New course at Conservatorium van Amsterdam: Solo Singing Early Music

Published on April 10, 2012

The department of Early Music of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam offers a four-year course for a bachelor and a two-year course for a master degree in Solo Singing Early Music. This new programme is unique in Europe.

In addition to the principal subject (solo singing), several specialized courses are offered, such as rhetoric, Renaissance and Baroque dance, gesture, theory, ornamentation, improvisation, and thoroughbass.

The faculty for this principal subject will be Maarten Koningsberger and Xenia Meijer.

The department of Early Music of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam now offers courses for a bachelor and master degree in Solo Singing Early Music. This new programme is unique in Europe.

The bachelor programme is a four-year course. It is tailored to the needs of young singers wanting to specialize in the vocal techniques and performance practices required for the various musical styles that flourished from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century. In addition to the principal subject (solo singing) and the usual theoretical subjects like solfège, theory of harmony and musical analysis, several specialized courses are offered, such as rhetoric, gesture, Renaissance and Baroque dance, improvisation, ornamentation and the practice of diminutions, as well as the reading of figured basses.

The course also includes participation in various projects that more specifically focus on a particular style, period or composer, given by internationally recognized specialists in the relevant fields.

Master students will follow a two-year course aimed at the attainment of the highest level of skills needed for professional participation in the world of Early Music. During the master course the student can choose his/her own specializations within the Early Music repertoire. The attainment of the master degree also involves carrying out and documenting, through written work and an oral presentation, independent musicological research.

The principle faculty for this subject are two singers with an international reputation for the performance of Early Music: Maarten Koningsberger and Xenia Meijer.

Since the middle of the twentieth century, Amsterdam has been famous as a centre of activities and education in Early Music. Innovative research in the field of early music performance practice by world famous musicians such as Gustav Leonhardt, Ton Koopman and Frans Brüggen, have made Amsterdam a leader in the world of Early Music. TheConservatorium van Amsterdam proudly continues this tradition.

Registration before May 1, 2012. Auditions will be held on May 9, 2012.