Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Classical Musician - Performer, chamber- and orchestra Musician

Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Classical Musician - Performer, chamber- and orchestra Musician is one of 3 English-taught Music programmes at Top-up & Postgraduate Diploma level in the register, offered by 2 institutions. 2 of them list an annual fee for students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland; this programme lists EUR 6,289 a year.

The Danish National Academy of Music (SDMK) in Odense runs this classical programme with a main focus on performing arts practice. The aim is to give you the instrumental or vocal competences that will form the base of your working life as a musician. The academy describes the teaching as building your artistic personality, with qualified teaching in areas such as scenic awareness, chamber music or ensemble singing, cross-disciplinary collaboration and basic repertoire knowledge.

What you study

The content depends on whether you play an orchestra instrument, sing or play piano.

• Orchestra instrumentalists can take part in activities at the future Carl Nielsen Orchestra Academy, run with Odense Symphony Orchestra. You also get competition training in front of a professional jury and concerts with the academy's own chamber orchestra.
• Singers follow an education that emphasises basic musical dramatic skills, in close collaboration with teachers and instructors at the Danish National School of Performing Arts. Masterclasses and concerts give you a chance to test audition techniques, and you can get choir experience at concerts with Odense Symphony Orchestra.
• Pianists can join chamber music projects with fellow students, presented at the SDMK annual chamber music festival in November.

Across the programme you also receive teaching in practical and theoretical pedagogy, both in traditional class teaching and in masterclasses. SDMK expects classical students to be aware of their role as communicators of music, to their audience and to the children and youth who represent the future in music.

How the programme is organised

Teaching is undertaken by SDMK's permanent teaching staff and supplemented with masterclasses with national and international soloists and ensembles. The academy lists teachers including Niels Ullner (cello and chamber music), Rolf Persson (trumpet), Henriette Bonde-Hansen (voice), Søren Monrad (percussion), Maria Badstue (ensemble conducting), Arne Balk-Møller (violin and chamber orchestra), Christina Bjørkøe (piano) and Ida Franck Holm (instrumental pedagogy and practice).

The source page describes three levels at Odense: bachelor (3 years), master (2 years) and soloist (2 years), all starting in August. The advanced postgraduate diploma programme, which is the 2 year top-up level described here, focuses on interpretation and musical contemplation with a view to developing soloist competences and stage skills at the highest international artistic level. Alongside instrumental or vocal teaching and participation in international masterclasses and possible international competitions, it seeks to develop your chamber music skills. The programme requires a master's degree.

Who it suits

This is for a musician who already holds a master's degree and wants to push further into interpretation, soloist work and stage presence. You should be comfortable in chamber settings and keen to perform, whether with the academy's chamber orchestra, in the November chamber music festival or in front of a jury. Singers should be open to dramatic work with the Danish National School of Performing Arts. Everyone on the programme should want to communicate music to an audience, including children and young people.

Admission, language and next steps

The programme is taught in English. Entry requires a master's degree. The source page points applicants to the academy's admission requirements, how to apply and language requirements pages, and to the curriculum documents (general curriculum vol. I and curriculum vol. II). The page does not state a separate application deadline for this diploma level, so check the how to apply page before you plan. Students from the EU/EEA and Switzerland study free of charge; other students pay a fee that the institution sets.

For top-up and postgraduate diploma programmes the application route differs between institutions, so follow the steps on the programme page. Entry requirements and language tests are set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, residence permits and housing.