addition to conducting ensembles/orchestras/choirs, also consist of practicals and listening analysis. In the practicals you work with orchestras, ensembles and/or choirs. If you opt for the choir-conducting course, in the third and fourth years you can broaden your study programme with the specialisation in church music, where you follow extra subjects such as hymnology, liturgy, history and cantorate.

Composition
If you would rather compose and develop your own (music) style, you can opt for the main subject composition. You do a lot of your work independently and you are intensively guided by main subject teachers. The main subject lessons comprise lessons in instrumentation, composition, electronic composition and practicals. This graduation path offers you the possibility for a broad orientation, in the fields of both acoustic and electronic composition. With this main subject the main thing is for the student to strive for the achievement of a personal identity as a composer.

Music theory
For music theory as a main subject, the most important component is learning to analyse compositions. You work a lot independently, under the guidance of the teachers. You receive lessons in the different aspects of music theory (such as analysis, harmony, counterpoint) and ear training. After completing your study you can set to work as a music theory teacher in music education. A career as a journalist and/or music critic also belongs to the possibilities.

The teachers
At Rotterdam Conservatoire, students meet strongly motivated and dedicated teachers who enjoy name and fame in their professional field. All of them are teachers who have earned their spurs in practice. The majority of our teachers also have their own professional practice alongside their work as teachers. This means that you receive lessons from teachers who have a thorough knowledge of the field. The masters of the Rotterdam Classical Music Academy are: Aquiles Delle Vigne (piano), Gordan Nikoliç (violin), Roberta Alexander (voice), Duncan McTier (double bass), and Igor Grupmann (violin).

The regular lessons are supplemented with masterclasses which are given by renowned musicians from at home and abroad. The masterclasses give you the possibility to add depth to your knowledge and skills. In the past, Rotterdam Conservatoire has been host to the following masters, among others: Hans Peter Blochwitz (voice), Michel Becquet (trombone), Rivka Golani (viola), Germaine Lorenzini (harp), Pavel Vernikov (violin), David Geringas (cello) and the Brodsky quartet, Alfredo Bernardini (oboe), Alexei Ogrintchouk (oboe) and José-Luis Estellés (clarinet).

Rotterdam Conservatoire wants to be a platform and workshop for young musicians and composers. To achieve this, in addition to presentation of one’s own work by students and teachers of the department, lectures and workshops are held.

The stage
You learn about the professional practice of a musician by building up stage experience. This is why Rotterdam Conservatoire has many projects and activities to help you build up this experience. Our alumni still often reminisce about projects which they carried out during their study.

Rotterdam Conservatoire has an intensive collaboration with Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and with the Doelen concert hall. Exchanges regularly take place and joint performances are organised. Concerts also take place at other venues in and outside Rotterdam on a regular basis. In collaboration with other academies of the conservatoire, concerts are organised of one’s own work and students are invited to take part in national projects for young composers, such as those organised by the New Ensemble, the ASKO Ensemble and Holland Symphonia. Exchange with the other faculties of Codarts is also stimulated. Students regularly create their own work in which they and fellow-students put on a performance with various disciplines such as dance and circus arts. 

International
With 50% of the students from abroad and with 65 different nationalities, Rotterdam Conservatoire is an international university for the arts. This international character fits in with the working territory of the classical musician, which is not bound by national borders. Rotterdam Conservatoire collaborates with leading foreign institutions such as Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Lyon, Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Rhythmic Conservatory of Music in Kopenhagen, Centro Flamenco Paco Peña in Córdoba, University of New Orleans and National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai. Exchange projects offer you the possibility to follow a part of your study abroad.

Every year the course produces about 120 young, enthusiastic professionals, who are excellently equipped for a further career in their professional field. Graduates from Rotterdam Conservatoire swarm out over the whole world, where they find their way in orchestras, ensembles and bands, as self-employed musicians (entrepreneurs), composers and teachers. Other graduates become conductors, arrangers, music producers, music critics or stars of musicals.

Further study
After the bachelors’ course, you can continue your study at Rotterdam Conservatoire in one of the masters’ courses. With this masters’ course you can develop further and specialise. This short course is specially intended for professional follow-up development. Through this course you earn the title of Master of Music (MMus).

If you want to become a music teacher, you can follow the bachelors’ course Music in Education. In this course, in addition to the basics of the music field, you learn how to teach different styles to different target groups and with different techniques, in the school system and the working field outside of schools. This department also has a masters’ course, the Master of Education in Arts (MEA).

Preparatory course
If you want to go on to do something professionally with music or dance, you have to start at a very young age. In Rotterdam there are numerous pathways you can take as a young musician to prepare for a bachelors’ course in music. In addition to a broad number of good music schools, Rotterdam Conservatoire (RC) offers preparatory courses which gives young talents the possibility of developing professionally at an early stage: the Juniors’ Class and the Havo (Secondary school) for Music and Dance.

For a preparatory course, an audition is a music lesson in which one’s aptitude and skills in music are considered. You are evaluated on musicality, feeling for rhythm, presentation, absorption potential and motivation. We will take your age into account. The point of departure for the assessment is that the duration of the preparatory course must be enough to develop sufficient talent to pass through to the Havo for Music and Dance and/or Rotterdam Conservatoire.
The Havo for Music and Dance offers higher general secondary education in combination with a preparatory professional study in music or dance. In addition to the regular havo subjects, RC teachers give you lessons in different music disciplines, for five years.

The juniors’ class is outside of the Havo for Music and Dance. You get one music lesson and one theory lesson per week. The juniors’ class lasts for a maximum of 4 years (havo class 103, vwo class 1-4, parallel to your middle-years’ secondary school course). RC also collaborates with the Hellendaal violin institute. This is a specialised course for string players.

Studying in Rotterdam
Rotterdam is dynamic, Rotterdam is international, Rotterdam is a city on the water, Rotterdam has a decisive mentality, Rotterdam has guts! Rotterdam is a city with a youthful population. At least 35% of the population is younger than 23 years. Each year, 50,000 students do a higher (professional) education study. Rotterdam is an international city: the trade and world harbour city has had an international orientation from time immemorial.

Rotterdammers have a decisive mentality; they are sober, direct and straightforward. The “Maas city” has a lot to offer, such as a rich cultural scene with many theatres, cinemas, concert venues, orchestras, dance companies, museums and galeries. The city has a large range of “applied art”: architecture, film photography, design. A strong trump card is the number of festivals, including the Rotterdam Film Festival, the Gergiev Festival and the Poetry International Festival. Since 2006, Rotterdam has been home to the North Sea Jazz Festival!

Rotterdam Conservatoire plays an important role in the cultural scene. There is close collaboration with Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, De Doelen concert and conference centre, the Doelen café, Jazz International Rotterdam, Lantaren/Venster theatre, Cuartito Azul tango school and Stichting Kunstzinnige Vorming Rotterdam (SKVR) (Rotterdam Foundation for Artistic Training).

This cultural diversity so characteristic of the city is also reflected in the range of courses at the conservatoire. This is what makes the conservatoire so 'Rotterdams'.

To conclude
- After completion of the programme the student receives the title Bachelor of Music (BMus)

- Click here for the Teaching and Examination Regulations 
- The language of instruction is Dutch, and English for foreign students
- Codarts maintains the international code of conduct with respect to higher education

- Students follow the course Music 34739

- The programme was accredited on 31-12-2004 (www.nvao.net)