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SubjectsMusic
What makes the Cambridge Music course so special?
The Cambridge undergraduate degree in Music is referred to as the Music Tripos. It offers students the opportunity to develop their understanding of music through a variety of approaches, including studies in history, analysis, and musical techniques.
In the first year (Part IA) students study six subjects, all of which are compulsory and examined at the end of the year: Music and Musicology Today (lectures plus a choice of recital, composition or extended essay), Harmony & Counterpoint, Introduction to Music Analysis, Practical Musicianship (keyboard skills and aural) and two History papers: 1) Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque, 2) Classical and Romantic.
In the second year (Part IB), students study six subjects, only three of which are compulsory: Historical Studies (20th century), Music Analysis, and Applied and Tonal Skills (stylistic composition, orchestration/arrangement, film score). The other subjects are selected from a list of topics that currently include Introduction to Performance Studies, ‘Nationalism and Music in the Middle East’, Free Composition, ‘Benjamin Britten: Music and Words’, and ‘An Introduction to Music and Science’. Students also have the option to write a dissertation on a subject of their choice: in the past, students at Newnham have chosen to write dissertations on topics ranging from the depiction of singers in Degas’ paintings, to decadence in Strauss’ Salome, to exploring the capacity of autistic individuals for musical entrainment.
In the third year (Part II), students have even more choice in what they study: six subjects are chosen from a wide-ranging list. Current options include Free Composition, writing a dissertation on a subject of the student’s choice, ‘The Music and Musical Sources of Guillaume de Machaut’, ‘Beethoven: the Late String Quartets’, ‘The Spirituality of Pop Music’, ‘Studying Music as Performance’, ‘Aesthetics of Music’, ‘Fugue’, ‘The Music of Miles Davis’, and ‘Don Giovanni’. Students also have the option of a Performance exam in their third year. It is important to note that performance only plays a small part in the course, which is largely geared to the study of music as an academic discipline. That said, nearly all music undergraduates are enthusiastic performers, and the opportunities for performance outside of the curriculum, be it as a soloist, chamber musician, choral singer, orchestral player, or jazz musician, are second to none.
A fuller description of the Music Tripos, and of facilities in the University Music School, can be found in the current Music Faculty Undergraduate Prospectus and the Cambridge Admissions Prospectus. See also the Faculty website.
Why choose Newnham for Music?
To begin with, Newnham is a lovely place to live, with its beautiful architecture, and extensive gardens. The college is also very conveniently located for the Music Faculty and the University Library, which are both just a few minutes' walk away. Newnham has an excellent library of its own, which not only has a very good, and ever expanding, collection of books on music, but also provides a great study space. All music students are allocated a college room with a piano, and they can also make use of the excellent instrumental resources: the College has four grand pianos (a Boston 7-foot, a Bosendorfer concert grand, a Steinway and a Yamaha), and a harpsichord. Newnham also has two excellent performing spaces: the recently converted ‘Old Labs’ (pictured), which is perfect for chamber music (this building housed the science laboratories, built in the nineteenth century for Newnham students who were not permitted to attend the University laboratories with men); and the College Hall, which is used for larger concerts.
 There are many opportunities for music-making at Newnham (in addition to the huge number of musical activities across the University). The College has a thriving music society, ‘The Raleigh Music Society’, which puts on regular Wednesday lunchtime recitals, as well as one big college concert each term. Newnham also has its own choir, which gets together once or twice a term. Although Newnham does not have a chapel, the college offers one Choral Exhibition each year, which is held in the Chapel Choir of Selwyn College (just across the road from Newnham)
In addition to the existing musical groups at Newnham, there are many opportunities for setting up your own musical ensembles once you arrive at the College. For more on the musical life of the College, go to the main website section on Arts and Music. Click here for more on the University-wide musical opportunities.
Newnham also takes part in the University’s Instrumental Award for Chamber Music Scheme
To find out a bit more about what it’s like to be a Music student at Newnham, you can read the student profile of a current Music student.
How many students take Music at Newnham?
At Newnham, we usually admit one student a year.
How will I be taught at Newnham?
All music students attend lectures organised by and held at the Faculty of Music, located nearby, within five minutes' walk of the College. These lectures are backed up by individual and small-group teaching sessions (supervisions), led by specialists in the subject areas, and arranged by your Director of Studies. Although for some supervisions you will be taught individually (this is the case for harmony and counterpoint, composition and dissertation papers), for other supervisions you will usually be taught with one or two students from other colleges. Your supervisors will set and assess work on a regular basis.
Although neither the Faculty nor the College provides instrumental tuition, Newnham offers college musicians (not just music students), the opportunity to audition for an Instrumental or Vocal award, which is worth £80 towards the cost of music lessons. For more on this, see the section of the website on Choral & Music Awards.
Can you tell me more about the Music Fellows?
Director of Studies in Music
 Your Director of Studies (DoS) is responsible for your academic welfare: this includes guiding you through your degree, keeping an eye on your progress, and helping you with any problems that you encounter in your studies. The Director of Studies in Music at Newnham is Delphine Mordey. Delphine completed her BA and Master of Studies in Music at St Peter’s College, Oxford, and recently finished her PhD at King’s College Cambridge, on music in Paris during the Franco-Prussian War, Siege and Commune (1870-1871). Delphine is now a Bye-Fellow in Music at Newnham, specialising in nineteenth-century French music. Delphine is happy to answer queries or to meet with interested students at any time. Her email address is dmm36@cam.ac.uk.
Director of Music
Delphine is also Newnham's Director of Music. She helps the Music Organisers with their duties, hopes to foster different kinds of music-making in College, and to provide a focal point and vision for musical activities in Newnham. Delphine is the person to ask if you have any questions about use of pianos, borrowing or hiring music, finding other players or singers, finding a music teacher, applying for music bursaries, etc. Please feel free to contact her on dmm36@cam.ac.uk if you have any questions about music in Newnham or in Cambridge.
What jobs do Newnham music students go on to do?
Students graduating with degrees in Music go on to a wide range of careers: besides the practice of and teaching of music, these often involve arts administration, academic careers and school teaching. But they have also included the law, financial services, the police, journalism, the church, and language teaching. One of our former music students, Sara Mohr-Pietsch, is now a BBC Radio 3 presenter; for more on her experiences, click here.
Are there any A-level subjects that are particularly useful?
Applicants to read music should be taking Music A2-level, following a syllabus with a strong academic bias; other A2-levels can be in almost any subject, whether from arts or sciences. The main qualities we seek are an interest in the intellectual study of music (rather than an interest focused mainly on its performance), the flexibility to approach musical studies from a wide variety of directions, and pure musical ability (whether on an instrument or with notes on paper).
Applicants will usually be expected to achieve A*AA at GCE A Level (or equivalent).
Although some keyboard proficiency is useful (all first-year students are required to take a course in keyboard skills), no keyboard grades or other piano qualifications are necessary, and non-keyboard players should not be put off from applying.
For more information on applying to Cambridge, click here.
Can I take a gap year?
Music students commonly take gap years. If you do wish to take a gap year, be prepared to discuss your plans at interview. We would also encourage you to maintain a connection with music and musicology throughout your gap year.
How should I prepare for interview at Newnham?
Those invited for interview will be asked to submit samples of work in advance (usually two essays and one or two compositions or exercises in Harmony and Counterpoint).
Applicants usually have two interviews: a subject interview, which usually lasts about 50 minutes and is carried out by the Director of Studies, and a shorter general interview. The aim of the interviews is to determine your enthusiasm and aptitude for the course through a general discussion about music. For your subject interview, you will probably be asked to expand on, or to explain some of the ideas advanced in any written work you have sent, as well as to talk about the different kinds of music you are studying at A-level. During your subject interview, you will also be asked to comment on a short piece of music and a passage of text about music; you will have time to look at these documents before the interview.
Although no special preparation is required for the interview, it is useful to listen, and to think about, as much music as possible, be it classical, jazz, pop, folk, or any other genre. If you would like a few suggestions of books and scores to study, have a look at the Music Faculty’s guidance for study. This is in no way intended to be prescriptive, but is there to give you some ideas. If you would like further reading, listening, and studying suggestions, please contact the Director of Studies in Music.
For more on Cambridge interviews, click here.
Where can I find out more?
Further information about studying music at Cambridge may be found on the Music Faculty website and also on the Cambridge University admissions website.
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