Ensemble Performance A (10 credits)

MUSC20610 Ensemble Performance A (10 credits) 10 Full year Undergraduate Level 2 Barry Cooper Unit coordinator Richard Whalley Unit coordinator Music 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Middle part of Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 5.0 This course provides specific opportunities for ensemble playing in particular idioms under the guidance of particular tutors. Although the focus is on playing together, students will also gain a practical and theoretical background to support their playing. Students taking MUSC20610 take one of the following options:  <ul><li>Medieval Song (max. 20 students)</li><li>Contemporary / Experimental Music Ensemble (max. 20 students)</li></ul>Medieval SongThis option is mainly for singers, including those for whom voice is not their first study, but is also open to instrumentalists. You will be introduced to the repertoire in a weekly series of workshops exploring and trying out some of the oldest music in Europe, from chant to the 14th century. You will then form ensembles of no fewer than two singers and no more than seven, and each ensemble will prepare and rehearse a 20-minute recital, along with detailed programme notes on performance issues. Accompanying instruments may be used where appropriate. Your studies will culminate in an assessed performance. Contemporary and Experimental Music EnsembleThis option provides a series of workshops and coachings on performing contemporary and experimental music. Students will be allocated into smaller groups within the cohort, and will learn, rehearse and perform repertoire which may include works from the repertoire, graphic/text scores or experimental works involving improvisation, and student compositions for specific groupings. Your studies will culminate in an assessed performance.  This course provides specific opportunities for ensemble playing in particular idioms under the guidance of particular tutors. Although the focus is on playing together, students will also gain a practical and theoretical background to support their playing. Students taking MUSC20610 take one of the following options:  <ul><li>Medieval Song (max. 20 students)</li><li>Contemporary / Experimental Music Ensemble (max. 20 students)</li></ul>Medieval SongThis option is mainly for singers, including those for whom voice is not their first study, but is also open to instrumentalists. You will be introduced to the repertoire in a weekly series of workshops exploring and trying out some of the oldest music in Europe, from chant to the 14th century. You will then form ensembles of no fewer than two singers and no more than seven, and each ensemble will prepare and rehearse a 20-minute recital, along with detailed programme notes on performance issues. Accompanying instruments may be used where appropriate. Your studies will culminate in an assessed performance. Contemporary and Experimental Music EnsembleThis option provides a series of workshops and coachings on performing contemporary and experimental music. Students will be allocated into smaller groups within the cohort, and will learn, rehearse and perform repertoire which may include works from the repertoire, graphic/text scores or experimental works involving improvisation, and student compositions for specific groupings. Your studies will culminate in an assessed performance.  <ul> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">To expand upon skills already established in MUSC 10600 by confronting performance contexts involving collaboration with other musicians.</li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">To facilitate the development of students’ creative imagination and skills of critical self-awareness when working in a collaborative performance context.</li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">To learn about music from other cultures through performance.</li></ul> By the end of this course students should be able to:<ul> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">Demonstrate increased understanding of how music works and the contexts in which it is performed.</li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">Agree on an interpretation or arrangement with other performers, and apply an informed understanding of musical style and structure in order to realise that interpretation.</li></ul> By the end of this course students should be able to:<ul> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">Show an enhanced ability to understand and apply analytical skills to music, and convey that understanding to other musicians.</li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">Engage with other musicians in meaningful dialogue about music and its interpretation.</li></ul>  By the end of this course students should be able to:<ul> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">Demonstrate enhanced performance abilities in the skill areas cultivated by the chosen sub-unit. · </li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">Respond to and collaborate with other musicians whilst performing.</li></ul>  By the end of this course students should be able to:<ul> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">Demonstrate enhanced skills in problem-solving, interpersonal communication, rehearsal techniques and the practical application of analytical and interpretative insights.</li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">Demonstrate the confidence and interpersonal skills to work effectively in groups, showing skills relating to teamwork, negotiation, decision-making and leadership.</li></ul>  Analytical skills Surveying repertoire, analysing and showing understanding of the repertoire you are performing; Innovation/creativity Initiative in inventing a creative concept and putting it into motion, coming up with your own ideas, and not relying on your teacher to do the thinking for you; Leadership Being responsible for overseeing a creative product from inception through to final performance; Project management Developing time-management skills, developing effective and efficient practising habits, setting and achieving goals, collaborating effectively with other musicians as appropriate Other Self-awareness: knowing your strengths and skills and having the confidence to put these across through performance; Willingness to learn: being inquisitive about such issues as repertoire and performance practice, being enthusiastic and open to new ideas, making decisions, assessing progress and making changes if necessary. Medieval Song This option is mainly for singers, including those for whom voice is not their first study, but is also open to instrumentalists. You will be introduced to the repertoire in a weekly series of workshops exploring and trying out some of the oldest music in Europe, from chant to the 14th century. You will then form ensembles of no fewer than two singers and no more than seven, and each ensemble will prepare and rehearse a 20-minute recital, along with detailed programme notes on performance issues. Accompanying instruments may be used where appropriate. Your studies will culminate in an assessed performance. For 2023/24 this option will be taught by Barry Cooper and Katherine Rudge.On completion of the Medieval Song option, student should be able to:<ul> <li>Demonstrate a practical understanding of the structural forms and stylistic conventions used in Medieval vocal music.</li> <li>Communicate a theoretical and historical knowledge of the repertoire through programme notes on performance issues.</li> <li>Demonstrate the ability to work both individually and collaboratively in teams.</li> <li>Apply knowledge of the stylistic conventions of this period to performance.</li></ul>Contemporary and Experimental Music Ensemble This option provides a series of workshops and coachings on performing contemporary and experimental music. Students will be allocated into smaller groups within the cohort, and will learn, rehearse and perform repertoire which may include works from the repertoire, graphic/text scores or experimental works involving improvisation, and student compositions for specific groupings. Your studies will culminate in an assessed performance. For 2023/24 this option will be taught by Richard Whalley and Gavin Osborn. On completion of the Contemporary / Experimental Music option, students should be able to:<ul> <li>Demonstrate a practical understanding and openness in approach to performance, in search of solutions to diverse musical challenges</li> <li>Demonstrate an ability to collaborate, listen and respond effectively to other ensemble members through rehearsal and performance.</li> <li>Demonstrate an ability communicate effectively through instrumental or vocal ensemble performance.</li></ul> 0 Other 100% <table class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse:collapse; border:none"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:200px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black" valign="top">Assessment Task</td> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:200px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none" valign="top">Formative or Summative</td> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:200px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none" valign="top">Weighting</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:200px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black" valign="top">Group Performance</td> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:200px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none" valign="top">Summative</td> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:200px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none" valign="top">100%</td> </tr> </tbody></table>  Workshops/coaching sessions; group discussion; individual discussion with tutor; reflection on informal performances; written feedback on final assessed performance. N Each of the components in the course unit has its own reading and listening lists. The following titles provide overall support:Davies, Stephen, Musical Works and Performances: a Philosophical Exploration (Oxford, 2001). Dunsby, Jonathan, Performing Music: Shared Concerns (Oxford, 1995). Godlovitch, Stanley, Musical Performance: A Philosophical Study (London and New York, 2003). Rink, John (ed.), Musical Performance: A Guide to Understanding (Cambridge, 2002). Rink, John (ed.), The Practice of Performance: Studies in Musical Interpretation (Cambridge, 2005).  More specific reading lists will be circulated within each option. Practical classes & workshops 11 0 89 Each option has its own schedule of workshops/coaching sessions and group rehearsals: see course outline for details.