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Leeds Conservatoire: MA Musical Direction

Institution Leeds Conservatoire
Department School of Drama
Web http://www.leedsconservatoire.ac.uk
Email Hello@lcm.ac.uk
Telephone 0113 222 3416
Study type Taught

Summary

Ignite your professional career as a musical director with our industry-focused MA. Designed for experienced and ambitious musicians, this programme offers personalised one-to-one coaching, intensive skills development, and direct engagement with leading practitioners, companies, and creatives across the region.

On top of working with the full suite of MA courses, you’ll gain invaluable hands-on experience by observing and working directly with our BA Musical Theatre students in their acting-through-song classes, singing technique sessions, and practical performance projects. This integrated learning environment gives you a unique lens into performer training and the collaborative processes at the heart of contemporary musical theatre.

Throughout the course, you’ll explore and challenge the evolving role of the musical director, shaping your own artistic identity through continuous collaboration and the creation of new work. You’ll develop the practical, creative, and leadership skills essential for today’s theatre landscape.

With collaboration and individual artistry embedded in every aspect of our Theatre MAs, you’ll graduate confident, adaptable, and ready to make your mark—equipped not only to thrive in a changing industry, but to help shape its future.

Students will develop the essential skills required to work professionally as a musical director within the theatre industry. Training includes:

Core Musical Direction Skills

· Advanced keyboard technique

· Conducting for rehearsals and performance

· Song analysis, scoring, and arranging

Working Effectively With Singers

· Audition and accompaniment technique

· Repertoire coaching

· Acting-through-song practice

· Understanding and supporting vocal technique

Rehearsal & Leadership Skills

· Rehearsal technique with actors, singers, and musicians

· Effective communication and creative leadership

New Work & Collaboration

· Developing new musical theatre work

· Collaborating with creative teams as both writer and musical partner

Throughout the year, you’ll take part in a range of Theatre Labs and R&D projects, developing emerging ideas with writers, directors, composers, and performers. These labs offer a dynamic, professional-style settings in which you can explore new concepts, test material, and evolve your practice as part of a creative team.

There will be multiple opportunities to present developing work across a variety of contexts and performance environments, giving you valuable insights into how new work grows from first concept to final production.

The year culminates in an exciting professional opportunity: you will musically direct your final project as part of the Leeds Theatre Festival, working with actors, singers, musicians, and creatives to bring new or existing work to life in front of a public audience. This final project provides a real-world platform to showcase your artistry, leadership, and readiness for the industry.

MA

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