Graduate School Vocal and Opera Studies

Graduate School
Vocal and Opera Studies
Royal College of Music

Graduate School
Integrated Masters Programme
Incorporating PGDip in Vocal Performance and Advanced Vocal Performance
and MMus in Advanced Vocal Performance
Academic Year 2007-2008
Course Handbook
If you would like any material

from this Handbook in larger print,
please contact the Registry
Programmes Team
E-mail:
registryprogrammes@rcm.ac.uk
Contents
1. Introduction
Describes how the Integrated Masters Programme fits into the RCMs Graduate School, names courses and their
constituent pathways and provides instruction in the use of the Handbook
......................................................................................................................................................................................................................Page 4
2. Programme Aims and Learning Outcomes
These describe the skills you will expect to have developed, knowledge accrued and understanding gained upon
completion of the Programme
......................................................................................................................................................................................................................Page 6
3. Programme and Course Structure
Shows available courses and the units that constitute each of them
......................................................................................................................................................................................................................Page 7
4. Postgraduate Induction and Starting the Programme
Describes how you enter your chosen course
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................Page 12
5. Progression
Staying on for a second year, deferred assessments and reassessments
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................Page 12
6. Assessment
Describes how practical and written examinations are conducted with the RCM and how these results are ratified
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................Page 13
7. Unit Descriptions
This is a short introduction to the principles behind the Masters Programme unit structure
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................Page 14
8. Masters Programme Unit Descriptions Contents and Page Numbers
These describe the unit content, teaching contact time, modes of assessment, aims and learning outcomes
for each unit in the Programme
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................Page 15
9. Programme Management Arrangements
This is a brief description of the individuals and committees that are responsible for managing the programme
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................Page 41
Appendices
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................Page 42
1. Programme Specification for the Integrated Masters Programme
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................Page 42
2. Regulations and Overall Credit Framework for Taught Postgraduate Programmes
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................Page 48
3. Procedures for the Submission and Marking of Postgraduate Written Work at the Royal
College of Music 2007-2008: A Guide for Professors and Student
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................Page 61
4. The RCM Guide to the Presentation of Written Work
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................Page 72
5. General Regulations for Students and Important Sources of Information
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................Page 77
6. Integrated Masters Programme Team Biographies
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................Page 88
3

Graduate School
Incorporating PGDip in Vocal Performance and Advanced Vocal Performance
and MMus in Advanced Vocal Performance
Academic Year 2007-2008
Introduction
Welcome to the Royal College of Music Graduate School.
1.1
The Graduate School contains nine programmes:
Integrated Masters Programme in Performance for instrumentalists and

conductors (incorporating PGDip and MMus qualifications);
Integrated Masters Programme in Composition including pathways in
Composition and Composition for Screen (incorporating PGDip and MMus
qualifications);
Integrated Masters Programme in Vocal Performance, (incorporating PGDip
and MMus qualifications);
Graduate Diploma in Singing;
PGDip Programme in Creative Leadership
Artist Diploma in Performance;
Artist Diploma in Opera
Doctor of Music Programme;
Royal College of Music/Royal Holloway University of London Joint MMus in
Performance Studies
1.2
The School has been conceived as the conceptual home for RCM postgraduates with the idea
that, within its framework, the many diverse activities undertaken by advanced students should
all provide paths for exploring new ideas in performance, composition and practice-based
research. We believe that this is most easily achieved in an environment that facilitates the
exchange of knowledge and skills, underpinned by programmes that give you flexibility and
inspire you to work to your full potential.
1.3
The Graduate School has as one of its central precepts the idea of the informed performer and
it aims to nurture not only students ability but also their musical intelligence. This Handbook is
specifically designed as your guide in that process for the Integrated Masters Programme in
Vocal Performance. Other programmes within the Graduate School have their own designated
handbooks. These may be obtained from the Registry or from the RCM Intranet information
resource.
1.4
The Masters Programme in Vocal Performance is designed to enable you to employ your time at
the RCM in ways that you feel most appropriate. The Masters Programme comprises the
Postgraduate Diplomas (PGDip) in Performance and Advanced Performance, the Master of
Music Degree in Advanced Performance (MMus) and the one year Intensive Master of Music
4
Degree in Advanced Performance (MMus).

Intensive MMus.
There are part-time patterns for all but the
1.5
All the courses of the Masters Programme in Vocal Performance are practical in their focus and
designed to help you reach the highest standards. They also aim to help you to become selfsufficient and self-critical and seek to equip you for the profession as it is now and to prepare
you for the changes that you will undoubtedly encounter in your career. If you choose a pattern
of study that leads to an MMus qualification, the practical focus of your study will be
complemented by relevant scholarly aspects.
1.6
Students normally enter Year One of the Masters Programme, but may enter at Year Two level if
equivalent Year One attainment can be demonstrated.
1.7
At the end of each year of study, you will receive a transcript showing the units you have
successfully completed. If you complete sufficient units successfully, your transcript will record
you as gaining the PGDip in Performance after the first year and the PGDip in Advanced
Performance or the MMus in Advanced Performance after the second. For the Postgraduate
Diploma, the actual award title, PGDip, is therefore the same in the second year, but the
transcript will show not only the greater number of units gained after two years but also the fact
that at least one of those taken in the second year is specifically designated as being at the
Advanced Performance level.
1.8
If you are undertaking MMus study, you will find three MMus Core units, (Performance Case
History Portfolio, Lecture Recital and Vocal Critical Project), two of which must be successfully
completed to gain the degree, and one of which, the Performance Case History Portfolio, is
mandatory for all Vocal MMus candidates. The Portfolio is normally taken in the second year of
study. If you are on the Intensive MMus, you must take the Performance Case History Portfolio,
and either the Lecture recital or the Vocal Critical Project during your one calendar year of
intensive MMus study.
1.9
At the back of the handbook are six appendices. The first of these is what is known as a
Programme Specification. It is a useful summary of the programme, written in a standard format
used by many UK universities, including conservatoires. You may find it a useful portrait of
your studies; when you have finished your studies, it will also enable you to show someone
unfamiliar with the programme what you had to do to get the award and what kinds of qualities
they should expect to find in you.
1.10
The second appendix contains the regulations by which the programme operates. You will
probably only refer to them for specific information for example, how your overall result is
calculated or what happens if you fail a unit. All the same, it is a good idea to look through them
at an early stage so that they are not completely unfamiliar when you may need them urgently.
1.11
In the sections of the main handbook that follow, you will find the aims and learning outcomes
of the programme stated, its structure set out and the arrangements for induction, progression
and assessment described. Then there are descriptions of each of the units from which the
programme is made up. The final section deals with the management of the programme.
1.12
Included in this last section are details of how feedback about the programme is obtained. Your
views as a student are very important in this and can help to influence how the programme
develops and improves. Therefore, please take the time to engage fully with the various
feedback processes which you will encounter during your studies; even if you may not benefit
directly, those that come after you will.
Programme Aims and Learning Outcomes
2.1
2.2
The Masters Programme has the following overall aims:
To provide advanced musical training at postgraduate level in which a fundamental emphasis

upon practical attainment is complemented by the encouragement of critical self-awareness, a
capacity for reflective insight and the ability to formulate discriminating musical judgements;
To offer to graduate musicians of proven ability, and with the potential for further development,
the opportunity to enhance their skills, broaden their knowledge of repertoire, hone their
interpretational and/or creative abilities and thereby to develop their musical talents, both in
terms of maturity and of individualisation;
To provide a training whose own internal standards and, where applicable, whose actual
characteristics mirror as closely as possible those demanded within the profession. In doing so
to seek the fullest involvement of musicians active within the profession, whether professors of
the College or visiting individuals and groups;
To acknowledge, and reflect wherever applicable, the leading trends in musical thinking within
the profession;
To produce musicians capable of contributing to the development of the profession and of

participating in its future shaping through their insights and understanding, as well as their
practical abilities.
The PGDip in Vocal Performance and Advanced Vocal Performance and MMus in Advanced
Performance have been designed to generate the learning outcomes listed below. These
outcomes are noted numerically in each of the unit descriptions of the Programme, with each
unit generating its own profile of end results:
Skills and other attributes
Practical Skills on successful completion of the programme, you should be able to:
(1) perform at a level expected of a front-rank professional vocal musician in terms of technique,
musical interpretation and communication
(2) apply personal research, analysis, reflection and listening to the process of forming a musical
interpretation
(3) use a thorough understanding of the components of music and its underlying structures to
inform musical performances
(4) memorise and reconstruct sound
(5) conceive, manipulate and develop musical ideas and apply aesthetic/stylistic principles to
performance
Cognitive (thinking) skills on successful completion of the programme, you should be able to:
(1) research, synthesise and evaluate information from a variety of sources, both text and non
text-based (e.g. the oral testimony of teachers and fellow-performers, information carried in
the sound of performances and recordings)
(2) use advanced levels of reasoning and logic to analyse this material and form relevant
performing strategies
(3) exercise significant judgement and apply artistic/intellectual perspectives
(4) carry out extended projects
Transferable skills on successful completion of the programme, you should be able to:
(1) approach and solve problems in a flexible, open and creative way
(2) work as part of a team, often in a leadership role, taking spontaneous decisions and
responding to the decisions of others
(3) improvise, manage risk and cope with the unexpected
(4) be self-motivated and disciplined, and promote projects/performances with self-critical
awareness
(5) understand work regimes and professional protocols
(6) work independently
Knowledge and understanding - on successful completion of the programme, you should have
knowledge and understanding of:
(1) the full range of technical and expressive capabilities of your voice
(2) the vocal repertoire of all periods
(3) how to master less familiar repertoires and the performing conventions associated with
them
(4) the current state and likely direction of development of the profession, the range of
competencies needed to enter it and the ways in which your skills may be continuously
enhanced to keep pace with rising challenges in a developing career
2.3
These learning outcomes are derived from the standard Credit and HE Qualifications Guidelines
for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and are taken as applying to all units and pathways
within the Masters Programme. However, students obtaining the PGDip in Advanced Vocal
Performance or the MMus in Advanced Vocal Performance will have deepened their skills and
knowledge in their Principal Study area and broadened them in relation to the range of other
units taken.
2.4
As noted in 2.2, the unit descriptions later in this handbook refer back to these listed learning
outcomes for each unit and attempt to show how they contribute to the overall learning
outcomes of the programme. The description for Principal Study shows how the second-year
unit builds upon its equivalent in the first year, leading to the higher, Advanced Performance
level for the award.
Programme and Course Structure
3.1
Overall structure:
The overall structure of the courses has already been outlined in the introduction. This section
provides greater detail about how each year of study is built up, including diagrams of the
various units and how they may be put together.
3.2
Unit structure:
All the courses within the Programme are built from a range of units. Units are built up into
patterns of study that normally occupy the period from September to June (10 months) and
correspond to 120 credits. The exception to this is the pattern for the Intensive Masters, which
lasts 12 months from September to September and contains 180 credits. The four routes shown
in the diagrams below are built from three basic patterns of annual study:
Pattern A:
Pattern B:
Pattern C:
Performance Level
120 credits
Advanced Performance Level 120 credits (two versions, PGDip and MMus)
Advanced Performance Level 180 credits
3.3
MMus/PGDip in Vocal Performance

Year 1 all students - PGDip in Vocal Performance. One year only (10 months)
MMus Core Unit
(Level M)
Principal Study 1-to-1 Units (Level M)
Singing Lesson
Not applicable in Year

One.
Students take first
MMus Core unit in
Year Two (see next
diagrams)
Principal Study
(Performance level)
(42 hours/year)
60 credits
Supporting Classes
Repertoire Lessons
Opera Coaching
(15 hours/year)
20 credits
Classes in the Singers Craft

(several classes across year)
30 credits
Acting, Movement, Stagecraft,
Italian Recitative
French, Italian and German
language
Repertoire Coaching
(10 hours/year)
10 credits
German song, French song, English

song/Oratorio, Russian/Spanish
Total of 120 credits
Year 2 students taking PGDip route - PGDip in Advanced Vocal Performance. One year only
(10 months)
MMus Core Unit
(Level M)
Singing Lesson
Not applicable if
PGDip is being taken
Principal Study
(Advanced
Performance level)
(42 hours/year)
60 credits
Supporting Classes
Repertoire Lessons
Opera Coaching
(15 hours/year)
20 credits

30 credits
Italian Recitative
language
Repertoire Coaching
(10 hours/year)
10 credits

Year 2 students taking MMus route - PGDip in Advanced Vocal Performance. One year only
(10 months) Plus second MMus Core Unit, will give MMus in Advanced Vocal Performance
MMus Core Unit
(Level M)
Singing Lesson
Repertoire Lessons
Opera Coaching
(15 hours/year)
20 credits
Performance Case
History Portfolio
30 credits
Principal Study
(Advanced
Performance level)
(42 hours/year)
60 credits
Supporting Classes
Or
Repertoire Coaching
(15 hours/year)
20 credits

Italian Recitative
language
10 credits
Or
language
10 credits
Year 2 students taking Intensive MMus route - MMus in Advanced Vocal Performance. One
calendar year (12 months)
MMus Core Unit
(Level M)
Singing Lesson
Performance Case
History Portfolio
30 credits
Critical Project/
Lecture Recital
30 Credits
Repertoire Lessons
Opera Coaching
(15 hours/year)
20 credits
Principal Study
(Advanced
Performance level)
(42 hours/year)
60 credits
Supporting Classes
Repertoire Coaching
(10 hours/year)
10 credits

30 credits
Italian Recitative
language
3.4
The diagram on the next page shows how the Integrated Masters fits into postgraduate vocal
provision as a whole at the College.
Routes through an Integrated Masters in Vocal Performance and Artist Diploma in Opera
Integrated Masters in Vocal
Performance
Additional MMus Unit
MMus in Advanced Vocal
Performance
Second MMus unit taken on its own
either directly after Year 2 or after the Artist
Diploma in Opera when the student has
already taken the PGDip in Advanced
Vocal Performance including the first
MMus unit
Artist Diploma in Opera

1-2 years
Progression to second MMus unit, taken on

its own and potentially at a distance from
RCM, to complete MMus in Advanced
Vocal Performance
Not credit rated

Assessment for award based on major role(s) undertaken in a production before the
student completes the programme; feedback provided on any other roles or scenes
undertaken.

Performance
Year 2
PGDip in Advanced Vocal
Performance

Performance
Year 2
PGDip in Advanced Vocal
Performance
120 credits at least 90 at level M;

maximum of 30 at Level 3
The student chooses to take a second
year of purely practical study

The student chooses to take a second year
combining practical study with the first of 2
MMus units
Direct admission to
Artist Diploma in Opera from
Year 1 of the Integrated Masters
Integrated Masters in Vocal Performance

Year 1
PGDip in Vocal Performance
120 credits at least 90 at level M; maximum of 30 at Level 3
All students pursue a pattern of practical units (1-to-1 identical for every student) whether
intending to proceed to Opera, PGDip Year 2 or an MMus
11

Performance
Year 2 Intensive
MMus in Advanced Vocal
Performance
The student chooses to take an
intensive second year combining
practical study with both MMus
units and therefore obtains an
MMus after 2 calendar years
Postgraduate Induction and Starting the Programme:
4.1
In order to help new students to become full participants in College life, the first
term will begin with a period of Induction. During this time, students will be able
to attend a series of events providing a grounding for the years work, receive
advice about the course of study from Course Team members and the Head of
Graduate School, meet with Faculty Heads and the Course Team for orientation
and practical activities, hear Lunchtime Concerts which will show what returning
students in both Undergraduate and Postgraduate Programmes have
accomplished in their Principal Study work in the first year, learn about RCM
resources such as the Woodhouse Centre and engage in social activities run by the
RCM Student Association.
4.2
All postgraduate vocal students, new and returning, are urged to make the most
of the RCMs general Induction for postgraduate students as well as induction
events taking place within the Vocal Faculty and Opera Department.
4.3
Language streaming: Language assessments take place at the end of Induction

week and take the form of IPA tests for each language as applied to a text,
followed by a reading of a poem or prose to determine the students
understanding and sense of the flow of each language. Students are informed of
the timetabling of this in advance of the beginning of term.
Progression:
5.1
Students enrolled upon the PGDip in Vocal Performance must inform the Registry
by November of their first term if they wish to stay on for a second year,
progressing to the PGDip or MMus in Advanced Vocal Performance, through
filling out a designated form of notification. Student hoping to advance directly to
the Opera Programme are still advised to make this notification as a default,
should they fail to gain a place in the Opera Programme. On submitting this
notification, they are given a conditional offer of a place. To fulfil the conditions
of this conditional offer, they must successfully complete the PGDip in Vocal
Performance. If they do so with a mark in the Principal Study unit of 65% or
above, their place will be confirmed; if their Principal Study mark is between 50%
(the pass mark) and 64%, they will be offered a reserve place in their chosen
course.
5.2
Immediately after the June Board of Examiners, when results for the PGDip in
Vocal Performance are known, students in the 50-64% category are considered
and a decision reached upon whether they can be given a confirmed place or must
remain on the reserve list. The students are then informed of their progression
outcome along with their results for the PGDip in Vocal Performance. As a result,
some students with Principal Study marks of 50-59% will nevertheless be given
confirmed places straight away. For those who are placed on a reserve list, a final
decision will be made by the second week in July.
5.3
Students wishing to progress who fail a unit or who have to defer assessment in a
unit until September must pass the unit before the start of the new academic year.
Provided that they do pass, they are then treated as above. Those with a mark of
65% or over in the Principal Study will have their place for the Advanced Vocal
Performance year confirmed immediately; those with a mark between 50% and
64% will be offered a reserve place. This place will be confirmed or otherwise as
soon as possible, and by Monday of Induction Week at the latest, so as to permit
12
the student to register for the PGDip/MMus in Advanced Vocal Performance in

the normal way if successful.
5.4
Completing an MMus, other than by the Intensive Route: If you successfully

complete the Performance Case History unit and the rest of your second-year,
Advanced Vocal Performance PGDip, you will only require the successful
completion of either the Lecture Recital or the Vocal Critical Project. The College
offers these as stand-alone units (also known as distance-learning, or flexiblydispersed learning). Much of the study they involve may be undertaken at a
distance from the RCM. However, it is necessary for students to return for the
final stages of preparation - and, of course, the delivery - of the Lecture Recital.
5.5
The Regulations at Appendix 2 contain further statements about progression,

deferred assessments and reassessments.
Assessment
6.1
Each unit of the Masters Programme has its own assessment element associated
with it. In each case, the mode of assessment is tailored to the activity with which
the unit is concerned. The majority of units are assessed by a single assessment
event.
6.2
Practical assessments:
Where units are of a practical nature, assessments also take the form of practicallybased events. These range from specially-organised repertoire examinations to
public performance events at which an examining panel is present. In the latter
case, normal performance conditions and normal expectations of performance
presentation apply. These same conditions are replicated as closely as possible in
the various repertoire examinations that take place.
6.3
Written assessments:
Some units employ written submissions for their assessed component. These may
take the form of portfolios or a single extended assignment.
6.4
Assessment teams and panels:

Written assessments usually have two markers. Major practical assessments
usually have three examiners, a Chair usually the Head of Faculty in the case of
vocal Studies - and two specialists. Usually one of the two specialists is internal
and one external. Where this is not the case, two external specialists are
employed.
6.5
External Examiners:
The Masters Programme in Vocal Performance shares two overall External
Examiners with the Integrated Masters Programme in Performance. These
External Examiners moderate the work of the examining panels, rather than
participating directly in the examining process.
6.6
The Masters Programme in Vocal Performance Board of Examiners:

Results are ratified, and any necessary moderating adjustments made by the
Masters Programme in Vocal Performance Board of Examiners. This meets in full
session twice a year, in June for the main set of results and in September to
consider deferred assessments, re-assessments and October for assessments
submitted at the end of the Intensive Masters. In addition to these meetings,
13
there are various internal meetings of the Board to consider interim results and
students proposals for various elements of the course.
6.7
6.8
A students result in each unit is weighted according to the credit volume of the
unit and the results combined to arrive at an overall mark.
The Colleges Regulations and Overall Credit Framework for Taught Postgraduate
Programmes (see Appendix 2) describe the three routes by which a student may
obtain an overall Distinction. Essentially, they are as follows:
7
7.7
An aggregate mark of 70% or above

A mark of 70% or above in 75% of the credits for the award
A mark of 70% or above in 50% of the credits for the award and an overall
aggregate mark of at least 68%
Unit Descriptions
On the pages that follow are unit descriptions for each of the units that make up
the PGDip in Vocal Performance, the PGDip/MMus in Advanced Vocal
Performance and the Intensive MMus in Advanced Vocal Performance. They are
set out in the following order:
Year 1 Vocal Performance Level Units
Year 2/Intensive Programme Advanced Performance Level Units
7.8
Principal Study Units

Supporting Class Unit Classes in the Singers Craft
MMus Core Units

Supporting Class Units Classes in the Singers Craft
Each unit description begins with statistics about the unit. It then provides brief
details of unit objectives and learning outcomes, content and assessment. Unit
descriptions are deliberately broad in their description of content. The
information that they contain is supplemented, where appropriate, by syllabus
booklets that enable the detail of the unit content and, for 1-to-1 practical units,
the examination requirements (repertoire, etc) to be varied from year to year
within the parameters defined by the unit description.
14
Masters Programme Unit Descriptions

Contents and Page Numbers
8.1
Year 1 Performance Level Units
8.1.1
15
8.1.2
Supporting Class Unit
21
8.2
8.2.1
MMus Core Units
24
8.2.2
30
8.2.3
Supporting Class Units
36
15
8.1
Year 1 Performance Level Units
8.1.1

Every student on the programme, whether ultimately studying for the MMus or
PGDip, will take the Principal Study units. There are three of these, of which the
most substantial is the unit associated with the singing lesson. In addition, there
are Principal Study units associated with opera coaching and with repertoire
coaching.
The assessment for the Principal Study unit associated with the singing lesson will
normally be a Recital, but may, with the relevant permissions, be an Operatic Role:
Recital
In Week 7 or 8 of the Summer Term, first year postgraduate singers deliver a
Recital of 30-35 minutes duration, including brief spoken introductions. The
choice of programme is free, but must include one item by a living composer. The
entire programme is to be sung from memory. Details of the requirements are
contained in the syllabus booklet for singers.
Proposed programmes, signed as being approved for content and length by the
students principal study professor, must be submitted to the Registry
Programmes Team by the advertised date. On the basis of these submissions,
particularly in relation to timings, students may be recommended to make certain
changes to their programme.
Students are required to bring to their Recital the following, for the use of the
examiners:
a copy of each work in the edition used to prepare the performance;

a programme, preferably word processed, that sets down the works in
order of their performance, and acknowledges the participation of any
other performers.
Students should hand this material to the steward to be given to the examiners. In
the absence of a steward, it should be handed directly to the examiners. Students
should note that mark penalties will be imposed if this material is not provided.
A high standard is expected from this short examination, with no obvious
technical shortcomings, adequate stamina for the entire programme and the
ability put across a well-chosen programme to near professional standard.
Or Operatic Role
The operatic role proposed for assessments should provide for an on-stage focus
of attention of not less than 30 minutes as a significant participant during the
opera, or
Where the role is considered to be significant enough for the purpose of this
assessment, but where the on-stage focus of attention is for fewer than 30 minutes
but greater than 15, then additionally the singer must present, under concert
recital conditions, a selection of contrasting songs timed at not less than 15
minutes (but not more than 20) including brief spoken introductions, to make up
the balance of the period stipulated for assessment.
16
Where a student is assessed on both an operatic and a concert performance, and

where different assessors are involved for each activity, then the final mark for this
assessment (based on these equally weighted marks) will be moderated by the
Head of Vocal Studies and the Director of Opera, together with the Head of
Graduate School.
Students should inform the Registry Programmes Team of their choice of
assessment by the last day of the Spring Term.
Personal Development Plans (PDPs)
All students on the Integrated Masters Programme are required to complete a
Personal Development Plan during the course of study. This is a record of the
aims for the academic year and provides a place to systematically log such
information as repertoire covered and performances completed. The mandatory
Performance Profile is contained within the PDP. Individual assistance in
completing PDPs will be provided by the Programme Team. It is anticipated that
this will be done online in 2007-2008. Vocal students provide a 1,000-word
reflective document based on their experiences in classes as part of this PDP.
Programme Notes/Spoken Presentations in PG Recital Examinations
Todays professional performers are expected to be well-informed about the
works they perform and to be able to communicate relevant information about
them in writing and, increasingly, through clear and engaging spoken
presentations. The RCM expects its postgraduate performers to take these
professional standards of presentation as seriously as they do their quest for
excellence in their actual performing. All postgraduate recital examinations must
therefore be accompanied either by well-prepared programme notes or by
accomplished spoken introductions.
Programme notes must be the work of the student and should avoid plagiarism in
exactly the same way as other written assignments. They should aim to be
informative and may by all means reflect personal scholarship on the part of the
student. However, they should be sufficiently accessible in style to facilitate
reading as an adjunct to listening. Above all, they should give the reader
information which will help to focus and enrich his or her listening experience by
contributing to an aural understanding of the works performed.
Spoken introductions should be delivered without a written text and should be
clearly communicated in a lively and interesting manner. The tone of a spoken
introduction may well be less formal than that of a programme note but what is
said should again aim to focus and enrich the listening experience of the audience
member.
Tuition for these elements
It is assumed that postgraduate students will already have acquired some
experience of writing programme notes and/or introducing their recitals. In
addition, guidance in programme note writing/delivering spoken presentations is
given as part of the induction course of the Induction Lecture Series. The
Diagnostic Portfolio undertaken just before Planning & Review Week contains
assignments dealing with writing about music. Although not every student will
take the whole Lecture Series, all are encouraged to take at least these induction
sections.
17
A student who chooses not to attend the induction sessions because he or she
knows they will not be undertaking the whole lecture series and associated
Performance Case History Portfolio must take personal responsibility for their
preparation for the production of suitable programme notes/spoken
introductions when the time comes for their recital.
Examination of these elements
As Principal Study Units are assessed through examinations of a practical nature,
the assessment criteria for these are to be found in Practical Examinations
Procedures at the Royal College of Music 2007-08, available from the Registry.
Copies of programme notes must be submitted to the Registry Programmes Team
at least six weeks before the date of the recital. Where a student has chosen to
deliver spoken introductions, a form confirming this must be submitted to the
Registry Programmes Team by the same deadline.
The examining panel for the recital will judge the effectiveness of the programme
notes/spoken introductions, setting them in the context of the performances that
they are intended to enhance. The panel will award a separate percentage mark
for the programme notes/spoken introductions. This mark will be communicated
afterwards to the student along with the mark for the performance itself.
In the normal way, the mark awarded for the programme notes/spoken
introductions is not given a distinct weighting within the recitals overall
assessment i.e. the student is credited with the mark as awarded simply for the
performance. However, where a mark of less than 50% (i.e. the pass threshold) is
awarded for the programme notes/spoken introductions, a student may not be
awarded a Pass with Distinction even if their actual performances merit this (i.e.
the mark is capped at 69%).
A recital which is not accompanied at all by programme notes or introductions
must fail (i.e. it will be capped at 49%). A student who finds him- or herself in this
situation will normally be permitted to submit programme notes retrospectively.
Provided that notes are submitted within the timeframe stipulated for the
particular case (normally within two weeks of permission being granted) the
students result will be altered to a Pass but the mark will remain capped at 49%.
18
PRINCIPAL STUDY UNIT: SINGING LESSON

Unit Leader: Head of Vocal Studies
Level
M
Credit Rating
60
Delivery
42 hours/year 1:1 lessons
supported by faculty classes,
masterclasses and other
events
Core/Elective
Core
Prerequisite
N/A
Availability
Unit Code
Each year
M6P01
Unit objectives and learning outcomes

Successful completion of this unit means that you will have:
enhanced your performing skills, broadened your knowledge of vocal repertoire, honed
your interpretational abilities
enriched your understanding of musical structure and style, of the relationships between
these and the meaning conveyed in musical texts and of the ways in which these impinge
upon the formation of a performance
acquired maturity and an individual voice as a performer
deepened your awareness of the current state of the singing profession and developed
your contacts with your future professional colleagues.
This unit contributes to the following learning outcomes of the programme (see programme
specification):
Practical skills
Cognitive skills
Transferable skills
Knowledge and understanding
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
1, 2, 3, and 4
1, 3, 4, 5 and 6
1, 2, 3 and 4
Indicative content
1-to-1 guidance tailored to individual needs this may reflect some finishing work on
technical aspects but is more likely to focus upon the exploration of new repertoire and
preparation for specific performances
participation in faculty classes, masterclasses, College concerts and other concerts of
similar standard outside the College
performance as appropriate in ensembles, operas, etc.
independent practice to support all these activities
continued exploration of Principal Study repertoire, not only in performance but also
through self-directed listening at concerts and to recordings
Method of assessment
Repertoire Recital (30-35 minutes)

Summer Term
60 credits
Performance Profile (showing at least two College concerts or their have been undertaken
across year) completed as part of the Personal Development Plan (PDP). The Performance
Profile is not allocated separate credits but must be submitted and found acceptable for
the unit to be passed.
(Note: With the permission of the Head of Vocal Studies and the Director of Opera, students
may substitute a major Opera Role for the Repertoire Recital. The decision to do this MUST
be communicated to the Registry Programmes Team as soon as it has been taken. Failure to
do so may jeopardise the Final Assessment)
19
PRINCIPAL STUDY UNIT: OPERA COACHING

Unit Leader: Director of Opera
Level
M
Credit Rating
20
Delivery
events
Core/Elective
Core
Prerequisite
N/A
Availability
Unit Code
Each year
M2B03

developed your knowledge of operatic repertoire, honed your interpretational abilities in

relation to this repertoire
enriched your understanding of the musical and dramatic elements that combine in the
operatic repertoire and of the relationships between these that need to be born in mind
when forming an operatic performance
acquired maturity and an individual voice as a dramatic performer
deepened your awareness of the current state of the operatic profession and developed
specification):
Practical skills
Cognitive skills
Transferable skills
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
1, 2, 3, and 4
1, 3, 4, 5 and 6
1, 2, 3 and 4
Indicative content
1-to-1 guidance tailored to individual needs this is likely to focus upon the exploration
of new repertoire and preparation for specific performances
participation in classes, masterclasses and opera scenes
continued exploration of the operatic repertoire, not only in performance but also
Opera Scene (10-15 minutes on stage)

Opera Scenes (i.e. scenes from the operatic repertoire, staged and performed in concert or
in costume with piano accompaniment) generally take place in the Spring and Summer
Terms. Students are prepared intensively for these events and a producer works with an
entire group to determine and develop the overall character of a particular Opera Scenes
event.
Spring or Summer Term
20 credits
20
PRINCIPAL STUDY UNIT: REPERTOIRE COACHING

Level
M
Credit Rating
10
Delivery
events
Core/Elective
Core
Prerequisite
N/A
Availability
Unit Code
Each year
M1B01

specification):
Practical skills
Cognitive skills
Transferable skills
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
1, 2, 3, and 4
1, 3, 4, 5 and 6
1, 2, 3 and 4
Indicative content
1-to-1 guidance tailored in the exploration of new repertoire and preparation for specific
performances
performance as appropriate
Song Class Recital (each student contributing an individual song)

Spring Term
10 credits
Students participating in a particular song class are required to build an integrated

programme around a specific area of repertoire or a thematic concept. The assessed
performance will usually take place in the Spring Term. Students are assessed on their
individual performance but also on how they integrate their effort with the group as a
whole and the quality of their rapport with their accompanist.
21
8.1.2
Supporting Class Unit

All singers take a range of classes designed to support the work they carry out in
their 1-to-1 lessons and coaching. Collectively, these constitute what might be
called Classes in the Singers Craft. Underpinning these classes are sessions on
language training in French, Italian and German. Supported by these language
classes are two further groups of classes that apply these skills in specific musical
contexts. The relationship between the various elements may be represented
diagrammatically as follows:
Preparation for the Musical Stage (assessment through Opera Scenes)
Class
Lesson time
Number of Lessons
Hours per year
Movement
90 min
15
22.5
Acting
90 min
15
22.5
Stagecraft
90 min
15
22.5
Italian Recitative
class*
90 min
19 plus assessment
concert
30
Italian recitative class would cover the basics of Italian operatic

recitative-Monteverdi and his contemporaries, Handel and Haydn
through to Mozart. Recitative studied would tie into texts studied in
language classes.
Foundations of the Sung Languages (assessment through Scenes and Song Classes)
Language
Lesson time
Number of Lessons
Hours per year
French
60 min
20
20
Italian
60 min
20
20
German
60 min
20
20
Preparation for the Concert Platform (assessment through Song Classes)

Class
Lesson time
Number of Lessons
Hours per year
German Song*
90 min
19 plus assessment
concert
30
French Song*
90 min
19 plus assessment
concert
30
Oratorio/English Song
90 min
19 plus assessment
concert
30
Russian/Spanish
Targeted provision throughout the year on a project basis with

defined objectives eg a Faculty concert etc
22
The sessions in the central group, Foundations of the sung languages broadly
cover the following issues:
the understanding and implementation of the IPA rules for each language
textural fluency in delivery and inflection
proficiency of delivery of operatic and song texts, with additional reference to
recitative classes, opera scenes where necessary and song class requirements
useful and applicable linguistic fluency for work overseas whether in Italy,
France or Germany
The upper group of classes in the diagram deals with the operatic environment
and covers movement, acting, stagecraft and the crucial skill of performing Italian
recitative.
Movement classes are structured so that students profit from physical
coordination and centering from yoga and similar disciplines, have facility in terms
of dance (whether waltz, minuets, jazz, tap etc) and are encouraged to explore
physical techniques for specific character portrayal building on their own
individual physical gifts.
Acting classes have a similarly structured approach, starting from games,
improvisation and textural work through to specific work on Opera Scenes etc.
Stagecraft classes are run on the basis of inviting different operatic and theatrical
practitioners of distinction to run a series of classes in which the students are
encouraged to finesse their acquired movement and dramatic skills through
interaction with external practitioners. Students are thus offered exposure to a
variety of approaches and beliefs as to what constitutes stagecraft.
Italian recitative classes explore this core aspect of the operatic tradition and the
skills necessary to speak the lines idiomatically and shape and pace them to
dramatic purpose
The final, lower group addresses the art-song repertoire of the key European
traditions the German Lied, the French mlodie and the English song, with
additional coverage in this latter case of the Oratorio repertoire. Occasional,
project based work on Russian and Spanish repertoire complements this
provision.
23
SUPPORTING CLASS UNIT

Level
M
Credit Rating
30
Delivery
Classes of different lengths
and numbers of weeks (see
earlier diagram)
Core/Elective
Core
Prerequisite
N/A
Availability
Unit Code
Each year
M3E01

developed your linguistic skills in the key languages of European classical music
applied these in the context of acquiring the skills of the operatic actor
used them to develop a true poetic and musical understanding of representative works of
the art song repertoire
synthesised the experiences gained in the various classes into a deepening of your
understanding of the singers craft.
specification):
Practical skills
Cognitive skills
Transferable skills
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
1, 2, 3, and 4
1, 3, 4, 5 and 6
1, 2, 3 and 4
Indicative content
Classwork, operating in groups selected to produce broad equivalence of level

Working to syllabuses designed by individual in-house group coaches
Receiving a range of perspectives and inputs from visiting coaches
application of the skills in preparing for events such as Opera Scenes and Song Class
recitals
40%
40%
1,000 word reflection on what has been learned through the classes as part of end-of-year
PDP
20%
(NB Opera Scenes and Song Class Recitals also form the assessment for Opera
Coaching and Repertoire Coaching respectively. In the case of those units, the panels
assessment is the only component used; in this unit it is inflected by evaluations made
by the staff involved in the preparation processes for these events. This, in
conjunction with the students reflective account in the PDP, means that the focus of
the unit is more on process and that of the other two on product)
24
8.2
8.2.1
Year 2 MMus Core Unit/Intensive MMus Core Units

If you are planning to study for an MMus, you will select the first MMus core unit
as part of your second years study. Similarly, if you are taking the Intensive
Masters course, you will take this unit along with one of the two Advanced Vocal
Performance Level MMus core units.
Delivery of he first MMus core unit takes the form of an Induction Lecture Series,
after which the group of students meets for tutorials focussed on the
development of Performance Case Histories. The unit is assessed through the
submission of a portfolio of these. Details of the unit are given in the Unit
Description which follows.
The first five weeks of study on this unit take the form of an Induction Course.
The course consists of three weeks containing two lectures per week, tutorial sign
ups and an initial diagnostic task requirement to be submitted by Friday of the
fifth week.
The Induction Lecture Series is important for all students in the instruction
provided for writing of Programme Notes and delivery of spoken introductions to
performances; the completion and delivery of one or the other of these is now an
obligatory Principal Study performance requirement for all PGDip and MMus
candidates.
The Induction Lecture Series is mandatory for all vocal students taking the
Year 2 MMus Core unit or following the Intensive MMus.
Induction Lecture Series: AUTUMN TERM 2007
Mondays 6.00-7.30pm; Thursdays 11.30-1pm - Recital Hall
Monday 17 Sept. 2007
The Integrated Masters Programme (incl. Using the Internet)
Darla Crispin, Ingrid Pearson, Ivan Hewett
Thursday 20 Sept. 2007
Writers Workshop: Musicians and Research - Some Whys and Hows
Natasha Loges
Monday 24 Sept. 2007
Performer and Composer Rights / Studio Visit
Mike McEvoy and Augustos Psillas
Thursday 27 Sept. 2007
The Unanswered Question: Practice-based Research
Ivan Hewett and William Mival / Madeleine Mitchell
Monday 1 Oct. 2007
Spoken Introductions (incl. Making your Pitch)
Ingrid Pearson and Mike McEvoy
Thursday 4 Oct. 2007
Tools of the Trade I: Research Craft in Music
Meredith McFarlane
25
Monday 8 Oct. 20087

Tools of the Trade II: Research Resources in Music
Meredith McFarlane and CPH (Paul Banks and Jenny Nex)
Programme Notes
Meredith McFarlane
Monday 15 Oct. 2007
Authority in Source Materials
Ingrid Pearson
Diagnostic Portfolio (and assignment) Clinic
Darla Crispin and Ingrid Pearson
Diagnostic Portfolio for all MMus Vocal Studies Students Due: Friday 19
October 2008, 1.00pm
NO LECTURES: P&R Week 22 Oct. 2008 + 25 Oct. 2008
Thursday 25 October 2008 Diagnostic Portfolio Marking Session: 10am
Following the Induction Lectures, singers will have dedicated group instruction on
vocal Performance Case History Portfolios for the remainder of the academic year.
The shape of these group tutorials consists of topic-based, weekly meetings at
which the principles of the Performance Case History will be explained and then
case studies, chosen by members of the group, will be presented and discussed.
The Intensive MMus
If you are planning to study for an Intensive MMus finishing by the end of your
second year, you will also need to select one of the two Advanced Vocal
Performance MMus Core Units as part of your second years study, along with the
Performance Case History Portfolio unit described above. The Advanced
Performance Level MMus Core Units are the Lecture Recital and the Vocal Critical
Project. Details of these units are given in the Unit Descriptions that follow.
Completing an MMus, other than by the Intensive Route
If you successfully complete the Performance Case History unit and the rest of
your second-year, Advanced Vocal Performance PGDip, you will only require the
successful completion of either the Lecture Recital or the Vocal Critical Project.
The College offers these as stand-alone units. Much of the study they involve may
be undertaken at a distance from the RCM. However, it is necessary for students
to return for the final stages of preparation - and, of cours, the delivery - of the
Lecture Recital.
26
MMUS CORE UNIT: PERFORMANCE CASE HISTORY PORTFOLIO

Unit Leader: Head of Graduate School
Level
M
Credit Rating
30
Delivery
6 x 1.5 hour Induction Lectures with 1
tutorial, followed by 16 x 1.5 hour group
tutorials
Core/Elective
MMus Core
Prerequisite
N/A
Availability
Unit Code
Each year
M3A01

enhanced your research and writing skills, broadened your knowledge of repertoire,
honed your interpretational abilities, and related these to specific issues in music
scholarship
enriched your understanding of musical structure and style and of the ways in which
these impinge upon the formation of a performance
developed your identity as an informed performer
deepened your awareness of the current state of the profession and developed your
contacts with your future professional colleagues.
specification):
Practical skills
Cognitive skills
Transferable skills
2, 3 and 5
1, 2, 3, and 4
2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
2, 3 and 4
Indicative content
Participation in MMus Induction Lecture series

group tutorial support on MMus Performance Case History Portfolio projects
independent research to support all these activities
auditing of Lecture Recital rehearsal events and feedback sessions.
Satisfactory completion of Diagnostic Portfolio at end of induction course

Completion of minimum 3 assignments generated from the MMus Lecture Series
Selection of three of these assignments to be submitted as an Performance Case History
Portfolio, together with Programme Notes for the Principal Study Recital
30 credits
ONE COPY of the Performance Case History Portfolio must be submitted to the Registry by
the published deadline.
See also Appendix 3: Procedures for the Submission and Marking of Postgraduate Written Work
for further guidance on the preparation, submission and assessment of this unit.
27
ADVANCED VOCAL PERFORMANCE MMUS CORE UNIT: LECTURE RECITAL

Unit Leader: Deputy Head of Graduate School
Level
M
Credit Rating
30
Delivery
3 x 1.5 hour Induction Lectures followed by 30
minute 1-to-1 supervision to prepare topic
submission, followed by 6 hours 1-to-1
supervision and twelve lecture recital dry-run
sessions with 6 x 1.5 hours tutorial feedback
Core/Elective
MMus Elective
Prerequisite
N/A
Availability
Unit Code
Each year
M3A03

Demonstrated that you can work effectively and flexibly across the areas of performance
and scholarship
enhanced your fluency of presentation and effective communication skills in addition to
those you have as a performer
broadened your knowledge of repertoire, honed your interpretational abilities
focussed upon a specific topic to be presented through a composite of approaches.
specification):
Practical skills
Cognitive skills
Transferable skills
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
1, 2, 3, and 4
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
1, 2, 3 and 4
Indicative content
participation in classes devoted to appropriate research methodologies and modes of

presentation for the Lecture Recital
1-to-1 tutorial support tailored to individual needs this may reflect some finishing work
on technical aspects but is more likely to focus upon the exploration of new repertoire
and preparation for specific performances
Principal Study performance as appropriate
independent practice and research to support all these activities
continued exploration of Principal Study repertoire and its applicability to the Lecture
Recital as a mode of presentation, not only in performance but also through self-directed
listening at concerts and to recordings
Method of approval
Proposed topics for Lecture Recitals must be approved by the Course Team Sub Board. Proposals
must be submitted, countersigned by the professor teaching this element, to the Registry
Programmes Team by the advertised date.
Lecture Recital
(25 minutes, plus 5 minutes for open questions from Panel and audience)
(Students with borderline results may be called for a viva voce exam)
28
30 credits
Criteria for assessment

The examiners will look for the following:
a strong quality of presentation and sense of communication with the audience
assurance and professionalism in the spoken commentary and the performance of examples.
clear handout sheets, including a bibliography/discography, as appropriate.
Good defence of your argument in the question session, with explanation of decisions taken in
the lecture recital itself, as required
The Lecture Recital should be marked according to the criteria below. The three categories of
outcome should each be awarded a nominal mark. An overall mark should then be selected which
seems best to represent a balance of these elements. It is not necessary for this mark to be a literal
average of the preceding three.
Category
Percentage
Range
Outcomes
Quality of musical
performance and of
spoken
presentation
Breadth of
background research
and its reflection in
the performance
Quality of discussion and

coherence of supporting
arguments in viva voce
80 - 100
Outstanding
Outstanding
Outstanding
70 - 79
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
65 - 69
Extremely Good
Extremely Good
Extremely Good
60 - 64
Very Good
Very Good
Very Good
55 - 59
Good
Good
Good
50 - 54
Fairly Good
Fairly Good
Fairly Good
45 - 49
Marginally
Unsatisfactory
Marginally
Unsatisfactory
Marginally Unsatisfactory
40 - 44
Unsatisfactory
Unsatisfactory
Unsatisfactory
26 - 39
Seriously
Unsatisfactory
Seriously Unsatisfactory Seriously Unsatisfactory
0 - 25
Grossly
Unsatisfactory
Grossly Unsatisfactory
Distinction
Pass
Fail
29
ADVANCED VOCAL PERFORMANCE MMUS CORE UNIT:

VOCAL CRITICAL PROJECT
Unit Leader: Deputy Head of Graduate School
Level
M
Credit Rating
30
Core/Elective
MMus Elective
Delivery
3 x 1.5 hour Induction Lectures followed by 30
minute 1-to-1 supervision to prepare topic
submission, then 8 hours 1-to-1 supervision
Prerequisite
N/A
Availability
Unit Code
Each year
M3A08

displayed a mastery of a complex and specialised area of knowledge and skills

these impinge upon the formation of a performance in relation to your specialist topic
employed advanced skills to conduct research
attained a high degree of fluency in written expression.
specification):
Practical skills
Cognitive skills
Transferable skills
2, 3 and 5
1, 2, 3, and 4
1, 3, 4, 5 and 6
3 and 4
Indicative content
1-to-1 supervision tailored to individual needs

development of research skills intrinsic to topic development
independent research to support all these activities
linkage of research work to Principal Study repertoire, not only in performance but also
through self-directed listening at concerts and to recordings.
Method of approval
Proposed topics for Lecture Recitals must be approved by the Course Team Sub Board. Proposals
must be submitted, countersigned by the professor teaching this element, to the Registry
Programmes Team by the advertised date.
Completion of a 5,000 7,500 word Critical Evaluation on a specialist topic which has
been agreed by the MMus Board of Examiners in the previous Autumn term.
(Students with borderline results may be called for a viva voce exam).
30 credits
ONE COPY of the CEP must be submitted to the Registry by the published deadline. CEPs
that achieve a Distinction level mark will be archived in the Library.
See also Procedures for the Submission and Marking of Postgraduate Written Work for further
guidance on the preparation, submission and assessment of this unit.
30
8.2.3 Principal Study Units

In the second year of the Masters Programme, Principal Study units are designated
as being at Advanced Vocal Performance level. The differentiation between this
level and that of Vocal Performance in the first year is effected by two means.
First, the marking criteria at this level are set against slightly different points on the
percentage scale and second, the recital element requires a somewhat longer
duration, as can be seen by comparing the durational range below with that for
the Recital in Year One.
Recital
In Week 7 or 8 of the Summer Term, second year postgraduate singers deliver a
Recital of 42-50 minutes duration, including brief spoken introductions. The
choice of programme is free, but must include one item by a living composer. The
entire programme is to be sung from memory. Details of the requirements are
contained in the syllabus booklet for singers.
Proposed programmes, signed as being approved for content and length by the
students principal study professor, must be submitted to the Registry
Programmes Team by the advertised date. On the basis of these submissions,
particularly in relation to timings, students may be recommended to make certain
changes to their programme.
Students are required to bring to their Recital the following, for the use of the
examiners:
a copy of each work in the edition used to prepare the performance;

a programme, preferably word processed, that sets down the works in
order of their performance, and acknowledges the participation of any
other performers.
Students should hand this material to the steward to be given to the examiners. In
the absence of a steward, it should be handed directly to the examiners. Students
should note that mark penalties will be imposed if this material is not provided.
A high standard is expected from this short examination, with no obvious
technical shortcomings, adequate stamina for the entire programme and the
ability put across a well-chosen programme to near professional standard.
Or Operatic Role
The operatic role proposed for assessments should provide for an on-stage focus
of attention of not less than 30 minutes as a significant participant during the
opera, or
Where the role is considered to be significant enough for the purpose of this
assessment, but where the on-stage focus of attention is for fewer than 30 minutes
but greater than 15, then additionally the singer must present, under concert
recital conditions, a selection of contrasting songs timed at not less than 15
minutes (but not more than 20) including brief spoken introductions, to make up
the balance of the period stipulated for assessment.
31
Where a student is assessed on both an operatic and a concert performance, and

where different assessors are involved for each activity, then the final mark for this
assessment (based on these equally weighted marks) will be moderated by the
Head of the Vocal Studies Faculty and the Director of Opera, together with the
Head of Graduate School.
Students should inform the Registry Programmes Team of their choice of
assessment by the last day of the Spring Term.
Examination of these elements
As Principal Study Units are assessed through examinations of a practical nature,
the assessment criteria for these are to be found in Practical Examinations
Procedures at the Royal College of Music 2007-08, available from the Registry.
Copies of programme notes must be submitted to the Registry Programmes Team
at least six weeks before the date of the recital. Where a student has chosen to
deliver spoken introductions, a form confirming this must be submitted to the
Registry Programmes Team by the same deadline.
The examining panel for the recital will judge of the effectiveness of the
programme notes/spoken introductions, setting them in the context of the
performances which they are intended to enhance. The panel will award a
separate percentage mark for the programme notes/spoken introductions. This
mark will be communicated afterwards to the student along with the mark for the
performance itself.
In the normal way, the mark awarded for the programme notes/spoken
introductions is not given a distinct weighting within the recitals overall
assessment i.e. the student is credited with the mark as awarded simply for the
performance. However, where a mark of less than 50% (i.e. the pass threshold) is
awarded for the programme notes/spoken introductions, a student may not be
awarded a Pass with Distinction even if their actual performances merit this (i.e.
the mark is capped at 69%).
A recital which is not accompanied at all by programme notes or introductions
must fail (i.e. it will be capped at 49%). A student who finds him- or herself in this
situation will normally be permitted to submit programme notes retrospectively.
Provided that notes are submitted within the timeframe stipulated for the
particular case (normally within two weeks of permission being granted) the
students result will be altered to a Pass but the mark will remain capped at 49%.
Tuition on programme notes will have been given in Year 1 of the Masters
Programme and is not repeated in the second year of study, but Year 2 students
may attend the sessions if they wish.
32
ADVANCED VOCAL PERFORMANCE PRINCIPAL STUDY UNIT: SINGING LESSON

Unit Leader: Heads of Faculty
Level
M
Credit Rating
60
Delivery
events
Core/Elective
Core
Prerequisite
N/A
Availability
Unit Code
Each year
M6P02

enhanced your performing skills, broadened your knowledge of repertoire, honed your
interpretational abilities
deepened your awareness of the current state of the profession and developed your
contacts with your future professional colleagues
brought all of these qualities to the level of full professional readiness
demonstrated the ability to act in complex, unpredictable and/or specialised contexts
demonstrated the ability to adapt acquired skills independently and develop new ones for
new situations.
specification):
Practical skills
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Cognitive skills
1, 2, 3, and 4
Transferable skills
1, 3, 4, 5 and 6
Knowledge and understanding 1, 2, 3 and 4
Indicative content
1-to-1 guidance tailored to individual needs this may reflect some final finishing work
on technical aspects but is more likely to focus upon the exploration of new repertoire
and preparation for specific performances
participation in faculty classes, masterclasses, College chamber concerts and other
concerts of similar standard outside the College
performance as appropriate in ensembles, operas etc.
Repertoire Recital (42-50 minutes)

Summer Term
60 credits
Performance Profile (showing at least two College concerts or their have been undertaken
across year) completed as part of the Personal Development Plan (PDP). The Performance
Profile is not allocated separate credits but must be submitted and found acceptable for
the unit to be passed.
(Note: With the permission of the Head of Vocal Studies and the Director of Opera, students
may substitute a major Opera Role for the Repertoire Recital. The decision to do this MUST
be communicated to the Registry Programmes Team as soon as it has been taken. Failure to
do so may jeopardise the Final Assessment)
33
ADVANCED VOCAL PERFORMANCE PRINCIPAL STUDY UNIT: OPERA COACHING

Unit Leader: Director of Opera
Level
M
Credit Rating
20
Delivery
events
Core/Elective
Core
Prerequisite
N/A
Availability
Unit Code
Each year
M2BO3B

developed your knowledge of operatic repertoire, honed your interpretational abilities in

relation to this repertoire
enriched your understanding of the musical and dramatic elements that combine in the
operatic repertoire and of the relationships between these that need to be born in mind
when forming an operatic performance
acquired maturity and an individual voice as a dramatic performer
deepened your awareness of the current state of the operatic profession and developed
specification):
Practical skills
Cognitive skills
Transferable skills
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
1, 2, 3, and 4
1, 3, 4, 5 and 6
1, 2, 3 and 4
Indicative content
1-to-1 guidance tailored to individual needs this is likely to focus upon the exploration
of new repertoire and preparation for specific performances
participation in classes, masterclasses and opera scenes
continued exploration of the operatic repertoire, not only in performance but also

Opera Scenes (i.e. scenes from the operatic repertoire, staged and performed in concert or
in costume with piano accompaniment) generally take place in the Spring and Summer
Terms. Students are prepared intensively for these events and a producer works with an
entire group to determine and develop the overall character of a particular Opera Scenes
event.
Spring or Summer Term
20 credits
34
ADVANCED VOCAL PERFORMANCE PRINCIPAL STUDY UNIT:

REPERTOIRE COACHING
Level
M
Credit Rating
10
Delivery
events
Core/Elective
Core
Prerequisite
N/A
Availability
Unit Code
Each year
M1B01B

specification):
Practical skills
Cognitive skills
Transferable skills
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
1, 2, 3, and 4
1, 3, 4, 5 and 6
1, 2, 3 and 4
Indicative content
performances

Spring Term
10 credits

35
ADVANCED VOCAL PERFORMANCE PRINCIPAL STUDY UNIT:

REPERTOIRE COACHING FOR MMUS STUDENTS WITH CONCERT SPECIALISM
Level
M
Credit Rating
20
Delivery
events
Core/Elective
Core
Prerequisite
N/A
Availability
Unit Code
Each year
M2B02B
Students taking the MMus Core Unit take either Opera Coaching or Repertoire Coaching. If the
latter, they receive an enhances level of provision, reflecting the fact that they have chosen to
specialise in this area.
specification):
Practical skills
Cognitive skills
Transferable skills
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
1, 2, 3, and 4
1, 3, 4, 5 and 6
1, 2, 3 and 4
Indicative content
performances

Spring Term
10 credits

36
SUPPORTING CLASS UNIT

Level
M
Credit Rating
30
Delivery
earlier diagram)
Core/Elective
Core
Prerequisite
N/A
Availability
Unit Code
Each year
M3E03

specification):
Practical skills
Cognitive skills
Transferable skills
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
1, 2, 3, and 4
1, 3, 4, 5 and 6
1, 2, 3 and 4
Indicative content

application of the skills in preparing for events such as Opera Scenes and Song Class
recitals
40%
40%
PDP
20%
(NB Opera Scenes and Song Class Recitals also form the assessment for Opera
Coaching and Repertoire Coaching respectively. In the case of those units, the panels
assessment is the only component used; in this unit it is infected by evaluations made
by the staff involved in the preparation processes for these events. This, in
conjunction with the students reflective account in the PDP, means that the focus of
the unit is more on process and that of the other two on product)
37
SUPPORTING CLASS UNIT FOR MMUS STUDENTS WITH OPERA SPECIALISM

Level
M
Credit Rating
10
Delivery
earlier diagram)
Core/Elective
Core
Prerequisite
N/A
Availability
Unit Code
Each year
M1E19

specification):
Practical skills
Cognitive skills
Transferable skills
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
1, 2, 3, and 4
1, 3, 4, 5 and 6
1, 2, 3 and 4
Indicative content
Preparation for the Musical Stage (assessment through Opera Scenes)

Class
Lesson time
Number of Lessons
Hours per year
Movement
90 min
15
22.5
Acting
90 min
15
22.5
Stagecraft
90 min
15
22.5
Italian Recitative class*
90 min
19 plus assessment
concert
30
Italian recitative class would cover the basics of Italian operatic recitativeMonteverdi and his contemporaries, Handel and Haydn through to
Mozart. Recitative studied would tie into texts studied in language
classes.
Foundations of the Sung Languages (assessment through Opera Scenes)

Language
Lesson time
Number of Lessons
Hours per year
French
60 min
20
20
Italian
60 min
20
20
German
60 min
20
20
38

application of the skills in preparing for events such as Opera Scenes
PDP
40%
60%
(NB Opera Scenes also form the assessment for Opera Coaching. In the case of that
unit, the panels assessment is the only component used; in this unit it is inflected by
evaluations made by the staff involved in the preparation processes for these events.
This, in conjunction with the students reflective account in the PDP, means that the
focus of the unit is more on process and that of the other on product)
39
SUPPORTING CLASS UNIT FOR MMUS STUDENTS WITH CONCERT SPECIALISM

Level
M
Credit Rating
10
Delivery
earlier diagram)
Core/Elective
Core
Prerequisite
N/A
Availability
Unit Code
Each year
M1E19

specification):
Practical skills
Cognitive skills
Transferable skills
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
1, 2, 3, and 4
1, 3, 4, 5 and 6
1, 2, 3 and 4
Indicative content
Foundations of the Sung Languages (assessment through Song Classes)

Language
Lesson time
Number of Lessons
Hours per year
French
60 min
20
20
Italian
60 min
20
20
German
60 min
20
20
Preparation for the Concert Platform (assessment through Song Classes)

Class
Lesson time
Number of Lessons
Hours per year
German Song*
90 min
19 plus assessment
concert
30
French Song*
90 min
19 plus assessment
concert
30
Oratorio/English Song
90 min
19 plus assessment
concert
30
Russian/Spanish
Targeted provision throughout the year on a project basis with defined

objectives eg a Faculty concert etc
40

application of the skills in preparing for events such Song Class recitals
PDP
40%
60%
(NB Song Class Recitals also form the assessment for Repertoire Coaching. In the case
of that unit, the panels assessment is the only component used; in this unit it is
inflected by evaluations made by the staff involved in the preparation processes for
these events. This, in conjunction with the students reflective account in the PDP,
means that the focus of the unit is more on process and that of the other on product)
41
Programme Management Arrangements
9.1
The Integrated Masters Programme is managed through a team led by the Head of
Graduate School and the Director of Opera. Key members of this team are the
Deputy Head of Graduate School and the Head of Vocal Studies. The Head of
Vocal Studies co-ordinates the processes whereby students are allocated to
Principal Study professors for 1-to-1 lessons and the Director of Opera allocates
professors for 1-to-1 Opera and Repertoire coaching.
9.2
Administrative support for management of the Masters Programme is provided

by the Registry Programmes Team.
9.3
Two key committees deal with matters relating to the running of the Masters
Programme. The Artistic and Academic Management Group, which meets every
fortnight, deals with issues such as admissions, the management of student
numbers at admissions, and the annual review of guidelines for auditioning and
examining panels. It also acts in the role of a steering committee when periodic
reviews take place. The Graduate School Committee deals with all operational
matters relating to the PGDip and MMus courses and Masters Programme as a
whole, including minor modifications that arise as part of the process of ongoing
curriculum development. It meets once a term and receives reports from Course
and Area Leaders. It also receives and approves annual monitoring reports. There
is student representation on the Committee.
9.4
The membership and terms of reference of these two committees have been
revised as part of a wholesale review of the committees of the College which
report to the Board of Professors. Details of membership and terms of reference
are available on the RCM intranet. The same information is available in hard copy
in the new version of the Colleges Committee Handbook. Copies of this are
readily available, including a reference copy kept in the Library.
9.5
The results of students assessment and their final awards are approved by the
Masters Programme in Performance Board of Examiners. This Board meets twice a
year to consider such matters, in addition to further internal meetings to consider
students project proposals, etc. At its meeting in July, it deals with the majority of
results; in September, it considers Intensive MMus completions, deferred results
and reassessments. The membership and terms of reference of this Board are
published in the same manner as indicated above.
9.6
As well as being represented on the Graduate School Committee, students have

regular access to Pathway Leaders and their feedback informs the reports made by
Pathway Leaders to that Committee. The primary opportunity for student
feedback, however, comes through the questionnaire which is linked to the
Personal Development Plan completed by all students as part of their Principal
Study unit requirements. Because the return of the form is a prerequisite for
successful completion of the unit, the proportion of students providing feedback
is high. As well as contributing to ongoing modifications to the Masters
Programme, this feedback is used to set some of the key agenda issues for periodic
review.
42
APPENDIX 1:
Royal College of Music, London

Programme Specification for the Integrated Masters Programme
PLEASE NOTE: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and
learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if s/he
takes full advantage of the learning opportunities that are provided. More detailed information on the
learning outcomes, content and teaching, learning and assessment methods can be found in the programme
handbook. The accuracy of the information contained in this document is reviewed by the College and may
be checked by the Quality Assurance Agency.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

n/a
Postgraduate Diploma (RCM), Masters Degree in
Advanced Vocal Performance (RCM)
N/A
July 2007
Awarding Body
Teaching Institution
External Accreditation by
Final Award
Programme Title
UCAS code
Relevant QAA Subject Benchmarking Group
Date of production/revision
9.
Educational Aims of the Programme
The programme aims to:
provide advanced musical training at postgraduate level in which a fundamental emphasis upon
practical attainment is complemented by the encouragement of critical self-awareness, a capacity
for reflective insight and the ability to formulate discriminating musical judgements;
offer to graduate musicians of proven ability, and with the potential for further development, the
opportunity to enhance their skills, broaden their knowledge of repertoire, hone their
interpretational and/or creative abilities and thereby to develop their musical talents, both in
terms of maturity and of individualisation;
provide a training whose own internal standards and, where applicable, whose actual
characteristics mirror as closely as possible those demanded within the profession. In doing so to
seek the fullest involvement of musicians active within the profession, whether professors of the
College or visiting individuals and groups;
acknowledge, and reflect wherever applicable, the leading trends in musical thinking within the
profession;
produce musicians capable of contributing to the development of the profession and of

participating in its future shaping through their insights and understanding, as well as their
practical abilities.
43
10.
Programme Outcomes the programme provides opportunities for students to develop and
demonstrate knowledge and understanding, qualities, skills and other attributes in the following
areas.
Skills and other attributes
Practical Skills able to:

(1) perform at a level expected of a front-rank
professional musician in terms of technique,
musical interpretation and communication
(2) apply personal research, analysis, reflection
and listening to the process of forming a
musical interpretation
(3) use a thorough understanding of the
components of music and its underlying
structures to inform musical performances
(4) memorise and reconstruct sound
(5) conceive, manipulate and develop musical
ideas and apply aesthetic/stylistic principles to
performance
Teaching/learning methods and strategies

Practical skills are developed through individual
instrumental lessons, specialist seminar-style
classes, ensemble and orchestral coaching, faculty
performance classes, masterclasses and College
concerts.
Formative feedback is provided throughout the
programme of study for example, advice from
visiting specialists giving masterclasses. Most
formal assessments are summative, however. They
are largely concentrated in the Summer Term and
mostly take the form of recital-style examinations.
In many cases, the assessment event is an actual
performance, at which an examining panel is
present, rather than a separately-organised
examination
Cognitive (thinking) skills able to:

(1) research, synthesise and evaluate
information from a variety of sources, most of
them not text-based (eg the oral testimony of
teachers and fellow-performers, information
carried in the sound of performances and
recordings)
(2) use advanced levels of reasoning and logic
to analyse this material and form relevant
performing strategies
(3) exercise significant judgement and apply
artistic/intellectual perspectives
(4) carry out extended projects

Cognitive skills are promoted through individual
instrumental lessons, small group seminars and a
range of solo, ensemble and orchestral
performance opportunities. The optional
Performance Case History unit is the most
obvious example of how this approach is
explicitly articulated but the same approach is
implicitly encouraged by all the elements of the
programme. Even the degree of choice offered
within the programme structure itself encourages
students to use reasoning to select the most
advantageous pattern for their personal needs
and professional aspirations
Transferable skills able to:

(1) approach and solve problems in a flexible,
open and creative way
(2) work as part of a team, often in a leadership
role, taking spontaneous decisions and
responding to the decisions of others
(3) improvise, manage risk and cope with the
unexpected
(4) be self-motivated and disciplined, and
promote projects/performances with selfcritical awareness
(5) understand work regimes and professional
protocols
(6) work independently

Acquisition of these skills is, once again,
encouraged in elements of the programme but
also through private practice/study for individual
and collective performance projects (practical
examinations, solo appearances in concerts,
masterclasses and competitions, and appearances
with chamber groups and orchestras).
44

Core knowledge and understanding of the
instrument and its repertoire is communicated
primarily through the individual lessons. The
pattern of these lessons reflects the importance or
otherwise of related instruments to a given
principal instrument. Repertoire seminars,
chamber coaching, orchestral sectionals and
concert programmes in general all contribute to
the expansion of repertoire knowledge. A
proportion of these deal specifically with less
familiar repertoire and the assimilations
techniques required. Side-by-side experiences
bring the realities of the profession into close
proximity while Professional Skills lectures offer
specific insights into the profession. These latter
are for all Postgraduate Diploma students but
students may additionally undertake an assessed
unit arising out of the lectures
Knowledge and understanding of:

(1) the full range of technical and expressive
capabilities of ones instrument
(2) the instruments repertoire and that of its
period or modern equivalent and of commonly
related instruments, as appropriate
(3) how to assimilate less familiar repertoires
and the performing conventions associated
with them
(4) the current state and likely direction of
development of the profession, the range of
competencies needed to enter it and the ways
in which ones skills may be continuously
enhanced to keep pace with rising challenges in
a developing career
45
11. Programme structure and features; curriculum units, credit and award requirements
The Postgraduate Diploma is offered as a full-time, 1 to 2-year programme, leading to the award of
PGDip(RCM). Students successfully completing Year 1 obtain a PGDip in Vocal Performance; those
successfully completing two years of study additionally receive a PGDip in Advanced Vocal Performance.
The Master of Music in Advanced Vocal Performance is offered as a full-time, 2-year programme with an
Intensive second year (12 months), leading to the award of MMus(RCM).
The standard number of credits in each year is 120 at Level M. The Intensive second year carries 180 credits.
Year 1
All students enter the Masters Programme and take the
same pattern of units, leading to the PGDip in Vocal
Performance.
All units undertaken must be passed for

the award to be obtained and, if
appropriate, for the student to progress
to year 2.
Reassessment opportunities are offered in
September. Where an assessment has
been failed in the Spring Term,
reassessment is normally possible in June.
All students successfully completing Year
1 will be awarded a PGDip in Vocal
Performance.
Students may make an inward transfer to
Year 2 if they have gained a minimum of
120 credits elsewhere in subjects
correlating to the RCM Year 1 programme
of study.
Year 2
Students either take a pattern of units similar to the first
year or take the first MMus core unit and a
correspondingly reduced pattern of practical units.
Students taking the Intensive version of this year take
the first MMus core unit and a choice from two
Advanced Vocal Performance MMus units, together
with a full range of practical units.
All units undertaken must be passed for

the award to be obtained.
Reassessment opportunities are offered in
September. Where an assessment has
been failed in the Spring Term,
reassessment is normally possible in June.
All students successfully completing Year
2 will be awarded a PGDip in Advanced
Vocal Performance.
Students successfully completing all
components including two MMus Core
Units (one of which must be the Case
History Portfolio) will be awarded an
MMus in Advanced Vocal Performance.
46
12. Support for students and their learning

RCM Integrated Masters Programme in Vocal Performance Handbook
Individual syllabuses covering examination requirements for Principal Study at first and second year
levels
Induction talks, meetings, lectures and 1-to-1 programme advice
Accessible Head of Vocal Studies and Director of Opera
A Student Counsellor and Welfare Manager
The Woodhouse Centre, a support unit offering advice in career and professional development,
publicity, teaching and external engagements, contact with RCM alumni and with external advisors
Access to lecturers in office hours
A Library (containing over 400,000 items), the Museum of Instruments (housing 600 instruments), the
RCM Studios (providing digital recording post-production and editing facilities and a composers
studio) and the Centre for Performance History (housing 340 original paintings, 10,000
prints/photographs and 750,000 concert programmes)
The Centre for Performance Science (CPs) and the Centre for the Study of Composition for Screen
(CSCS)
IT facilities with access to email and the world-wide web
A student common room/bar
Student Association representatives
Facilities for photocopying and printing
A centralised Registry open 95 throughout the year
13. Criteria for admission
Applicants for Year 1 of the Masters Programme should have a first degree or equivalent. While this will
normally be in music, applications from graduates of other disciplines are considered
All eligible applicants are invited for audition in December. They must pass the audition. Because in many
cases demand exceeds the number of places available, the cut-off point for offers of places may be
significantly higher than the pass mark for the auditions.
First-year students indicate towards the end of the Autumn Term whether they wish to be considered for a
second year of study. Provided that they meet the deadline for this notification, they will be given a
provisional acceptance for the second year, subject to their successfully completing Year 1 and gaining a
mark of at least 65% in their Principal Study unit.
14. Methods for evaluating and improving the quality and standards of learning and teaching
Mechanisms for review and evaluation of teaching, learning and assessment, the curriculum
and outcome standards
Annual Monitoring report

reports from RCM External Examiners
five-year programme review and validation by a panel of internal and external specialists
a team of pathway Learning Advisers who monitor their particular areas of the course and assist in
course and examination preparation
an annual programme of staff development
peer observation and mentoring
periodic review by [HEQC]/QAA
Committees responsible for monitoring and evaluating quality and standards

Postgraduate Programmes Committee
Artistic and Academic Managers Group
Masters Programme Board of Examiners
Board of Professors
Mechanisms for gaining student feedback on the quality of teaching and their learning experience
student course evaluation questionnaires
student representation on College committees
annual meeting of students with RCM External Examiners
meetings between Student Association postgraduate and faculty representatives and the Head of
Graduate School
47
15. Regulation of assessment

The pass mark is 50% for all units. The overall marks required for the various classifications are as follows:
70100%
5069%
049%
Distinction
Pass
Fail
Role of External Examiners

The two External Examiners (from conservatoires and universities in the UK) are nominated by the Graduate
School Committee and approved by the Board of Professors. External Examiners normally serve for four
years. Their role is that of moderator and in order to do this they:
Attend at least one third of Principal Study practical examinations observing the operation of
examining panels and, where appropriate, suggesting possible moderation of the panels verdicts
Approve examination papers (where applicable)
Review coursework (where applicable)
See, or have access to, all examination scripts and coursework assignments (where applicable)
Attend the Masters Programme Board of Examiners
Complete a report to College
48
APPENDIX 2

Regulations and Overall Credit Framework
for Taught Postgraduate Programmes
(MMus, PGDip, PGCert and Grad Dip)
1
Introduction
1.1
These regulations cover full and part-time students undertaking postgraduate

study at the RCM.
1.2
The regulations, and the course handbooks for the programmes to which they
apply should be read in conjunction with the General Academic Regulations, as
from time to time amended or substituted. These latter cover aspects such as
student complaints, appeals, regulations concerning student conduct, cheating,
plagiarism and collusion.
1.3
Each programme within the framework shall have a handbook* which will set out
any specific requirements. Individual units may have additional, separately
published, syllabuses. Any mention of handbooks in these regulations also applies
to separately published unit syllabuses.
*
Handbooks in some cases cover an entire programme; in other cases, there

are separate handbooks for each course or even each course. Where the
general term programme handbook is used in these regulations, it is taken to
stand for all three types.
Glossary of terms
In these regulations and in the handbooks of all programmes within the scheme,
the following expressions shall have the meanings assigned as follows:
Programme:
A validated pattern of study leading to an award. A single

programme may have more than one exiting award
according to the pattern and/or total volume of units
studied
Course:
A validated pattern of study within a defined area of

activity (eg performance, composition) forming part of a
recognised programme.
Unit:
The standard component into which a programme is

divided and from which students build up their chosen
pattern of study. Each unit has its own specified learning
outcomes, content and assessment scheme.
Programme of studies: An individual student's approved selection of units within

a programme, sufficient to satisfy the programme
requirements on successful completion.
49
Student transcript:
A document produced at the end of students studies

which details all the units making up their programme of
studies, the credit values of these units and the results
achieved in each of them, together with the overall result
and qualification achieved.
Credit point:
A number representing the quantity of time and effort

expended by a student in part of the programme. Unit of
the programme are allocated credit points according to
their size. When a unit is passed, all the credits associated
with it are awarded. Credit point ratings are recognised by
many institutions in the United Kingdom and the rest of
Europe, thus facilitating student transfer. The National
Credit Framework for the UK assigns a minimum of 180
credits to a Masters degree, 120 credits to a Postgraduate
Diploma and 60 to a Postgraduate Certificate. The
College's framework conforms to this pattern.
Level:
The standard of challenge of the work involved in a

particular unit. Credits at postgraduate level are described
as being at Level M, although, in the National Credit
Framework for the UK, up to 25% of the credits for a given
award may be at undergraduate Level 3.
Where
educationally appropriate, the Colleges programmes make
use of this latter mechanism.
ECTS credits:
The European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) is becoming

widely adopted across European institutions, making it
easier to compare a students achievement in one
institution with another institutions requirements for
entry, transfer, etc. The credit system used by the RCM
(which is the national UK system) is compatible with the
ECTS system. One ECTS credit point corresponds to 2
credit points within the UK system. Therefore, for
example, the minimum ECTS credit points for a Masters
Degree is 90.
Component of
Assessment:
Reassessment:
An individual part of the assessment for the programme,

such as repertoire examination, written project or final
recital. Each component of assessment will constitute all
or part of the assessment associated with a given unit.
Where there is more than one component of assessment
in a given unit, their relative weighting is specified. Passing
the component(s) of assessment means that the number
of credit points associated with the unit will be awarded,
contributing to the credits required for the final award.
The requirement for a student to be wholly or partly
assessed on a further occasion without further study. This
might involve undertaking a new examination, giving a
fresh recital performance and/or submitting new work.
The method(s) of reassessment determined by the Board
of Examiners should be the same or equivalent to the
original assessment. The mark achieved in a reassessment
is usually capped. A flag will be placed against the mark on
the student transcript to indicate that it is a capped
reassessment.
50
Retake:
In certain circumstances, the Board of Examiners may

determine that a student needs to study a component of
assessment again before being reassessed. This is described
in these regulations as a retake. The mark achieved in a
retake is not usually capped. A flag will be placed against
the mark on the student transcript to indicate that it is a
reassessment.
Compensation:
A Board of Examiners may permit a student's overall

performance to compensate for marginal failure in a unit
or units. Compensation does not turn a fail into a pass,
rather it allows a student to progress, without having to be
reassessed in the unit(s) failed. A flag will be placed
against the mark on the student transcript to indicate that
it has been compensated.
Types of award and credit ratings
3.1
The following awards and credit ratings shall apply to programmes that are part of
the framework scheme. Not all programmes will offer the full range of awards.
Masters degree:
a minimum of 180 level M credits
Postgraduate Diploma:
Postgraduate Certificate:
Generally only used as a lesser award when a student has credit towards the
Diploma or Masters but insufficient for either of these awards
Graduate Diploma
a minimum of 120 level 3 credits
A course taken by a student who already possesses a first degree, or

equivalent, and which is therefore postgraduate in time, though not in level
3.2
The overall credit framework for postgraduate taught programmes ascribes credit
values to all of the constituent programmes and courses. These are general credit
values, reflecting the duration of study, the quantity and the quality of work
contained within the awards. The general credits associated with one programme
shall have no specific value in relation to admission to another. Similarly, the
credits associated with the first-year levels (performance or composition) shall
have no specific value in relation to the second-year (advanced performance or
advanced composition) levels.
3.3
Certain of the general credits associated with the PGDip in Advanced

Performance/Composition/Vocal Studies carry a corresponding specific value in
respect of precisely related elements of the MMus in Advanced
Performance/Advanced Composition/Advanced Vocal Performance. Any such
allocation and its effect upon a students subsequent admission to MMus study
shall be in accordance with section 5 below, relating to the admission and transfer
of students.
51
3.4
In addition to the awards listed above, the RCM offers a programme of study
entitled an Artist Diploma. This programme is open only to performers who have
completed at least one year of postgraduate study and who have achieved a pass
with distinction or equivalent. Results of the Opera Role examinations which take
place during the Artist Diploma in Opera are considered by the Masters
Programme in Performance Board of Examiners (see section 7.1). In all other
respects, the Artist Diploma functions outside the regulations and credit
framework set out here.
The structure of taught postgraduate programmes
4.1
Each programme within the framework scheme shall be based on a teaching year
which shall comprise three terms. In the intensive version of the Masters
Programme, the summer period, ie the difference between the academic session
and the calendar year, shall be included within the period of study. Hence, 180
level M credits will represent 12 months of postgraduate study. Postgraduate
Diploma programmes, carrying a minimum of 120 credit points, will typically
occupy the period of the academic session, corresponding to roughly two thirds of
the duration and volume of study for a Masters Programme but with their
emphasis concentrated in practical areas. Versions of the Masters Programme
taken across two full academic sessions are ascribed 240 credits in total, included
within which must be the 180 credits essential for the Masters qualification. The
precise structure of postgraduate taught programmes varies from course to
course but all conform to these broad principles.
4.2.1
For flexibility, units in the taught postgraduate programmes are ascribed a variety
of sizes. However, all units are built out of 10 credit blocks or multiples thereof. In
all cases, irrespective of their size, units have a description setting out learning
outcomes, content and assessment scheme and they contribute one overall
assessment mark.
4.3
The normal minimum duration of a programme leading to an award shall be:
4.4
Masters degree:
12 months of full-time study or equivalent
30 weeks of full-time study or equivalent
15 weeks of full-time study, or equivalent
Graduate Diploma:
30 weeks of full-time study or equivalent
The maximum period within which a student shall normally complete a particular
postgraduate programme shall be:
Masters degree:
four years
three years
two years
Graduate Diploma:
three years
52
4.5
The Course handbook may specify the order in which programme units must be
taken as part of a particular programme.
4.6
The Course handbook may specify that some programme units are prerequisites
for others.
Students individual programmes of study
5.1
Each student shall have an approved programme of studies. The approved

programme of studies will specify which units a student will study during the year.
Students may only be assessed in those units included in their approved
programme of study. They may attend other units as observers, but only in so far
as this is compatible with their commitment to their own programme of study
and convenient to the teaching staff concerned. Students will, however, be actively
encouraged to attend masterclasses in subjects other than their principal study
instrument and other open teaching and performance sessions from time to time
arranged. Study beyond that stipulated for the fulfilment of the requirements of
the award, for example additional individual tuition, may be permitted at the
discretion of the Head of Graduate School and for an additional fee.
5.2
Unit borrowing
Unit borrowing between programmes in the scheme or, indeed, with appropriate
postgraduate level programmes outside the scheme (including at another
institution) will be permitted, subject to the approval of the inclusion of such
units in an approved programme of studies. Exceptionally, study on some
programmes may expressly require a period of study at another institution.
5.3
Unit borrowing from undergraduate programmes

Unit borrowing from undergraduate programmes is permitted by the scheme.
However, such unit borrowing may not be approved on an ad hoc basis and shall
be subject to validation. Proposals for such unit borrowing, including the credit
points to be awarded to such units, will be carefully considered at validation.
Undergraduate level units which are to be taken as part of a Postgraduate
Diploma or Masters programme should be at Level 3. In addition, these units
should not comprise more than 25% of the normal credits required for the award.
5.4
Prerequisites
The course handbook shall specify any units which are prerequisites for the study
of other units.
The admission and transfer of students
6.1
The general requirements for initial entry to a programme within the framework
scheme are that students should hold a minimum of a UK or overseas
undergraduate degree, or its equivalent. For the intensive version of the Masters
programme, this should be an honours degree in Music, related to the specialism
of the programme, of at least Upper Second Class standard. Where programmes
have more specific or more general requirements, these will be set out in the
programme handbook. Admission will be guided by the College's admissions and
equal opportunities policies.
53
6.2
Overseas applicants whose first language is other than English are required to
demonstrate their linguistic proficiency by production of a certificate of the
International English Language Testing Service (IELTS) at level 6 or higher
(qualifications deemed to be equivalent to this are published in the prospectus).
Overseas applicants for the intensive version of the MMus should have achieved
level 7 or higher.
6.3
In exceptional cases, interview panels shall have the discretion to recommend to

the admissions committee that a candidate lacking the requisite formal language
qualification should nevertheless be considered for admission on the grounds that
his or her level of linguistic ability is equivalent to that normally represented by
these qualifications. Special attention will be paid to the specific requirements of
the proposed programme of study and the candidates likely success in meeting
these.
6.4
An applicant may be admitted to a programme with credit for appropriate prior

learning (including experiential learning) provided that there is a reasonable
expectation that the applicant will be able to fulfil the objectives of the
programme by its completion.
6.5
Normally, an applicant shall not be admitted with the credit of more than half the
credit points required in order to qualify for the award which that applicant is
seeking unless there is an exceptionally close match between the applicant's prior
learning and the requirements of the programme.
6.6
Subject to 6.5. above, the number of units for which credit on entry is given shall
be determined by the Head of Graduate School, in liaison with members of the
course team for the programme to which the applicant is to be admitted. The
grade(s) to be given shall be determined by the board of examiners for that
programme, at the earliest opportunity.
6.7
It may be determined that applicants with a particular qualification are to be

admitted regularly with a standard amount of credit. Where this is the case, the
arrangement shall be specified in the programme handbook.
6.8
Where credit is given for experiential learning, the student may be required to
undertake assessment in order for the appropriate grade to be determined.
6.9
Readmission with credit

A student who has exhausted all the opportunities for reassessment may, at the
discretion of the Head of Graduate School, be readmitted to a programme in the
scheme to study new units, as part of a new approved programme of studies. In
such circumstances the student will retain credit for those units which had already
been passed, subject to the Head of Graduate School satisfying him- or herself that
the units are an appropriate foundation for the programme to which the student
has been readmitted. The student shall not be allowed to take again a component
of assessment for which the opportunity for reassessment has been exhausted.
54
6.10
Interruption of studies
At the discretion of the Head of Graduate School, a student with a valid reason for
wishing to interrupt his or her studies may be permitted to do so. Interruption
shall normally be for a period of one, two or three terms. A student wishing to
interrupt for a longer period, or to extend an existing period of interruption, must
normally obtain fresh permission before the end of their final term of approved
interruption.
6.11
Interruption of studies will not normally be approved where it would extend

beyond two authorised periods totalling five terms. A student requiring further
time before resuming their studies will normally be required to apply formally for
readmission at the point where they are ready to return to the College. A student
readmitted in this way may still carry forward any credits earned prior to
interruption.
6.12
Similarly, if the period of interruption required by a student means that he or she

would be unable to complete their overall studies within the maximum period
allowed for that programme (see Section 4) they will normally be required to
apply formally for readmission at the point where they are ready to return.
6.13
During the period of interruption, a student shall normally cease to have access to
College services and facilities enjoyed by current students.
7.
The assessment of students
7.1
There shall be a Board of Examiners to oversee the conduct of examination and

other assessment and to ratify its outcomes on behalf of the Board of Professors.
Terms of reference and membership details for the Board of Examiners shall be
included in the Colleges Committee Handbook and published on the RCM
Intranet.
7.2
Internal members of the board of examiners shall meet as appropriate to consider

proposals for Lecture Recitals, Research Projects etc. In some cases, interim
boards, which may include the external examiners where convenient but need not
do so, shall meet after assessment events during the course of the year. After these
boards, the results shall be published to students but with a standard
accompanying rubric indicating that they are provisional until ratified by the
meeting of the board of examiners to consider final awards. The same rubric shall
be used where there is a long delay between an assessment event and the next
meeting of the board of examiners and results are published by Chairs action.
7.3
The meeting of the board of examiners after the last assessment event to be taken
within a programme of study shall also constitute the final awards board. The
presence of the external examiners shall normally be required at this meeting of
the board.
7.4
The precise form and content of examinations shall be determined in the

documentation referring to individual programmes and courses. The level of
challenge, both quantitative and qualitative, between an element of assessment in
one course and its equivalent in another must be demonstrably comparable in
overall terms, but should take account, where appropriate, of specialist factors in a
given area which might call for detailed variation in order to achieve this
comparability.
55
7.5
All assessment shall be carried out on behalf of the board of examiners by

assessment panels. The procedures for practical examining are set out in a guide
for examiners and students which is reviewed annually.
7.6
Each student shall be awarded a grade for the components of assessment taken, in
accordance with the scale set out below. These grades shall always be used to
report achievement to a student regardless of the size of the unit concerned.
Percentage
70 +
50-69
49 or less
Grade/level of attainment
Distinction
Pass
Fail
Where a unit of study is borrowed from an undergraduate programme, the

grading scale used for assessment shall be consistent with the unit in its normal
context. In cases such as the Graduate Diploma where such units may form the
totality of the programme of study, the undergraduate percentage scheme shall be
employed but the grading system of Honours classifications shall not. A mark of
40% or above shall attract a pass grade.
7.7
A student is required to achieve a passing grade in the assessment task(s) specified

for each unit in his or her programme of studies in order to fulfil the requirements
for the award (see section 8 below). Unless the unit description states otherwise, a
subsidiary element of assessment within a unit may be failed, provided that the
overall mark for the unit is a pass.
7.8
Deferral
7.8.1
Any deferral of final recitals, repertoire or technical examinations must be

approved in advance by the Head of Graduate School. Such deferral will
be permitted only where a student can offer compelling academic reasons
or serious mitigating circumstances. In all circumstances, other than
mitigating circumstances related to sudden illness, for which a medical
certificate must be provided, students must seek approval for a deferral at
least two weeks in advance of the examination date. External
engagements will not usually be accepted as justifiable mitigating
circumstances other than, exceptionally, when the nature of the external
engagement is, in the opinion of the Head of Graduate School, of sufficient
importance to override the examination schedule.
7.8.2
In circumstances where the above conditions have not been met or where
a student has not gained permission and nevertheless fails to present
themselves for an examination, the deferred examination will normally be
treated as a reassessment. The mark will thus be capped at a maximum of
50% (40% for the Graduate Diploma) and a reassessment fee will be
charged (see 8.2).
7.8.3
Deferred recital examinations will always take place in one of the RCMs
recognised performance venues where this would have been the case with
the original assessment. However, given the complexity of examination
scheduling, the college cannot guarantee that the particular performance
venue used in the earlier assessment period will be the same for the
deferred assessment.
56
7.9
7.8.4
In the case of assessments based upon the submission of substantial

quantities of written text or music (portfolios, written projects, etc),
students who fail to submit by the prescribed date may, at the discretion
of the Head of Graduate School, be allowed to hand in their work up to
two calendar months late. The granting of an extension is only made in
circumstances where a strong case has been established and where a
student given such flexibility is not felt to be unfairly advantaged thereby
compared with other students on the course.
7.8.5
Where deferral of a portfolio or written project is granted, the new

submission date and date for examination shall be determined by the
Head of Graduate School and communicated to the student and to
external examiners. Whilst every reasonable effort will be made to ensure
that candidates deferring by no more than the prescribed period are
examined according to a timetable which will permit them to graduate,
along with the rest of their cohort, assessment will necessarily have to be
coordinated with the scheduled visits of external examiners to the College.
7.8.6
Under exceptional circumstances, the Head of Graduate School may

recommend to the board of examiners that a deferral of more than two
months is warranted. If this is the case, a written justification by the
student, accompanied by a written supporting statement from the
professor most closely involved shall be presented to an internal meeting
of the Board of Examiners. If approved by the Board of Examiners, the
deferred submission shall operate under the same conditions as in 7.8.4
above.
7.8.7
Where deferral of a portfolio or written project is not granted, a late

submission will normally be treated as a reassessment under the same
terms as in 7.8.2 above.
Mitigating Circumstances
7.9.1
Students who are ill or have other mitigating circumstances must submit
these either in writing to the Head of Graduate School or by discussing the
circumstances confidentially with the Counsellor. Only mitigating
circumstances submitted in this way will be considered. If a students
mitigating circumstances relate to illness, they must provide a doctors
certificate.
7.9.2
Extensions to deadlines will not be offered. Any mitigating circumstances

which are provided by a student will be considered by a sub-group of the
Board of Examiners which will meet shortly before the Board. The subgroup will make recommendations to the Board on whether the
mitigating circumstances submitted in writing or through the Counsellor
are valid and whether they should affect the marks for particular units or
individual elements of assessment, including whether capped marks
should be lifted.
7.9.3
There are two circumstances in which the Counsellor can submit

mitigating circumstances on a students behalf: (i) where the
circumstances are of an exceptionally personal nature and the student
prefers that only the Counsellor knows about them (in this situation, the
Counsellor will require evidence in order to form a view); (ii) where the
Counsellor has been working with a student for a period of time in a
57
counselling relationship. So that an accurate assessment of the

circumstances can be made, the Counsellor will need to have a certain
amount of knowledge of the student, over a period of time, and not just
to have met on one occasion. The current guideline is that the Counsellor
will need to have met the student on at least three occasions, close to
period of time for which the student wishes to establish that the study was
affected. However, this does not guarantee that the Counsellor will be
able to provide evidence that the students circumstances have affected
their ability to study.
8
Decisions of the Board of Examiners
8.1
Compensation
8.2
8.1.1
The Board of Examiners for a programme may, having due regard to the
standard of the award and to the objectives of the programme, allow a
student's overall performance to compensate for a partial failure in one
component of assessment only within a total student programme for any
award. A Board is not required to make use of this provision but may use
it when, in its considered judgement, such compensation is fair and
reasonable in relation to the objectives of the programme and the
standard of the student's performance as a whole.
8.1.2
Compensation should not be applied to a component of assessment that

forms a substantial proportion of the assessment for the award, nor to a
component of assessment that is central to the fulfilment of programme
objectives.
Reassessment
8.2.1
Students who fail in their first attempt to satisfy the Board of Examiners in
the assessment for the award or individual components of assessment may
be reassessed once only, at the discretion of the Board of Examiners. A
reassessment fee is charged.
8.2.2
If successful in a reassessment, the student shall be notified of their actual

result but shall be awarded a capped pass mark of 50% (40% for the
Graduate Diploma). If unsuccessful in a reassessment, the student shall
retain the higher grade obtained at either of the two attempts.
8.2.3
The Board of Examiners may, at its discretion, require a student to retake a

unit (ie undertake further study) before reassessment takes place. In these
circumstances, an additional fee will be charged for the further studies
undertaken, including the reassessment taken at the end of them. The
mark achieved in a reassessment following retake is not usually capped.
Because a retake is a form of reassessment, there will not normally be an
opportunity for a student who is unsuccessful in a retake to be offered
further reassessment.
58
8.3
Progression
8.3.1
Many postgraduate courses last one academic year or one calendar year
and therefore the issue of progression from one academic year to another
does not arise with these. However, there are four cases where progression
from one year to the next does take place. These are as follows:
PGDip in Performance
to
PGDip in Composition
Graduate Diploma, Singer
PGDip in Vocal Performance
MMus/PGDip in
Advanced Performance
MMus/PGDip in
Advanced Composition
Performance
MMus/PGDip in
Advanced Vocal Performance
8.3.1
Within the academic year, progression is, in some cases, controlled at the
points where students must submit proposals concerning specific units of
the course for the approval of the Board of Examiners (see 7.2 above).
Success or failure in these submissions may determine whether the
qualification finally obtained is an MMus or a PGDip.
8.3.2
All students undertaking units which entail the submission of proposals

must submit by the deadlines stipulated. A timetable of deadlines for
each individual course is published at the beginning of the academic year.
8.3.3
If a students proposal is approved, he or she may still alter or redefine it,

subject to the approval of the Board, up until a further deadline which will
be included on the published timetable.
8.3.4
A student whose proposal is not acceptable will normally be given the

opportunity to resubmit a modified proposal to the board of examiners
by a subsequent deadline. If yet again unsuccessful, they will not normally
be permitted to pursue that particular unit any further. In programmes
where there is choice among a range of units, the student may select
another more appropriate unit; in programmes with a fixed pattern of
units, the student will normally pursue only the units remaining available
to them and, as a result, be considered for a lesser award at the conclusion
of their studies.
8.3.5
Students who are required to withdraw entirely from a programme but

who have already successfully completed certain of its earlier elements of
assessment will receive a transcript indicating the elements passed, with
marks, and the number of Level M credits earned thereby.
8.3.6
Students whose resubmitted proposals are accepted by the board of

examiners will normally proceed through all remaining elements of the
programme. If they are subsequently unsuccessful in any of the elements
of assessment, they will still normally be permitted to complete the
programme, whilst following the procedures for reassessment laid down in
the regulations.
59
8.4
Overall failure
The Colleges guiding principle shall be to permit reasonable opportunity to
redeem failure where the student has demonstrated firm commitment to the
course or where they have justifiable mitigating circumstances which have been
reported to the board of examiners. Therefore, where the extent of failure is too
great to allow reassessment or retaking as in 8.2 above, the following will be the
usual options considered:
retaking the entire year, in which case all units must be taken again, with or
without capping at the discretion of the board. All units retaken in this
manner must be passed at the first attempt;
termination of the students studies. The student will be awarded the credits
for all units passed and will be eligible to receive any award of the College to
which these credits entitle him/her.
Criteria for awards
9.1
Masters Degree (MMus) In order to qualify for the award of a Masters degree, a
student shall have gained a minimum of 180 credit points, at least 135 of which
must be at Level M, and successfully completed his or her approved programme of
study.
9.2
Postgraduate Diploma In order to qualify for the award of a Postgraduate

Diploma a student shall have gained a minimum of 120 credit points, at least 90 of
which must be at Level M, and successfully completed his or her approved
programme of study.
9.3
Postgraduate Certificate In order to qualify for the award of a Postgraduate

Certificate a student shall have gained a minimum of 60 credit points, at least 45 of
which must be at Level M, and successfully completed his or her approved
programme of study.
9.4
Graduate Diploma
In order to qualify for the award of a Graduate Diploma a student shall have
gained a minimum of 120 Level 3 credit points and successfully completed his or
her approved programme of study.
9.5
Certificate of Credit
The College's Certificate of Credit may be awarded to a student for credit gained
from successful completion of units on a programme, on the basis of the credit
obtained by the student at the point of withdrawal, for whatever reason. The
Certificate of Credit will indicate that the individual named on the Certificate has
satisfactorily achieved general credit points for assessed learning according to the
nationally recognised Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS). The
Certificate will not be titled unless the course handbook makes specific provision
for a title.
9.6
Award of Distinction
In the case of Masters degrees and Postgraduate Diplomas, a Board of Examiners
shall make an award with distinction where at least one of the following three
conditions has been met:
60
The student has obtained marks yielding an overall aggregate of 70% or

higher;
The student has achieved a grade of 70% or above in at least 75 % of the

credits required for the award (ie usually 135 credits for the Masters degree,
at least 100 of which should be at Level M, and 90 credits for a Postgraduate
Diploma, at least 60 of which should be at Level M);
The student has achieved a grade of 70% or above in at least 50% of the
credits required for the award (ie usually 90 credits for the Masters degree, at
least 60 of which should be at Level M, and 60 credits for the Postgraduate
Diploma, at least 40 of which should be at Level M) and has additionally
obtained marks yielding an overall aggregate of 68% or higher.
The award of distinction is not available for Postgraduate Certificates or Graduate

Diplomas.
9.7
9.8
Offer of Lower Awards

9.7.1
A candidate who fails to qualify for an award but who has, in the
judgement of the Board of Examiners, satisfied the requirements for a
lower award, shall be offered the opportunity of accepting the lower
award.
9.7.2
If the candidate is also offered the opportunity of a further attempt at the

higher award the offer of that opportunity shall be as an alternative to the
offer of the lower award. If, however, the candidate accepts the offer of a
further opportunity but fails to qualify for the higher award, the candidate
may then claim the lower award previously offered.
9.7.3
A student who has accepted an award shall not have an automatic right to
re-enter the programme in order to study for a higher award. A student
must apply for readmission to the programme.
Aegrotat awards
Where there is insufficient evidence to determine the recommendation of an
award but the board of examiners is nevertheless satisfied that the student would
have qualified for the award for which he or she was a candidate had it not been
for illness or other valid cause, an Aegrotat pass award may be recommended.
61
APPENDIX 3

Procedures for the Submission and Marking of Postgraduate
Written Work at the Royal College of Music 2007-08: A Guide for
Professors and Students
This Guide has been compiled in order to provide students and staff with clear
information on the various stages of the submission and marking process. Some of the
sections that follow apply only to students, some to staff alone and others to both.
Presentation of Work
1
Format
All written material at postgraduate level should be typed or word-processed on
A4 paper, double-spaced, and on one side of the paper only. There should be
ample margins and, in the case of Vocal Critical Projects, 1.5 inches allowed on the
left hand side to facilitate subsequent binding. Footnotes should be numbered
consecutively in Arabic numerals. Numbering may either run throughout the
document, with the footnotes presented separately at the end of the main text or,
where word processing allows footnotes to be entered at the foot of relevant page,
may be recommenced with each new chapter or equivalent structural division of
the text. Music examples, figures, tables, etc should be incorporated in the text
and reduced to A4 size as necessary. Page numbers should be given throughout.
Style
2.1 Students should follow the house style used in the second edition of The New
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (London, 2000), except in the
preparation of bibliographies, where the format set down in the Royal Musical
Associations Research Chronicle 28 (1995) should be employed.
2.2 Use of The New Grove II house style will assist in matters such as the spelling
(including accents) of names (people, places, institutions) as well as in the
presentation of work titles, numbers, music contexts (e.g. time signatures),
possessives and abbreviations.
2.3 Material submitted for examination (including any cassette, compact disc,
video or CD ROM recordings) should be securely held together and may be
presented in A4 clip files. Submissions should include a title page showing the
students name, the unit, the title of the piece of work (where appropriate),
and the name of the degree for which it has been submitted.
2.4 For the Vocal Critical Project, students should include a single-page summary
of the submitted work, forming an abstract of about 300 words in length. It
should bear the candidates name and the full title of the work at the head of
the page.
62
Binding
The Board of Examiners may select some Vocal Critical Projects for deposit in the
College Library. If a students work is selected, they will be required to submit, at
their own expense, one bound copy of the approved document for retention by
the College. It is to be bound according to the directive of the College Reference
Librarian in a blue buckram case, with gold lettering up the spine showing the
candidates initials and surname, the words Exercise for MMus RCM, and the year
of submission. The material is to be bound in a single volume. Tape/disc/disk
pockets should be incorporated as necessary.
Submission of Work
4
Written work should always be handed in to the Registry so that a receipt can be
issued. Students should retain this receipt until the end of the academic year: in
the rare event of written work being mislaid once it has been submitted, the
receipt for the work will need to be produced.
The submission deadline for each piece of work is indicated in the unit syllabuses
which are provided at the start of the academic year (spare syllabuses are kept in
the Registry
No extensions to deadlines are offered. If a student has a valid reason for being
unable to meet a publicised deadline they should see the Head of Graduate School
prior to the submission date and read the relevant sections in the Masters
Programme Handbook (Regulations Section, sections 7.67.7). Any mitigating
circumstances that are provided by a student will be considered by a sub-group of
the Board of Examiners, which will meet shortly before the Board. The sub-group
will make recommendations to the Board on whether the mitigating
circumstances submitted in writing or through the Counsellor are valid and
whether they should affect the marks for particular units or individual elements of
assessment, including whether capped marks should be lifted.
Students whose illness or other mitigating circumstances are of a sensitive nature

may discuss the circumstances confidentially with the Counsellor. There are two
circumstances in which the Counsellor can present mitigating circumstances on a
students behalf:
1. where the circumstances are of an exceptionally personal nature and the
student prefers that only the Counsellor knows about them (in this
situation, the Counsellor will require evidence in order to form a view);
2. where the Counsellor has been working with a student for a period of time
in a counselling relationship. So that an accurate assessment of the
circumstances can be made, the Counsellor will need to have a certain
amount of knowledge of the student, over a period of time, and not just
to have met on one occasion. The current guideline is that the Counsellor
will need to have met the student on at least three occasions, close to the
period in time for which the student wishes to establish that the study was
affected. However, this does not guarantee that the Counsellor will be able
to provide evidence that the students circumstances have affected their
ability to study.
63
First Marking of Work

8
Feedback should be as detailed as the allocated time allows although the extent to
which this is given on the script or on the report sheet provided by Registry is a
matter for individual markers. It should include, wherever appropriate, an
indication of where and how improvement might be made. Comments made
should accord with the mark suggested.
Errors of spelling, syntax, academic style and poor presentation should be

corrected in the early stages of the work and then subsequently highlighted for
the attention of the student. Common errors made by non-native speakers
include: article use (the/a) and prepositions, which are hard concepts to grasp and
not trivial errors; tenses; subject/verb and plurals agreement (final s on words);
and syntax (particularly for Asian speakers). Where errors made by non-native
speakers are numerous, and it is apparent that these stem from three or four
different causes only, it is recommended that the script does not highlight each
and every instance. Persistent errors may form part of the specific written
feedback given to the student. Specialist in-house support is available to deal with
these problems and to encourage confidence in writing.
10
It is helpful to students for handwritten comments to be as legible as possible.

Electronic copies of the report sheet are available from the Registry, if markers
wish to word-process their feedback.
11
First-marked work should be returned to the Registry by the date indicated, with
the mark sheet completed and signed. Where relevant, work can then be
circulated to counter-markers To help the Registry keep track of each marking
batch, work should not be passed on directly to counter-markers by first-markers
Counter-marking of Work
12
Counter-marking involves the sampling of previously marked scripts to determine

that the rank order and marks/classifications awarded accord with the countermarkers own sense of marks and standards elsewhere in the postgraduate
programmes. Counter-markers are not asked to second mark (which involves the
re-marking of all scripts, usually without access to the first marks). In particular,
they are requested to scrutinise all Distinctions, Fails and marks close to
classification borderlines (eg 68/69%). Any potential adjustments, whether to
individual marks or to all marks uniformly, should be discussed with the first
marker.
13
Counter-marking arrangements are identified on the marksheet. Counter-markers

should feel free to add comments, sparingly, on the scripts they see.
14
Counter-marker and first-marker should liaise directly over any differences of

opinion and, in such instances, both agree a final mark. It is the counter-markers
responsibility to convene this meeting with the first marker. Final, agreed marks
should be added in pen to the report sheet and to the mark sheet before any work
is returned to the Registry.
15
Mark sheets are important documents and are frequently referred to, particularly
during the lead-in to Boards of Examiners meetings when spreadsheets for
individual units are scrutinised carefully. All markers should ensure that mark
sheets are signed and returned to the Registry, together with the work, once
marking of the assignment has concluded.
64
Return of Work
16
The College aims to guarantee the return of coursework to students after three
working weeks from the deadline submission (working weeks do not include
vacations, Audition Weeks and Planning & Review Weeks). Major projects may
have longer turnaround times or, where relevant, be retained until the holding of a
viva voce examination.
17
Work may be collected by the student from the Registry. Work submitted by the
Summer Term portfolio deadline may be scrutinised by External Examiners and is
available for collection during the final week of the academic year. Unclaimed
work is kept for one full term after the academic year in which it was submitted
and then destroyed.
18
Examples of coursework are copied for scrutiny by External Examiners and by

other external auditors, and for archiving purposes. Anonymised copies are
available on request to course teams and individual professors as teaching
resources and for benchmarking purposes.
The RCMs Policy on Plagiarism

19
Plagiarism is taking the words or ideas of someone else and making it appear that
these are your own. Some people refer to this as intellectual theft. Postgraduate
students would normally be expected to be familiar with what constitutes
plagiarism and why and how it should be avoided. However, for claritys sake it is
worth emphasising the following points:
1. If you copy out any section (no matter how small) from any published
source, you must acknowledge this source in a footnote (or endnote).
Copying out material word-for-word without acknowledgement makes
you guilty of plagiarism.
2. If you summarise the content of someones work and include that
summary in your own work, you must acknowledge this as a footnote (or
endnote). Failure to make such an acknowledgement means you have
plagiarised another persons ideas.
20
The College views plagiarism as a serious academic offence, liable to disciplinary

action. The current edition of the Colleges General Academic Regulations contains
a section on cheating, plagiarism and collusion which explains the procedures
followed by the College once a formal allegation of plagiarism has been made.
21
Before reaching the formal processes described in the General Academic

Regulations, an initial allegation of suspected plagiarism is usually made by the first
marker and referred for confirmation to the counter-marker. Where there is no
direct counter-marking of work, the marker should consult the Head of Graduate
School for the equivalent confirmatory opinion. In cases where the possibility of
plagiarism is first identified by a counter-marker, he or she should refer the work
back to the first marker for confirmation.
22
If it is the shared conviction of first marker and counter-marker (or equivalent)

that the work is plagiarised, a formal written allegation is prepared at this point.
The allegation should normally identify the source used for at least some portion
of the plagiarised text. It is not necessary to identify a source for every suspect
passage nor, indeed, to identify every source that may have been plagiarised.
The presentation of a written allegation to the Secretary & Registrar triggers the
procedure described in the General Academic Regulations.
65
PERFORMANCE CASE HISTORY PORTFOLIOS: SUBMISSION & ASSESSMENT

CRITERIA
_____________________________________________________
1
Contents
i.
Case History assignments

The Performance Case History Portfolio is made up of your choice of three work
assignments that have been first marked by those who set the questions, plus
programme notes for your Final Recital (NB you must complete this element even
if, for the recital itself, you choose to deliver spoken introductions). The three
assignments must be presented in exactly the form that they were submitted to
the first marker, with no revision, together with the first markers report sheet.
ii.
Programme notes
The following points are intended to assist you in the preparation of the
Programme notes.
Who are you writing these notes for?:
Students are asked to prepare programme notes as for a Wigmore Hall recital - in
other words you are writing notes for an informed, but non-specialist audience as
might be found in any serious concert event.
How long should they be?:
The total text should be a maximum of 1,200 words.
What will the marker be assessing you on?:
1.
Whether you have shown thought as to the potential reader (perhaps in
the assumptions made in terms of approach and the language used) and
the function that these notes are intended to serve.
2.
How clearly the notes themselves indicate their purpose. Is the writing
coherent in its approach, or is the presentation something of a jumble of
loose facts? Some examples of a clear sense of purpose might be:
an intention to give the reader some sense of the experience of the

music as it unfolds, as related to its structure and thematic
organisation
a constructive attempt to relate a biographical aspect of the
composer to the work in question
an attempt to give the listener a sense of the works
musical/social/ intellectual context.
3.
Quality of the information

This would cover issues of accuracy and appropriateness.
4.
Quality of the writing and ability to communicate

is it likely to engage the intended audience?
is it well written with a clear prose style?
is the vocabulary widely drawn and imaginative/sophisticated or
narrow/confined and predictable?
66
5.
Assessment criteria for programme notes:
The programme notes should be marked according to the criteria below. The
three categories of outcome should each be awarded a nominal mark. An overall
mark should then be selected which seems best to represent a balance of these
elements. It is not necessary for this mark to be a literal average of the preceding
three.
Category
Percentage
Range
Outcomes
Quality of information Clarity of purpose
supplied
80 100
Readability of style
Outstanding
Outstanding
Outstanding
70 - 79
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
65 - 69
Extremely Good
Extremely Good
Extremely Good
60 - 64
Very Good
Very Good
Very Good
55 - 59
Good
Good
Good
50 - 54
Fairly Good
Fairly Good
Fairly Good
45 49
Marginally
Unsatisfactory
Marginally
Unsatisfactory
Marginally
Unsatisfactory
40 - 44
Unsatisfactory
Unsatisfactory
Unsatisfactory
26 - 39
Seriously Unsatisfactory Seriously

Unsatisfactory
Seriously
Unsatisfactory
0 25
Distinction
Pass
Fail
67
Grossly
Unsatisfactory
2.
Submission of Performance Case History Portfolio

i Format
Your portfolio should be submitted with the following passage included on the
title page:
Performance Case History Portfolio submitted by [your name] in
partial fulfilment of the requirements of the MMus degree in
Advanced Performance at the Royal College of Music, summer 2xxx.
The portfolio must include a table of contents that sets out the work by title and
sequence. Material should be securely fastened within a binder, and this binder
should be clearly labelled with your name and the title Performance Case History
Portfolio.
ii Number of copies
You must submit one copy of your Portfolio to the Registry Programmes Team.
You are also strongly advised to keep a copy of your own.
iii Declaration and Receipt
On submission you will need to sign a declaration that this is your own work and
that the material you have submitted is in the same form in which it was
submitted to the first marker. You will then be given a receipt for your Portfolio.
3.
Assessment Criteria
The three pieces of coursework and the Portfolio as a whole should be marked
according to the criteria below. The three categories of outcome should each be
awarded a nominal mark. These marks will be subject to moderation by a panel
comprised of members of the Masters Programme teaching team, led by the Head
of Graduate School.
The final Portfolio mark will be an aggregate of the three moderated coursework
assignment marks and the Programme Notes mark, given by the Final Recital
Panels. Each of the 4 pieces of work will comprise 25% of the final mark.
68
Category
Percentage
Range
Outcomes
Breadth of background
research
Coherence of
arguments
Quality of
presentation
80 - 100
Outstanding
Outstanding
Outstanding
70 - 79
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
65 - 69
Extremely Good
Extremely Good
Extremely Good
60 - 64
Very Good
Very Good
Very Good
55 - 59
Good
Good
Good
50 - 54
Fairly Good
Fairly Good
Fairly Good
45 - 49
Marginally Unsatisfactory
Marginally
Unsatisfactory
Marginally
Unsatisfactory
40 - 44
Unsatisfactory
Unsatisfactory
Unsatisfactory
26 - 39
Seriously Unsatisfactory
Seriously
Unsatisfactory
Seriously
Unsatisfactory
0 - 25
Grossly
Unsatisfactory
Grossly
Unsatisfactory
Distinction
Pass
Fail
69
VOCAL CRITICAL PROJECTS: SUBMISSION & ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

___________________________________________________________________
1.
Submission
The project material must be the product of your own work, and not previously
submitted for examination at any institution, and you must confirm this by
signing the appropriate form when submitting the work. The material must be
securely held together, and the quality of its presentation will be taken into
account.
i Format
Your project should be submitted with the following passage included on the title
page:
Vocal Critical Project submitted by [your name] in partial fulfilment
of the requirements of the MMus degree in Advanced Performance at
the Royal College of Music, summer 2xxx.
ii Number of copies
You must submit one copies of your CEP to the Registry Programmes Team. You
are also strongly advised to keep a copy of your own.
iii Declaration and Receipt
On submission you will need to sign a declaration that this is your own work. You
will then be given a receipt for your Portfolio.
2.
The assessment process

The CEP is double marked, first by the students own supervisor and then by an
independent second marker. The following guidelines specify the different, but
complementary functions of each marker.
First marker:
The first markers report should comment on the process surrounding the
students realisation of the CEP. This may focus on strengths and weaknesses
shown in the students conceptualising of the project, its aims and boundaries; the
quality of the process of investigation as reflected in their capability/initiative for
research and gathering of materials; the quality of the intellectual approach overall
(which in some cases, because of a students inexperience, may be stronger than
aspects of their written realization); the quality of argument as presented; the
students ability to sustain and structure the project over its writing-up phase, etc.
The mark awarded should seek to take account of these aspects and the report
should indicate the basis on which the assessment has been reached.
Second marker:
The second marker will assess the submitted result in the light of the CEPs stated
purpose, looking to see how far its objectives have been achieved (in terms of
scope, quality of argument and supporting evidence) together with a judgement
as to the overall quality of that attainment. The second marker will have sight of
the first markers report, but should use it with discretion, as it fulfils a different
purpose. However, the first marker is likely to have set down in their report the
boundaries established for this relatively short project. It is also likely to have been
noted if research had been attempted in a particular area but was thwarted for
some reason, and if there were other issues that played a significant part in the
final result, etc. The second marker may find such factual aspects useful in making
their assessment, and will want to acknowledge them in their own report.
70
It may well be that in some cases, the two marks differ fairly widely, and this is not
a situation which should seek to be avoided. The two reflect the markers own
different positions in relation to the work.
The final mark for the CEP is the mean of the two marks which have been
awarded: where this outcome removes the CEP from either a Distinction or a Fail
category that has been awarded by one assessor, then the External Examiner will
be asked to read the work and confirm or adjust this final mark.
3.
Marking criteria
The Vocal Critical Project should be marked according to the criteria below. The
three categories of outcome should each be awarded a nominal mark. An overall
mark should then be selected which seems best to represent a balance of these
elements. It is not necessary for this mark to be a literal average of the preceding
three.
71
Category
Percentage
Range
Outcomes
Breadth and
depth of
background
research
Quality of
evaluations and
coherence of
supporting
arguments
Quality of
presentation and
rigour of citations,
bibliography, etc.
80 - 100
Outstanding
Outstanding
Outstanding
70 - 79
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
65 - 69
Extremely Good
Extremely Good
Extremely Good
60 - 64
Very Good
Very Good
Very Good
55 - 59
Good
Good
Good
50 - 54
Fairly Good
Fairly Good
Fairly Good
45 - 49
Marginally
Unsatisfactory
Marginally
Unsatisfactory
Marginally
Unsatisfactory
40 - 44
Unsatisfactory
Unsatisfactory
Unsatisfactory
26 - 39
Seriously
Unsatisfactory
Seriously
Unsatisfactory
Seriously Unsatisfactory
0 - 25
Grossly
Unsatisfactory
Grossly
Unsatisfactory
Distinction
Pass
Fail
72
t
h
e
q
u
a
l
it
y
o
f
te
h
co
n
te
n
t
APPENDIX 4

The RCM Guide to the Presentation of Written Work
1. ASSESSMENT OF WRITTEN WORK

Postgraduates are expected to have developed effective written communication skills.
Your written work at the RCM may include essays, projects, dissertations, concert reports,
programme notes. Written work is assessed according to:
the quality of the content
o ability to locate and use a range of source materials
o command of this material; the focus and organisation of your argument
o qualities of insight and originality shown in the work
the quality of the presentation
o accuracy of spelling, punctuation and grammar
o clarity of layout and coherence of the paragraph structure
o proper acknowledgement of sources quoted in the text and a bibliography
Markers will annotate texts and make suggestions to inform and improve your
subsequent work so you should leave room for these in your scripts.
2. LAYOUT AND PRESENTATION
Written work should be word-processed and suitably bound. Text should be on one side
of the paper only, double-spaced, with a further blank line left between each paragraph.
Each page should be numbered. Written work should conclude with a bibliography of all
sources consulted, and all quotations included in the text must be acknowledged in a
1
footnote (such as this) . The following sections explain how to present bibliographies (and
discographies), how to cite quoted material and how to prepare footnotes.
3. PRESENTING A BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bibliographies should list all published (and unpublished) material consulted during the
preparation of your written work. They should be set out alphabetically, by authors
surname (though the order for the authors name is initial(s) followed by surname).
Bibliographies should follow the models cited below in punctuation and italicisation.
3.1 Citing a book
M. Bent, Dunstaple (London, 1986)
[authors initial(s) and surname / comma / title in italics (underlined if your script is
handwritten) / open brackets / place of publication / comma / date of publication / close
brackets]
1
Failure to properly cite works may leave you open to changes of plagiarism. See Section 7 of this
document, and the General academic regulations for students 2004/5, under Regulations concerning
cheating, plagiarism and collusion.
73
3.2 Citing an article in a periodical or journal

E. Sams, Elgars Enigmas, Music & Letters, 78 (1997), 410-15
[authors initial(s) and surname / comma / title of article in single inverted commas /
comma / title of periodical in italics (underlined if your script is handwritten) / comma /
volume number (use arabic numbers) /date of publication in brackets / comma / initial
and terminal page numbers for the article]
3.3 Citing an essay in a multi-authored work
M. Babbitt, Three Essays on Schoenberg, Perspectives on Schoenberg and Stravinsky, ed.
Benjamin Boretz and Edward T. Cone (Princeton, 1968), 47-60
comma / title of complete work in italics (underlined if your script is handwritten) /
comma / ed. (note the full stop) / editors (editors) name(s) / open brackets / place of
publication / comma / date of publication / close brackets /comma / initial and terminal
page numbers for the essay]
3.4 Citing a dictionary/encyclopedia article
I. Bent, Analysis, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie
(London, 1980), i, 340-88
comma / title of dictionary or encyclopedia in italics (underlined if your script is
handwritten) / comma / ed. (note full stop) /
editors (editors) name(s) / open brackets / place of publication / comma / date of
publication / close brackets / comma / volume number of dictionary (if a multi-volume
work) in roman numerals / comma /initial and terminal page numbers]
3.5 Citing a dissertation
B. A. Brown, Christoph Willibald Gluck and Opra-comique in Vienna, 1754-1764' (Ph.D.
dissertation, University of California, 1986)
[authors initial(s) and surname / comma / title of dissertation in single inverted commas /
open brackets / Ph.D. (M.Mus etc) dissertation / comma / name of university / comma /
date of submission / close brackets]
If there are two or more authors of a book or article, list their names as they appear in the
publication (not in alphabetical order). The first surname listed will determine the
alphabetical placing within the bibliography. Some of the examples listed above have
been taken from Notes for Contributors to Research Chronicle found in each issue of the
Royal Musical Associations Research Chronicle. If you wish to cite a source for which no
example is provided in these guidelines, you should consult this periodical which is
available in the RCM Library.
4. PRESENTING A DISCOGRAPHY
A discography should follow on from the bibliography and give full details of any recordings
consulted,listing items in alphabetical order of composer:
P. Boulez, Pli selon pli, Phyllis Bryn-Julson, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Boulez (Erato),
CD 229245376-2
74
[composers initial(s) and surname name / comma / title of work in italics (underlined if
your script is handwritten) / comma / performers: soloist(s), orchestra, conductor,
separated by commas / record label in
brackets / comma / format (CD, LP etc) / number]
5. WEBSITES
Reference to websites (but always consider how reliable those you consult might be) should be
included after the discography, laid out in the following way:
P.Kofron, Phillip Glass (http://voskovec.radio.cz/archa/agoneng1.html)
[authors/editors initial(s) and surname / comma / title in italics (underlined if your script
is handwritten) /open bracket / all relevant site information / close bracket]
6. QUOTATIONS AND FOOTNOTES
Quotations from sources consulted must all be acknowledged in footnotes. Short
quotations (eg a phrase or short sentence) may be included in the main part of the essay
and should be encased in single inverted commas (see [a] and [b] below). Longer
quotations should start on the line below, should be set off from the main body of the
text by a wider left-hand margin (indentation) and should be single spaced (see [c]
below).
[a] Several of Stravinskys early works show a satirical wit and genial affection at work.2
[b] Rosen asserts that taking a pleasure in music is the most obvious sign of
comprehension.3
[c] Schoenberg expressed the following view of a composers rights:
Rights in intellectual property would have to be put in every respect on a par with rights
in
all other property, especially as regards inheritability.4
Note that footnotes to which the numbers refer appear at the bottom of the page, and
that the numbers should always appear after any punctuation mark, such as a comma or
full stop.
Most word-processors will now create footnotes automatically for you. However, if your script
is handwritten, you may present your footnotes as endnotes (ie all together at the end of your
essay). When preparing footnotes you may also wish to use the following terms (which you will
also see used in sources you consult):
op. cit. (Latin: the cited work.) Using this term indicates that you have cited the work
already in a footnote (unless you have since cited a different work by the same author)
and allows you
to use the shorter format expressed in note 9 below:
7 R. Vlad, Stravinsky (London, 1978), 65
8 R. P. Morgan, Twentieth-Century Music (London & New York, 1991), 67
9 Vlad, op. cit., 85
75
ibid. (Latin: the same.) This term indicates the same author and work to which the
previous
footnote has referred (ie you have not referred to any other source in between):
12 P.r Kivy, Osmins Rage: Philosophical Reflections on Opera, Drama, and Text (Princeton,
1988), 72-3
13 ibid., 97
loc. cit. (Latin: in the place/passage previously quoted.) This indicates that quotations
acknowledged in consecutive footnotes are taken from the same page:
14 R. Vlad, Stravinsky (London, 1978), 65
15 loc. cit.
2 P. Griffiths, Modern Music: a Concise History (2nd edn, London, 1994), 66.
NB: If you consult the original edition of this Year 1 set work, published in 1978, you
should note the different title.
i
f
yo
u
3 C. Rosen, The Frontiers of Nonsense, The Frontiers of Meaning: Three Informal Lectures
on Music
(London, 1998), 3
4 A. Schoenberg, Style and Idea, ed. Leonard Stein (London, 1975), 371
164
if
y
o
passim. (Latin: in many places.) This indicates that in several subsequent parts of the text
(beyond the specified page number) the reader will encounter further commentary on the
same theme. Subsequent references in footnotes to a previously cited source (ie those
which are not consecutive and which therefore cannot make use of op. cit.) may be
abbreviated as follows:
16 Rosen (1996), 506
[authors surname / date of publication in brackets / comma / page reference]
7. PLAGIARISM
rom
om
mand
nyymaking
pub
ub
bl i sh
h
dappear
s our
urr ceethat these
Plagiarism is taking the words or ideas ofosomeone
w s mall l )else
from
any
ited
op
p y out
utt anyyrefer
ection
ction
tion
ion
on
n (no
no
om
atte
tte
teintellectual
er h
are your own. cop
Some
people
to
this
as
theft.
section
if you copy out any section (no matter how small) from any published source
you must acknowledge this source immediately as aan
n
footnote
d i ncl
cll ude
dee(orthat
hat
at
endnote).
t s um
mmary
ryyIfin
nyou copy
out material wordfor-word without acknowledging its source, you are guilty of plagiarism.
if you summarise the content of someones work and include that summary in
your own work you must acknowledge this immediately as a footnote (or endnote).
Failure to make such an acknowledgement means you have plagiarised another persons
ideas.
76
It is expected that you will consult a wide range of source materials (books, articles, scores
etc) as you prepare your written work. Learn to keep a careful record of any material taken
directly from other sources (in note-taking, for example, by encasing all such text in
quotation marks) so that you do not inadvertently incorporate this into your own work
without acknowledgement. Remember too, however, that the most successful essays are
those written by students who have experienced, directly, the music about which they are
writing and which do not depend exclusively on everything that has been read. Failure to
acknowledge sources or quotations properly in assignments, essays, projects and
programme notes leaves you open to a charge of plagiarism. This is a serious academic
offence, and regulations laid out in the General Academic Regulations (available on the
RCMnet) indicate clearly the Colleges procedure for dealing with this.
77
APPENDIX 5:

General regulations for students and sources of important
information
While you are a student of the College, you will be required to comply with a number of
general regulations. These include regulations intended to help you raise problems or
make complaints. There are also procedures to help you get the most from your studies
and to keep us in touch with you. These are all on the College Intranet, RCMnet, which
you can access through your RCM IT account using any of the student IT facilities: in the
Internet caf or in the Library. You are advised to read these and note what they say.
Described below are the key regulations, which can be found at Information
Sources/College handbooks and regulations/General academic regulations for
students:
Student Complaints Procedure
This is the procedure to use if you have a complaint about your studies or other
services provided by the College.
Procedure for appealing an examination decision
This is the procedure to use if you wish to appeal an examination result. You can
appeal if believe you have mitigating circumstances unknown to the examiners (with
good reason) or if you think there has been an administrative error in the examination
process.
Regulations concerning cheating, plagiarism and collusion
This is the procedure the College uses in cases where students are accused of cheating.
Student code of conduct and disciplinary procedure
This is the procedure the College uses in cases of general misconduct by students. It
sets out the definitions of disciplinary offences.
Policy on students showing signs of psychological or other health problems
This is the procedure the College uses in cases where there is a concern about whether
a student is fit for his or her studies or if a students behaviour is disruptive.
Students Association Complaints Procedure
This is the procedure to use if you have a complaint about any dealings with the
Students Association or if you think that you have suffered an unfair disadvantage
from having exercised the right not to be a member of the Students Association
Advice on these regulations and procedures can be obtained from Director of
Academic & Administrative Affairs, Kevin Porter, kporter@rcm.ac.uk (020 7591
4329). For appointments contact his Assistant: Secretariat (020 7591 4312)
Information Sources/Dates and events opening hours and term dates, as indicated below
78
Term Dates for academic year:
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
10/09/2007
18/09/2007
23/10/2007
30/11/2007
26/11/2007
07/12/2007
15/09/2008
22/09/2008
27/10/2008
05/12/2008
01/12/2008
12/12/2008
14/09/2009
21/09/2009
26/10/2009
04/12/2009
30/11/2009
11/12/2009
07/01/2008
07/01/2008
NONE
07/03/2008
06/03/2008
14/03/2008
12/01/2009
12/01/2009
16/02/2009
20/03/2009
19/03/2009
27/03/2009
11/01/2010
11/01/2010
15/02/2010
19/03/2010
11/03/2010
26/03/2010
07/04/2008
07/04/2008
30/05/2008
04/07/2008
04/07/2008
20/04/2009
20/04/2009
05/06/2009
10/07/2009
10/07/2009
19/04/2010
19/04/2010
04/06/2010
09/07/2010
09/07/2010
Autumn Term:
Term starts:
Teaching starts:
P&R Week
Teaching ends
Auditions
Term ends:
Spring Term:
Term starts:
Teaching starts:
P&R Week
Teaching ends
Practical Examinations
Term ends:
Summer Term:
Term starts:
Teaching starts:
Practical Examinations
Teaching ends
Graduation
College Opening Hours

Term-time
General College opening hours, including practice facilities: 8.00 am - 9.30 pm Monday Friday.
Rehearsal and practice facilities are available from 9 am to 9 pm (for 9.30 pm closing) and
from 9 am to 5 pm (for 5.30 pm closing). Some areas of College will be restricted for
maintenance work and this will be notified at the time of booking. Rooms are not
bookable in advance during vacations unless there is a specific request for rehearsal prior
to public performance. Applications for such bookings should be made to the House
Manager in Room 40 (020 7591 4344).
Library
Mon - Thurs
9.00 - 19.30 Full loan and reference service
9.30 - 18.00 Rare books service
Friday
8.45 - 17.15 Full loan and reference service
9.30 - 17.15 Rare books service
Dining Room - normal hours during term time
Mon - Fri
8.30 - 11.45
12.15 - 14.00
15.00 - 19.00
79
Vacation Access
The College opens daily, Monday to Friday, at 8 am and closes at 9.30 pm except in August
when College closes at 5.30 pm. Professors and students have access to College at any time
during open hours.
Easter: - College will close on the Thursday before Easter at 9.30 pm, reopening on the
Tuesday after Easter Monday.
Library and Recording Studios
The Library and Recording Studios are open during vacations but with reduced hours. The
Chief Librarian and Manager of the Studios will publish these in advance of vacation
periods.
Communication of Information
The RCM uses a range of noticeboards where important information is posted. It is
essential that you consult these on a regular basis: this as your responsibility.
Postgraduate Noticeboard
In the Registry corridor (Registry side)
Faculty Noticeboards:
Keyboard
Strings
Brass
In the Registry corridor (Finance side)

In the walkway between the 1895 and
1965 buildings
In the walkway between the 1895 and
1965 buildings
At the top of the stairs that lead down to
the library
the library
the library
In the Percussion Suite
Woodwind
Vocal Studies
Composition
Early Music
Percussion
Competition Noticeboards
Masterclass Noticeboard
Chamber Music Noticeboard
Orchestral Office Noticeboard
In the Registry corridor (Registry side)

In the Registry corridor (Finance side), also
in the
Orchestral office corridor
In the 1895 building 2nd floor corridor
In the 1895 building 2nd floor corridor
At the south end of the walkway
Alexander Technique Noticeboard

External Engagements Noticeboard
Students Association Noticeboard
All students have a pigeonhole (as well as email accounts). These are situated half way
down the stairs leading to the Library and you should check yours at least once a day
whenever you are in College.
All professors have a pigeonhole at Reception. You can leave notes for them there but
should remember that not all professors are in College every day and that, consequently,
they may not pick up their post very often. You should check with your professor how
s/he would like you to make contact when you need to do so: many will also have email
accounts.
80
Dr Darla Crispin, Head of Graduate School, operates a sign-up system for meetings with
students; the list is posted on her office door (Room 55). Students may also arrange to see
her by appointment. Dr Ingrid Pearson, Deputy Head of Graduate School, may also be
consulted for appointments.
Woodhouse Centre:
The Woodhouse Centre is the Royal College of Musics careers resource unit. Students and
alumni can use its services for up to five years after graduation. Members of the
Woodhouse team coordinate the Professional Skills units offered at Undergraduate and
Masters level. The Centre aims to provide accurate, up to date information on
possibilities for working in music and to help you to identify your strengths and achieve
your long-term objectives.
The Centre is open from 9.00am to 5.30pm (closing at 2pm on Wednesdays) and the
following resources are available:
Performance opportunities in a wide range of venues and situations

Instrumental and vocal teaching experience
Education and outreach projects
Administrative work experience, work shadowing and internships
Advice on self promotion including CV, biography and photography
Support in making presentations and applications
Mock interviews
Funding advice including sponsorship, grants and trusts
Seminars with visiting experts
A network of 35 consultants
External competitions and scholarship information
Volunteering opportunities
Access to useful contacts throughout the music business
Work adverts
E-mail groups
Mentoring scheme
Problems or complaints
2
If you have a problem or complaint, you should normally speak to:
1-to-1
ensemble
classes
general programme matters
lessons
activities
Step
1:
Step
1: Step
1:
Your
Your lecturer
Your professor
professor
Step
Step 2:
Deputy
Step 2: Head
Head of Graduate Step
2: Deputy Head of Graduate School
of
School
Head of Faculty
Faculty
Step
3:
Step
3: Step
3:
Deputy Head
Step
Head
of Head
of
of Graduate
Head of Graduate School
Graduate School Performance
School
1:
2:
If you have taken the above steps and the problem remains, if it is related to your studies,
you should contact the Dean.
81
If you have a personal matter you wish to discuss, you should speak first to the Counsellor.
If your complaint is about the conduct of a member of staff, you should speak first to the
Dean if your complaint is about a professor, or to the Director of Academic &
Administrative Affairs if the complaint is about any other member of staff. If your
complaint is about the conduct of the Dean or of the Director of Academic &
Administrative Affairs you should write to the Director.
If your complaint is about a general programme matter and involves several students, you
may wish to take it first to the Students' Association to request that they take forward the
complaint. In such circumstances, the SA should discuss the matter first with the Director
of Academic & Administrative Affairs.
The steps in the above should be used for any problem or complaint you have. They are
also the steps in the College's Complaints Procedure for students, in the College General
Academic Regulations Booklet.
If you want to appeal an examination decision see the procedure for a Review of a
Decision by a Board of Examiners in the College General Academic Regulations booklet.
If your complaint is about a serious disciplinary matter refer to the Student Code of
Conduct in the College General Academic Regulations Booklet.
Contact Kevin Porter, Director of Academic & Administrative Affairs, if you wish to use
any of these procedures.
Requesting a reference
You must always give at least two weeks notice when making a request for any type of
reference.
If you need to obtain an instrumental reference, please see your Principal Study
Professor or your Head of Faculty.
If you need an academic reference, please see the Deputy Head of Graduate School.
If your reference needs to be signed by the Director, you must submit it first to the
Head of Graduate School or Head of Faculty as appropriate, who will pass it on to the
Director for signature.
If you need a transcript, or confirmation that you are a student, please see the
Registry.
Tell us if you change address
Ensure that your home and London addresses and telephone numbers are known in
Registry Services and also, if you are an orchestral instrumentalist, in the Orchestral Office.
This information is needed in cases of emergency. Any change must be notified
immediately.
82
Absence from studies and performance activities

Full-time students are expected to be available throughout the academic year to attend
classes, lessons, and other activities. Opera students must complete Leave of Absence
forms for every absence form College that impinges upon the course and rehearsal
timetable. These should be submitted well in advance to the Opera Administration, as
the forms must be signed off by several members of staff before the Leave of Absence can
be granted.
Exceptionally a student may need to be away for part of the year. If this is so, it must be
discussed with the Director of Opera and the Deputy Head of Graduate School well in
advance. Agreement to the absence cannot be assumed.
If you will be absent because of illness inform the Registry and the Opera Administration
immediately, preferably by telephone: 020 7591 4310. The Registry will inform the
appropriate professors and administrators if you tell them whom you think needs to
know.
It is your responsibility to tell the Registry if you are going to be absent. If you tell anyone
else and they fail to pass on your message, you are responsible, not the person you left the
message with.
If you are absent through illness for more than six working days, you must provide a
doctor's certificate;
You should notify professors and other staff involved of any absence known in advance
due to a clash of events.
Absence from examinations or missed coursework deadlines
Students who are ill or have other mitigating circumstances must submit these either in
writing to the Deputy Head of Graduate School or by discussing the circumstances
confidentially with the Counsellor. Only mitigating circumstances submitted in this way
will be considered. If your mitigating circumstances relate to illness you must provide a
doctor's certificate.
Extensions to deadlines will not be offered. Any mitigating circumstances which are
provided by a student will be considered by a sub-group of the Board of Examiners, which
will meet shortly before the Board. The sub-group will make recommendations to the
Board on whether the mitigating circumstances submitted in writing or through the
Counsellor are valid and whether they should affect the marks for particular units or
individual elements of assessment, including whether capped marks should be lifted.
There are two circumstances in which the Counsellor can present mitigating
circumstances on a student's behalf: (i) where the circumstances are of an exceptionally
personal nature and the student prefers that only the Counsellor knows about them (in
this situation, the Counsellor will require evidence in order to form a view); (ii) where the
Counsellor has been working with a student for a period of time in a counselling
relationship. So that an accurate assessment of the circumstances can be made, the
Counsellor will need to have a certain amount of knowledge of the student, over a period
of time, and not just to have met on one occasion. The current guideline is that the
Counsellor will need to have met the student on at least three occasions, close to the
period in time for which the student wishes to establish that the study was affected.
However, this does not guarantee that the Counsellor will be able to provide evidence
that the student's circumstances have affected their ability to study.
83
Absence from rehearsals or performances

The Opera Administration must be informed immediately of any proposed absence and a
Leave of Absence Form is required for any rehearsals s/he might be unable to attend. In
the case of absence due to illness, the Opera Administration must be informed as soon as
possible.
External engagements
If you are offered external engagements or teaching appointments you must seek the
approval of the Programme Team through use of the Leave of Absence form as soon as
the offer is made. You must not confirm acceptance without such approval.
Notice to leave your course
Students who wish to leave the College during the academic year and before the end of
their course must seek the approval of the Head of Graduate School before the start of
the next term. In default of such notice, fees are payable for the remainder of the next
term.
Changes of Professor or Study
Changes of professor or study during the academic year are exceptional, but there may be
circumstances where it is desirable. While an existing professor must be informed before a
change can be enacted, the first step a student should follow is to speak to the Head of
Faculty, who will be able to advise you and where appropriate initiate the procedure.
It is normally only possible to consider changes which take effect at the start of a term,
unless there are exceptional factors.
If you are a postgraduate student and wish to change from full-time to part-time study,
or vice versa, you must do so by completing the necessary form in the Registry and
obtaining the approval of the Deputy Head of Graduate School before the end of the
term. If your request is approved, your studies (including lessons) will be adjusted for the
whole year. Your tuition fees will also be adjusted for the total year to the level for your
new mode of study (any overpayment will be refunded and any under-payment must be
paid). There is a charge of 100 for approved changes. The RCM Artist Diploma is NOT
available as a part-time course.
If your request has not been approved by the end of the term, you will be required to
continue studying in your current mode of study (whether full-time or part-time) for the
following term.
Additional Tuition
Additional studies and extensions of lessons can usually be arranged, subject to the
agreement of existing professors and to payment of the appropriate extra fees. Please
apply to the Head of Faculty.
Applicants should collect a form from the Registry. This form must be countersigned by
the principal study professor before it can be considered.
All applications for additional studies described above must be submitted on the
appropriate form, countersigned by the student's principal study professor and returned
by the ninth Friday of the preceding term. Late applications will be held over until the
next cycle of allocations. Additional studies are granted only for the current academic year
(or a shorter period if required) and must be renewed by the ninth Friday of the summer
term if required for a further year.
84
Outside Instruction: Permission to receive individual lessons in any music subject outside
the College must be obtained from the Head of Graduate School.
Masterclasses & Workshops
Students are encouraged to attend all Masterclasses/Workshops arranged for their
principal study. All students are welcome to attend any other Masterclass. It is extremely
important that you note the relevant dates in your diaries at the beginning of term (they
can be found in the Events Guide or on the Masterclass notice-board in the main
corridor).
Planning and Review Week
One week in the middle of the Autumn Term is designated as a Planning & Review Week
when academic classes are not scheduled. This is intended to provide a period of time,
without the pressure of regular group sessions, when you can round off work from the
first part of the term, prepare for the period ahead and undertake projects which would
not be practicable in the normal daily routine. All the facilities of the College are available
for you to use in the normal way. Planning and Review Week is a working week, but one
when you are not necessarily expected to be at College all the time. Your principal study
professor may choose to give lessons as usual. If so, you are expected to attend.
Competitions may be scheduled, and the week will often contain a major Ensemble
concert.
Practice rooms
The Registry deals with all practice room bookings and the noticeboard outside this office
is where you sign up. Each student is allowed two hours maximum per day and rooms are
bookable from 8 am until 9 pm from Monday to Friday. Vacant teaching rooms can also
be used for practice between 8 am and 9 pm, bookable in the Registry. Once a teaching
room has been allocated for practice by the Registry, the key is obtainable from the
Porters' Desk against a signature. The use of 2nd floor and some other teaching room
pianos is restricted to maintain the standard for examination use. Please note that failure
to return a key will result in a bill for its replacement. Students are not permitted to teach
on College premises. Rooms not taken up within 15 minutes will be reallocated.
RCM Studios: recording services
Students, with the authorisation of their principal study professor, may make use of the
RCM Studios recording services. These services include recording College concerts and
studio recording sessions. Demands on the Studios are great and priority will be given to
those whose recording requests support their coursework. Recording request forms and a
Studios information leaflet are available from the Studios reception area (recording
request forms for concerts are also available from the Chamber Concerts Manager). There
is a modest (and highly subsidised) charge to students for extra-curricular recording
studio services, in line with charges for similar services at other conservatoires. Enquiries
should be directed to Joe Johnson, Studio Manager, 7591 4384. Please note: Studio open
hours are 10am - 12pm & 2pm - 4pm Monday to Friday.
Recordings of College concerts
Certain concerts (mainly those in the evening) are automatically recorded for the College
archive, a copy of which is later made available in the Library. Chamber concerts are
sometimes recorded by Introduction to Recording students as part of their coursework;
however, they are instructed to request the performer's permission before recording any
concert.
85
If you wish to have your performance in a concert recorded, you must submit a Recording
Request form (available from the RCM Studios or the Chamber Concerts manager), signed
by your principal study professor, at least two weeks in advance of the date of the concert.
Private sound and video recordings of College concerts and recitals are prohibited. If you
have any queries regarding concert recordings, please contact Augustus Psillas, Studio
Manager.
Registration, Fees and Funding
Registration
Students are required to register at the start of each year on the published Registration
Days.
Before registration the student must have satisfied the relevant entry requirements and
have paid all fees due or have an approved plan to pay by instalment.
No student with debts outstanding from a previous year will be permitted to register. In
such a case, any grant or other financial award cheque will be returned to the award-giving
authority.
Students cease to be students:
after withdrawal from their programme;
if expelled for a disciplinary reason or for an academic offence, such as cheating, or if
required to withdraw on medical grounds;
if expelled following failure in assessments confirmed by the relevant board of examiners;
if expelled for non-payment of fees by the due date.
Paying your fees
All students must:
1) pay their tuition fees in full by Registration Day
or
2) have an instalment plan approved by the Finance Manager by Registration Day.
Students who wish to apply for an instalment plan must complete the relevant form
(available from the Finance Office).
If you do not meet these requirements you will not receive any principal study lessons and
you will have only provisional registration until your tuition fees are paid.
Students who have not paid their tuition fees in full or who do not have an approved
instalment plan by the autumn term Planning & Review Week will be required to leave the
College. Failure to make any later instalment plan payments may also result in being
required to leave the College.
If you are late paying an instalment you will be charged 50 on each occasion.
If you bounce a cheque (i.e. 'returned to drawer') when making a payment for fees or rent,
the College makes an automatic charge of 20 to cover administrative costs.
Scholarships
These are awarded on merit as part of the audition process for undergraduate and taught
postgraduate programmes. They provide help with the payment of fees. The amount of
the contribution to fees is provided in a letter from the Director at the time the award is
made. Queries about the making of these awards should be raised with the International
& Awards Officer.
86
Students are expected to pay their own living costs.

Most of the postgraduate - and a few of the undergraduate - awards have been made
possible through the generosity of external funders. Quite a number of the Donors of the
funds for those awards want to be kept in touch with the progress of the students whom
they are helping. If you are one of these students, you will be told this by the beginning of
the academic year when you will be required to thank the Donor. During the academic
year you should keep your Donor informed of concerts that you will be performing in. At
the end of the academic year, you will be asked to provide a written report on what you
have done during the past 12 months. This report and the contact you make with the
Donor during the year are extremely important. Donors who do not hear about the
person they are funding sometimes withdraw their support, which is then unavailable to
students in future years.
Access to Learning Fund (ALF) The Access to Learning Fund is a limited amount of
government money which is intended to assist undergraduate and postgraduate UK
students who are suffering financial hardship. The conditions and application forms are
available from Registry Services or Student Services (Room 70a). Application forms may be
submitted to the Welfare Officer. Meetings are held five times during the academic year.
The Access to Learning Fund is not available to Artist Diploma students.
Look out for the notices inviting students to apply for Hardship Fund grants, or see the
Welfare Officer. Students are also advised of application deadlines on their RCM email
address.
Vacation Courses The College is unable to offer financial support to assist students with
the costs of vacation courses.
Arts and Humanities Research Council Funding for Composition, Research and
Performance-Based Postgraduate Qualifications
Year 4 Undergraduate students going on to postgraduate study and students who do not
hold a postgraduate qualification but who will also be working toward a postgraduate
qualification are encouraged to apply to the AHRC, which now offers awards to those
studying in performance-based disciplines under its Postgraduate Awards Scheme, as well
as to composers and researchers. Further information can be found in the detailed guides
on the AHRC website, www.ahrc.ac.uk
Students should note that the RCM's internal deadline for these AHRC applications is
31st March 2008. No late applications will be accepted. This is necessary because of the
large amount of administrative work that needs to be carried out on each application.
The RCM also reserves the right to reject applications that are incomplete, handwritten
or shoddy in presentation of information.
RCMnet also contains a wide range of other information, such as programme handbooks and
syllabuses, the library catalogue and information about services and departments of the
College.
Advice on these regulations and procedures can be obtained from Director of Academic &
Administrative Affairs, Kevin Porter, kporter@rcm.ac.uk, 020 7591 4329, Room 44.
For appointments contact his Assistant: Lucy Chant, Secretariat, 020 7591 4312
87
APPENDIX 6:

Programme Team Biographies
Integrated Masters Programme Team Leaders: Course Team Biographies
Programme Management:
Darla Crispin, BMus, MMus, PhD, CRD (GSMD) FRSA Head of Graduate School
Canadian pianist Darla Crispin came to the U.K. as a Queen Elizabeth II Centennial Scholar,
studying with Edith Vogel at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and gaining the
Schools Concert Recital Diploma in 1988. She soon became a member of its Academic
Studies department, with particular responsibility for co-ordinating postgraduate studies.
She took up the position of Head of Graduate School at the Royal College of Music in
September 2002. She is active as a solo performer and accompanist in the United
Kingdom, Continental Europe and Canada, has done radio work for the NCRV
Netherlands World Service, and specialises in musical modernity in both her performance
work and music scholarship. She is the principal pianist for the Amsterdam-based
Schreck Ensemble's Luigi Nono retrospective, Ascolta, and has completed a Doctoral
Degree in Historical Musicology at King's College, University of London, under the
supervision of Professor John Deathridge. This study involves a re-evaluation of Arnold
Schoenbergs string quartets. Amongst her published writings are a comparative study of
Alban Berg and Charles Baudelaire for Austrian Studies (Modern Humanities Research
Association 2005), a book chapter on John Cage and Susan Sontag for Music, Silence, Silent
Music (Ashgate 2007), and an article on J.S. Bachs Goldberg Variations, Goldberg Mining
published in Proceedings of IAML-IAMIC-IMS (Unisa 2007). She is also Editor-in Chief of
The Music Practice-as-Research Yearbook (Oslo). E-mail: dcrispin@rcm.ac.uk
Jeremy Cox, MA, DPhil Dean
Jeremy Cox joined the RCM in 1995 as Dean of Postgraduate Studies, taking on the post of
Dean & Deputy Director of the College in February 1998. An academic musician,
performer and conductor, he gained his doctorate from Oxford University in 1986 for his
thesis examining links between the songs of Francis Poulenc and the aesthetic ideas
behind many of their texts. He has continued to work in the field of French music in the
first half of the twentieth century, in particular developing ideas and themes from his
thesis into a wider study of Neo-Classicism during the period. As a singer, specialising in
the chamber choral repertoire, he has performed with groups such as The Clerkes of
Oxenford, Capella Nova and The Britten Singers. He has also conducted a number of
choirs and orchestras, including the Edinburgh Bach Choir. He contributes to the RCM's
teaching programmes at all levels, but especially through supervising Masters and
Doctoral students. Email: jcox@rcm.ac.uk
88
Ingrid Pearson, BMus (Hons), PhD, DipEd, LTCL, LMusA Deputy Head of Graduate
School
Ingrid Pearson was born in Newcastle, Australia and began her clarinet studies at
Newcastle Conservatorium, with Clive Amadio. She graduated from the University of
Sydney with a Bachelor of Music Honours in performance (studying with Gabor Reeves)
and a Diploma of Education in music.
Following the receipt of an ORS Award in 1995, Ingrid travelled to the U.K. to undertake
doctoral studies in performance practice at the University of Sheffield with Colin Lawson.
Her thesis, entitled Clarinet Reed Position in Theory and Practice: the Forgotten Art of ReedAbove, investigated eighteenth- and nineteenth-century clarinet repertoire and
performance styles as well as organological and iconographical sources.
During 2001 Ingrid was an Edison Research Fellow at the National Sound Archive,
researching recorded woodwind performing practices. Other current research areas
include a study of the thirteen-keyed clarinet in Italy, supported by The Galpin Society, and
a collaborative project involving 19-tone microtonality in theory and practice with
Professor Graham Hair (University of Glasgow).
In addition to her academic work, Ingrid performs as an early clarinettist with ensembles
such as The Hanover Band, the Gabrieli Consort and Players, The English Concert and the
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Recent concert appearances include performances
at Wigmore Hall, the BBC Proms, the Bridgewater Hall and the Glyndebourne Festival.
E-mail: iepearson@rcm.ac.uk
Vocal and Opera Studies Team:
Nicholas Sears, MA Head of Vocal Studies
Nicholas Sears studied at Trinity College, Cambridge and subsequently at the Guildhall
School of Music and Drama. Following a post in the BBC Singers, he performed as a
principal for WNO, Opera North, ENO, Scottish Opera Go-Round, Garsington, Buxton and
Aldeburgh Festivals, English Touring Opera and Opera Theatre Company, Ireland. In
Europe, Nicholas performed as principal at the Liceu Barcelona, Antwerp and Ghent,
Lausanne, Salamanca, Porto and Lisbon, Berlin and Vienna. On the concert platform he
was a soloist with many of the major orchestras working with conductors including Simon
Rattle, Michael Tilson Thomas, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Rene Jacobs, Harry Christophers and
Paul McCreesh in the UK, Europe and South America.
Having decided to pursue an alternative career in teaching and arts administration
Nicholas taught singing at the Royal Northern College of Music whilst working as an Artist
Manager for Intermusica Artists Management. He commenced his post as Head of the
RCM Vocal Faculty in January 2007 and is married with one son. Email: nsears@rcm.ac.uk
Michael Rosewell Director of Opera
Michael Rosewell is Associate Conductor for English Touring Opera, Artistic Director of
the London Phoenix Ensemble and Director of Opera for the Benjamin Britten
International Opera School at the Royal College of Music, London.
At the age of 15, Michael Rosewell won the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of
Musics Gold Medal and Sheila Mossman Memorial Prize, for piano. He went on to study
conducting, piano and double bass at the Royal College of Music, where he was awarded a
scholarship and major prizes in conducting and piano accompaniment. His teachers at the
RCM included Stephen Savage, Rodney Slatford, Robert Sutherland and Norman del Mar.
89
Michael Rosewell began his conducting career in Germany, notably the Staatstheater
Kassel, Staatstheater Wiesbaden and the Nationaltheater Mannheim, before joining the
music staff of the Vienna State Opera. In Vienna he assisted Claudio Abbado and worked
closely with many of the worlds leading singers and conductors. In Britain, Michael has
worked for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and conducted at English National
Opera, English Touring Opera, Kent Opera, the London Handel Festival and the
Aldeburgh, Perth, Bath and Buxton Festivals. As Associate Conductor for the London
Handel Society, he has helped introduce many rarely performed Handel operas to the
London stage.
In concert he has appeared in London, Leipzig, Vienna, Paris, Stuttgart, and Zagreb with
numerous European orchestras, including the London Mozart Players, the BT Scottish
Ensemble, the Rheinische Philharmonie, Koblenz, the Heidelberger Philharmonie, and the
London Phoenix Ensemble. He has recorded for the BBC, Radio France Musique, and
Sdwestfunk Baden-Baden and has toured as pianist in concerts with the Vienna
Philharmonic Orchestra.
Michael Rosewell has a close affinity with the works of Benjamin Britten. He was invited to
the Aldeburgh Festival to conduct A Midsummer Nights Dream in the Jubilee Hall, the first
time this work has been heard in the original venue since its world premiere in 1960
conducted by the composer himself. Other notable Britten successes include the
American Opera Associations top award for performances of The Rape of Lucretia in the
Patricia Corbett Performing Arts Centre, Cincinnati. In 2004, under the auspices of the
Britten/Pears Foundation, he conducted the world premiere of Brittens early ballet
Plymouth Town.
In 2004/2005 Michael conducted Holsts a Savitri at the Cantiere Internazionale dArte di
Montepulciano and Turn of the Screw at the Buxton Festival. His more recent projects
include Die Zauberflte at English National Opera, Jenufa and Eugene Onegin for English
Touring Opera and concerts with the London Mozart Players with soloist Sir Thomas
Allen at the Mayfield Festival. Future projects include Teseo for English Touring Opera, as
well as The Rakes Progress and The Cunning Little Vixen for the Royal College of Music.
Email: mrosewell@rcm.ac.uk
Christopher Middleton Assistant Director of Opera
Christopher Middleton studied at the Guildhall School of Music and at the National
Opera Studio, as well as piano accompanying with Geoffrey Parsons, and Gerhard Hsch
in the Lieder repertoire. After working with Scottish Opera he spent several years as
rptiteur in German opera houses (Mannheim and Stuttgart) before returning to London
in 1990, since when he has worked mainly with the Royal Opera Covent Garden and
taught at the Guildhall School and Royal College of Music.
Among many productions with the Royal Opera he has worked on the Ring and Die
Meistersinger with Bernard Haitink, on Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier and Palestrina with
Christian Thielemann, on Lohengrin with Valery Gergiev, and on La Clemenza di Tito with
Colin Davis. He was Assistant Chorus Master to the Royal Opera for the first two seasons
in the rebuilt theatre, 1999-2001.
Extensive work abroad includes projects with Seiji Ozawa in Japan and Boston, with Lorin
Maazel on the re-opening of Tristan und Isolde at the Munich Prinzregententheater, Aida
and Les Troyens in Lisbon and periods as Guest Coach at the Paris Opra Studio. He has
worked on recordings for EMI, Decca and Philips.
90
In 2001 he was asked to become Assistant Dirrector of Opera at the Royal College of
Music and since then has been part of the team leading the RCMs outstandingly
successful Benjamin Britten International Opera School.
Email: cmiddelton@rcm.ac.uk
Andrew Page Opera Administrator

Andrew Page was a student at the RCM between 1961 - 1963 studying singing with Hervey
Allen. He appeared in Puss in Boots at the Theatre Royal Windsor in 1963 and from 1964 1966 was Stage Manager with Opera For All and Glyndebourne and in 1967 again at
Glyndebourne as Stage Manager.
In 1966, Andrew won a Sir James Caird travelling scholarship to study singing in Italy,
where he stayed until the summer 1969. He worked as a tourist guide in Florence to
supplement the scholarship.
From 1969 -1970, Andrew was understudy and chorus for Glyndebourne touring and
main season. Then he did several seasons at Wexford and Dublin. He also sang for New
Opera Company in The Nose.
From 1972 1979, he worked for the House of Fraser rising to be a Department Manager
with a turnover of nearly 2 million pounds.
While with the House of Fraser, was able to take time off to work with Douglas Craig on
productions of Ottone for Handel Opera in 1972 and Koanga for the Delius Society in 1973.
Subsequently was involved in rewriting the libretto prior to a new recording of the work.
He was also was asked to light several operas for the Opera School.
In February 1979, Andrew joined Royal College of Music as Opera School Administrator.
Email: apage@rcm.ac.uk
91

Graduate School Vocal and Opera Studies

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Graduate School Vocal and Opera Studies

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Graduate School

Vocal and Opera Studies

Royal College of Music

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Royal College of Music

The Graduate School contains nine programmes:

Integrated Masters Programme in Performance for instrumentalists and

Degree in Advanced Performance (MMus).

There are part-time patterns for all but the

Programme Aims and Learning Outcomes

The Masters Programme has the following overall aims:

To provide advanced musical training at postgraduate level in which a fundamental emphasis

To produce musicians capable of contributing to the development of the profession and of

Programme and Course Structure

MMus/PGDip in Vocal Performance

Principal Study 1-to-1 Units (Level M)

Not applicable in Year

Classes in the Singers Craft

German song, French song, English

Total of 120 credits

Principal Study 1-to-1 Units (Level M)

Classes in the Singers Craft

Total of 120 credits

German song, French song, English

Principal Study 1-to-1 Units (Level M)

Acting, Movement, Stagecraft,

Total of 120 credits

Principal Study 1-to-1 Units (Level M)

Classes in the Singers Craft

Total of 180 credits

Artist Diploma in Opera

Progression to second MMus unit, taken on

Not credit rated

Integrated Masters in Vocal

Integrated Masters in Vocal

120 credits at least 90 at level M;

120 credits at least 90 at level M;

Integrated Masters in Vocal Performance

Integrated Masters in Vocal

Postgraduate Induction and Starting the Programme:

Language streaming: Language assessments take place at the end of Induction

the student to register for the PGDip/MMus in Advanced Vocal Performance in

Completing an MMus, other than by the Intensive Route: If you successfully

The Regulations at Appendix 2 contain further statements about progression,

Assessment teams and panels:

The Masters Programme in Vocal Performance Board of Examiners:

An aggregate mark of 70% or above

Year 1 Vocal Performance Level Units

Year 2/Intensive Programme Advanced Performance Level Units

Principal Study Units

MMus Core Units

Masters Programme Unit Descriptions

Year 1 Performance Level Units

Principal Study Units

Supporting Class Unit

Year 2/Intensive Programme Advanced Performance Level Units

MMus Core Units

Principal Study Units

Supporting Class Units

Year 1 Performance Level Units

Principal Study Units

a copy of each work in the edition used to prepare the performance;