Welcome to the Music Department

 

Open minded? Interested in all types of music?

Our music courses offer a distinctive blend of practical and academic studies. If you are interested in exploring a wide range of styles, genres and repertoires, you will find exciting musical opportunities at Liverpool Hope.

 

The Music Department is housed in Hope’s brand new city-centre performance centre, the Capstone building, which forms part of the University's Creative Campus and opens out onto landscaped gardens. In addition to a 300-seater concert hall equipped with a Steinway model-D concert grand, the Capstone contains a dozen sound-proofed practice rooms, three electronic studios and other specialised teaching spaces. As a purpose-built music venue it hosts an array of musical events throughout the year, including regular lunchtime and evening performances, the prestigious annual Cornerstone Festival, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic's award-winning concert series for new music, Ensemble 10/10.   

 

Music students at Hope are taught by staff recognised internationally for their research and expertise in composition, music technology, performance and musicology. Students also benefit from Hope's longstanding partnerships with arts organisations that share its commitment to education. The University is the Higher Education partner of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and members of the orchestra teach, perform and advise students at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Our partners also include the Asian arts trust Milapfest, and the European Opera Centre, which provides training and performance opportunities for early-career singers. In 2010 Hope also became one of the first UK universities to achieve the status of All-Steinway School.  

The Department is committed to providing a breadth of musical experience. Studies in musicology courses span four centuries, covering music from Monteverdi to Madonna; all composition students have their work played by members of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; performance students give recitals, take part in Open Mic nights, and get the opportunity to play in city-centre venues; and music by acousmatic student composers is featured in the Cornerstone Festival. Students are also able to work alongside RLPO staff on community-music schemes, notably the In Harmony project at the Faith School in West Everton; the West Everton Children's Orchestra visits regularly to perform in the Music Department's new concert hall, Hope Theatre (see below).

Career Opportunities

At our Music Department you will develop a broad range of knowledge and skills. Our graduates follow a range of careers both inside and outside the world of music. The city-centre Creative Campus houses all the creative and performing arts subjects offered by the University, generating many opportunities for performance and collaboration with students in drama, dance, art and design. Both student and professional work is showcased annually at the Cornerstone Festival, a major event in the city calendar which is directed by Head of Music, Professor Stephen Pratt. Liverpool Hope’s Professor of Musical Performance, pianist Joanna MacGregor, gives regular masterclasses and performances during the year. In addition there are frequent lectures, seminars and conferences featuring a wide variety of speakers and areas of research in the arts and humanities.