COURSE

BROCHURE
2020

Discover
Music
 Welcome

We are delighted that you are

considering joining our friendly
academic and student community at
Brunel University London. You will
be part of a highly dynamic music
department and learn in industry
standard facilities.
Our course reflects the diverse, exciting and
all-embracing musical times of today. You’ll
get a thorough grounding in all the skills you
need to explore and succeed in establishing
your own unique musical profile and identity.
Most importantly we support you in personal
and bespoke ways allowing you to find your
own musical voice and professional pathway.
With so many world-class musicians amongst
our array of teaching talent you will gain
a real insight into how to develop your
relationship with music from a first love into a
career to showcase your talents.
You’ll find Brunel graduates at music festivals
across the world, in major music companies,
working in schools and colleges, venues, and
forging the music of tomorrow in innovative
ways. Many also continue to postgraduate
study at universities or conservatoires.
• Music BA (Hons) page 7
To find out more about our music course,
please visit brunel.ac.uk/music

Turn your We look forward to welcoming you to Brunel.

dreams into Meretta Elliott

reality Head of Department,

Arts and Humanities

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I couldn’t have found a more
exciting and stimulating music
department. Every member of
the faculty sits at the forefront
of their practice.
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Discover Music
at Brunel
Our Music BA degree has been designed to
develop your particular interests in music-
making. It aims to equip you with a solid
grounding in the craft of creativity which
reflects the diversity of musical styles and
genres in today’s world.
Leading figures in industry
You will be taught by some of the leading
figures in today’s contemporary music scene;
composers, arrangers, technologists, performers
and musicologists. Our new Music Mentor scheme
launches this year with a set of 12 professionals
from all corners of the music world on-hand to give
bespoke advice and professional work experience
to students. Our industry showcase event ‘Played
in Brunel’ is also an fabulous opportunity for the
best graduate work to reach the wider public.
Fantastic facilities
Concerts spaces, rehearsal rooms, edit suites and
recording studio are available to all students from
week 1. The Hillingdon Music Festival takes place on
campus and in the local community, featuring guest
artists from around the world alongside student
performances, talks, workshops and much more.
Musical diversity
We thrive on having musicians from all kinds of musical
backgrounds. This diversity is a way to challenge your
perceptions and make you into a strong, open-minded,
passionate and robust musician. Our aim is to provide a
vibrant and caring musical community where anything
is possible. Surprises are always part of your journey!
Collaboration
You will collaborate across other arts disciplines (film,
theatre, creative writing) and work with the latest
technology. Coming this year we have our ground
breaking ‘sonic garden’. This unique space for the
exploration of wellbeing, cross-arts, music-technology
and performance comes to the campus in 2019
following its endorsement by Dame Evelyn Glennie
and its silver medal at the Chelsea Flower Show.
brunel.ac.uk 5
Undergraduate Music BA (Hons)      

course
Essential information

Course code Mode of study Entry criteria

W300 3 years full-time A-level: BCC, BTEC: DDM, IB: 29 points
W301 (with placement) 4 years full-time with placement IELTS: 6.5 (min 5.5 in all areas)
6 years part-time

For detailed subject and grade requirements, visit our website: brunel.ac.uk/ba-mus

Music BA (Hons) Music at Brunel: Informed by the past,
grounded in the present, focused on the future.
Are you an aspiring composer, a singer-songwriter, a
producer, a performer, a DJ, a noise artist, an improviser, a
curator or a music journalist? If so, our bold and broad-
based programme is for you.
It’s a hybrid of core and bespoke activities catering to
the new reality of a career in music. Our aim is to form a
new generation of musical creators who are capable of
navigating real-world projects and collaborations at the
forefront of our changing world. At its heart is creativity,
technology, collaboration, entrepreneurship and innovation.
Right from your very first week, we foster all the skills you’ll
need for a career in music. Through an attractive range of
engaging modules we place you, the creative musician,
at the heart of our teaching, allowing you to develop
independent and open-minded thinking. You can also
combine your music-making with other disciplines such as
theatre, creative writing, design, journalism and games.
We also offer a placement year, and with our unrivalled
network of contacts across the music industry, this will
provide you with that all-important link to the world of work.
You will be part of a highly dynamic music department
with a strong profile in the Greater London area. The
university hosts weekly recitals and concerts, and our new
Arts@Artaud series showcases new performance work by
students, staff and visiting artists in the newly refurbished
surroundings of the Antonin Artaud building.
Careers and your future
A music degree from Brunel University London will prepare
you for a broad range of employment in the music industry.
Our graduates are ready for the real world of music and
launch careers as singers, songwriters, performance
artists, and freelance musicians. Others are working in
the film industry or in music studios. Some opt to work
in event management, teaching, radio, journalism, or
software engineering.
The Professional Development module provides you
with online resources to help you create a media
focused CV which will help you apply for your
work experience.

Course content
The music degree consists of compulsory and optional modules and a professional independent project.

YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3

Composing 1: Capturing Ideas
Ensemble 1: The Art of Performing
Materials of Music 1: Inside the Language
Professional Development 1: Building a
Collaborative Musical Project from A–Z
Studio Production 1: Introduction to the Art
of Sound and Technology
Ways of Hearing 1: Genres Through Time
Course icons:  Work placement   Study abroad
Composing 2: Craft and Development
Ensemble 2: Leadership, Directing
and Improvisation
Interdisciplinary Project:
Learning Collaboration
Materials of Music 2: Outside the Box From
the Inside
Orchestration and Arrangement
Professional Development 2:
Communicating and Teaching
Studio Production 2: Advanced Techniques
and Designing Your Own Tools
Composing 3: Advanced Portfolio
Ensemble 3: Creating Performance
Materials of Music 3: Advanced
Technical Portfolio
Studio Production 3: Taking Sonic Art To
the Stage
Ways of Hearing 3: Cultures
and Subcultures
Professional Independent Project

Please visit our website for a full list of modules: brunel.ac.uk/ba-mus

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 Alumni makes his
mark in the music
industry
Brunel alumni, Danilo Walde (Music BA) has
just composed a soundscape for the English
National Ballet’s new production ‘She Persisted’
performed at Sadlers Wells Theatre, London.
Danilo ‘DJ’ Walde is a composer, musician,
director, consultant, DJ and performer from West
London. He has created for theatre, film and
dance for the likes of ZooNation: the Kate Prince
Company, the Royal Shakespeare Company,
the English National Ballet, and in 2012 DJ’ed in
front of a worldwide television audience for the
London 2012 Paralympics opening ceremony.
He also works as an artist-tutor, running
music-based projects for various charities
and institutions, including The Roundhouse,
Mousetrap and Ministry of Stories. He is a regular
performer and leader for Some Voices choir.

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Postgraduate
research
Music research at Brunel focuses on
composition and musicology and was one
of the university’s most successful areas
in REF 2014, with the practice-based
work in music being judged as ‘of world-
leading significance’ and demonstrating
an ‘impressive stylistic breadth’. Research
is currently based around five main topics:
collaborative music-making; interactive
sonic arts and sound design; music in the
20th century, new instrumental resources;
and post-Internet sound and music.
At the core of your research studies will be
the relationship with your supervisor. We
encourage you to contact the academic
with related interests using our supervisor
search tool online, to discuss your proposal
before submitting your application.
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PhD programmes
• Music PhD
Research groups
• Institute of Composing
• Centre for Contemporary
Music Practice
• Body, Space and Technology
• Contemporary and
Digital Performance
Find out more here:
brunel.ac.uk/research-music
Inspirational alumni –
follow in their footsteps!
Here are a few of our alumni who are making/ within her music. Over the next year, she’ll be writing
have made an impact in their field. Their successes new work and curating a nonclassical night.
illustrates the diversity and breadth of Music@Brunel.
Jack Goldstein
Matt London
Jack has just released his fifth solo album ‘Love,
Matt was recently nominated for a British Composers The Answer To The Problem of Human Existence’. It
Award in November for his work ‘Rituals’. He has is an inspired collage of found sound energized by
a unique approach to composition, designing live guitar, bass, synths and his trademark shaker,
works that channel free improvisation. This topped with layered Beach Boys vocals and lyrics
individuality is reflected in his successes, having that express the true unadulterated joy of feeling a
also recently secured funding from Arts Council deep and meaningful connection to everything.
England for his group, Ensemble Entropy.
Emmavie Mbongo
Lola De la Mata
Emmavie is a London-based singer-songwriter, DJ
Lola has just been appointed Composer-in- and producer. She recently headlined at the Royal
Association with Nonclassical the new music Albert Hall as part of the Unstoppable Voices series.
promoter, record label and events producer. She She specializes in what she describes as ‘limitless,
is a London-based French composer, artist and soulful, future RnB’. She was awarded BBC Radio
multi-instrumentalist who is particularly interested 1Xtra’s ‘Best of British’ for a song from her new album
in how the physicality of sound can be embodied Honey. Video of ‘Rather Be’ has just been released.
brunel.ac.uk 11
 The course at Brunel is
wonderfully varied. There is
a strong focus on the present
and future of music which is
exciting and modern.

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Next steps
Accommodation
We guarantee accommodation on our London
campus for all new students who meet their
course conditions and apply for a room
by 27 August 2020.
We want to make it easy for you to focus on
your studies. Having a room on campus means
you’re never more than 10 minutes’ walk from all
the study, social and sporting facilities you need
to make the most of your time with us.
Full details of our accommodation
rents can be found on our website:
brunel.ac.uk/accommodation
Funding
Brunel awards over 400 undergraduate
scholarships each year, so approximately one
in five applicants who join us receive financial
support from the University:
brunel.ac.uk/scholarships
The UK Government provides two forms of
funding to undergraduate UK students: tuition
fee loans and maintenance loans which are used
for living costs. Find out more about these loans
at gov.uk/student-finance
International students are required to pay a
course fee deposit of £3,000 if they do not have
evidence of sponsorship. Brunel awards over 100
scholarships every year to support international
students from more than 70 countries. You’ll find
further details at
brunel.ac.uk/internationalscholarships
How to apply
The application process starts on 5 September
2019 for those looking to come to university in
September 2020.
The application deadline for all courses through
UCAS is 15 January 2020.
Find out more:
brunel.ac.uk/undergraduate-apply
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Disclaimer Join us for an open day or applicant day to find Applicant enquiries (pre-application)
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of going to press. It is issued for the general guidance enquiries@brunel.ac.uk
current students on your programme.
of students entering the University in September 2020
and does not form part of any contract. The University Find out more: brunel.ac.uk/ugopenday +44 (0)1895 265599
will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver the course
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which you begin the programme. However, the University
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Connect
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@Musicbru brunelcampus

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