Victoria University of Wellington Te Herenga Waka
| At the establishment of the New Zealand School of Music, the two shareholding universities set out our mission, to be New Zealand’s pre-eminent provider of university-level music education, research, composition and performance. To achieve this mission, NZSM has identified three goals: To attract the elite of students in New Zealand and excellent students from overseas. To achieve international recognition for the quality of its teaching, research composition and performance. To contribute significantly to the nation’s cultural life, particularly in Wellington, through providing widely inclusive music education and a strong community outreach programme, and by working co-operatively with other arts organisations. |
Area of Specialization
| Music | |
| Classical Performance | You’ll have the opportunity to learn from or work with some of New Zealand’s most acclaimed performers and teachers, including members of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO), and chamber musicians who perform and record internationally. |
| Ethnomusicology | You’ll examine approaches to music ethnography and consider research methods such as interviews, recordings, and performance in their historical, ethical, and critical contexts. You’ll use one of these methods in your own research project. You’ll also complete advanced study in historical approaches and recent developments in ethnomusicology and musicology. |
| Instrumental/Vocal Composition | You’ll learn from renowned lecturers whose music regularly appears in concerts, festivals and films worldwide. They’ll teach you how to notate your music professionally, write for instruments idiomatically, orchestrate imaginatively, and develop your musical ideas into substantial, coherent works. |
| Jazz Performance | Engage with jazz traditions from early 20th century New Orleans jazz to the diverse, global music that is jazz today, and participate in those traditions as you build your creativity. You’ll study with internationally recognised jazz musicians, teachers and scholars from around the world. |
| Music | Many courses don’t require any prior musical knowledge, including some in non-Western music, music technology, popular music, jazz, classical music, and film music. BA students can also take Performance courses in Māori, Pasifika and Indonesian gamelan music. These will give you the opportunity for cultural learning through making music. |
| Musicology | You’ll learn about the development of musicology including feminist and queer theory, the role of race and nationalism, approaches to performance studies, music history, theory and analysis, and the relationship between musicology and other academic disciplines. |
| Music Studies | You’ll explore a range of musical styles. Follow your interests and choose from diverse options including New Zealand music, European art music, music ethnography, Māori, Pacific and Asian music, film music, popular music, jazz and the study of performance from a historical perspective. |
| Music Therapy | Work in small groups to problem-solve and discuss theory and practice. Study a range of theories which are the basis of music therapy all over the world and learn from teachers who take a ‘hands on’ approach to ensure you get the necessary practical musical and clinical experience you’ll need in the field. |
| Performance | If you are doing the Bachelor of Music with Honours, you can study Classical Performance or Jazz Performance. |
| Popular Music Studies | Cutting across a number of genres, from rock and pop to hip-hop, electronic dance music, and global music, you’ll gain a critical understanding of popular music in local and international contexts, as well as its historical and contemporary significance. |
| Sonic Arts and Music Technology | You’ll be taught with the same technology as professionals in the creative industries use, such as audio post-production tools for film, or coding platforms for creating real-time music for games. |
Administrative links
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International students