Global Musics is a conservatoire programme rooted in living musical traditions. Here, you develop your craft within specific musical practices, whether in the maqam and Silk Road traditions, or in the rhythmic and melodic languages of the Caribbean and South America. You work deeply within a tradition, learning not only its techniques and repertoire, but also the histories, aesthetics and questions that continue to shape it today.

This is not a programme about sampling music from around the world. It is about commitment, depth and artistic growth within a practice, while building the skills to work meaningfully as a musician in today’s world.

 Global Musics is a conservatoire programme rooted in living musical traditions. Here, you develop your craft within specific musical practices, whether in the makam and Silk Road traditions, or in the rhythmic and melodic languages of the Caribbean and South America. You work deeply within a tradition, learning not only its techniques and repertoire, but also the histories, aesthetics and questions that continue to shape it today.

This is not a programme about sampling music from around the world. It is about commitment, depth and artistic growth within a practice, while building the skills to work meaningfully as a musician in today’s world.

You will develop technical and artistic depth in the musical tradition or practice that brought you here. Through one-to-one lessons, ensemble work, repertoire study, performance projects and artistic collaborations, you will strengthen your craft as a performer.

You will work closely with musicians and practitioners who are active within these traditions, not only as teachers but as collaborators in the artistic process. You will engage with questions of musical continuity, cultural context and artistic responsibility, not as abstract ideas but as realities that shape the music you make.

Alongside your artistic development, you will create and perform your own work, reflect critically on your practice, and build the professional skills needed to sustain an independent artistic life after graduation.

Rotterdam is a city shaped by movement, migration and exchange. Its music communities reflect this history in living and tangible ways.

Studying here means engaging directly with that reality, through connections with artists, communities and cultural organisations where the music you study is part of everyday life. These are not outreach projects. They are part of your education.

Global Musics is for musicians who want to go deeper into a specific tradition or practice, and who are ready to combine technical growth with artistic curiosity and critical reflection.

You do not need to arrive with all the answers. What matters is a commitment to learning, a willingness to ask meaningful questions, and a desire to grow as an artist within a practice that is always in motion.

You graduate as a musician with a practice that is technically grounded, culturally informed and artistically your own.

You may work as a performer, collaborator, maker, educator or researcher, within the specific musical worlds you have trained in and across the broader artistic contexts where that work matters.