W391 Overview
Develop your voice within the musical theatre style
This BA (Hons) Music with Musical Theatre degree is for those who want to focus their attention on developing their voice within the musical theatre style, but without incorporating the dance or acting element of traditional musical theatre training.
In your second and third years you may choose to audition for performance projects at the Alexandra Theatre, other regional theatres, and in our own campus performance spaces.
Performance projects range from large scale musical theatre with full pit orchestra set and costume to straight plays, smaller ensemble projects and dance revues. You can also develop skills in technical theatre and arts management roles by supporting performance projects.
You will be able to join a selection of our six orchestras, nine other large ensembles, five choirs and more than 70 small ensembles and take part in music performances on campus, within the region and on regular overseas tours.
On this course you will:
- Train in musical theatre dance, singing and stage acting.
- Target your studies to reflect your strengths.
- Develop specialist practical skills in vocal or instrumental performance.
- Have the opportunity to audition for performance projects at the Alexandra Theatre, other regional theatres and in campus performance spaces.
- Perform in a range of projects.
- Join a selection of our six orchestras, nine other large ensembles, five choirs and more than 70 small ensembles.
- Be able to take part in music performance work on campus, within the region and on regular overseas tours.
Teaching and Assessment
How you will learn
During your studies you will develop the skills you need to navigate the complexities of the musical theatre and music industries.
You will learn through a professional standard of training in a well-structured and ambitious timetable and considerable contact time with tutors.
You will be taught by a core team of experienced and highly-qualified tutors together with a wide-ranging team of vocal coaches and tutors drawn from a team of more than 200 specialist staff. All of our tutors are professional practitioners and offer peer support as they share their knowledge and expertise with you.
You will be assessed by a variety of methods including essays, portfolios, examinations, performances and practical work, project work, presentations and seminar discussions.
The Course
What you will study
You will study a selection of core and optional modules in each year. Each module is worth a number of credits and is delivered differently depending on its content and focus of study.
Additional Options
You can also access our Professional Resilience modules throughout your degree. These modules explore a range of different strategies and offer support to the emerging arts practitioner. You will be introduced to a number of different models of successful self development.
Course elements will vary, but may include:
- Get out of your mind for free, how to handle unwanted private events (thoughts, feelings, physical sensations)
- Love your ears – raising awareness about dangers of hearing loss
- Mood and Food, explore the Relationship of what you eat and how you feel
- Making achievable goals
- Spirituality and wellbeing
- An introduction to colour analysis and style
- Employability and careers
- Mindfulness and creative practice, offering techniques to help ‘quiet your mind’ and relax in the present moment
- Active listening
- The performing body, using Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais Method
- Yoga for singers and instrumentalists
- Tai Chi.
Modules
This list is indicative and subject to change.
- Ensemble
- Personal Development
- Masterclass
- Musical Grammar
- Performance Development
- British and American Musical Theatre
Ensemble
You will explore a musical style in your practical work and build confidence in your approach to chamber music and other relevant ensemble styles. You will learn to work as a team in presenting and preparing a performance under the direction of a specialist ensemble coach.
Personal Development
You will be introduced to a range of strategies designed to offer support to the emerging arts practitioner, including models of successful self-development.
This module will help you develop self-awareness in your strengths and weaknesses, and will include workshops on a variety of tools, such as mindfulness, managing stress, nutrition, setting achievable goals, employability and careers, yoga, tai chi and vocal health.
Masterclass
This module develops your basic performance and communication skills and your sense of performance context. You will develop your repertoire, your understanding of style and your skills in preparing for an audition or performance.
You will take part in group performance classes as well as individual tutorials to develop your work, as well as your skills in forming critical judgements of performance.
Musical Grammar
This module will introduce, reintroduce and familiarise you with a range of music theories (traditional, jazz, rock) and aspects of musical structure and notation. Alongside this, you will present and discuss your work, both individually and in groups, enhancing skills in teamwork and presentation and building confidence.
Performance Development
You will work one-on-one with a vocal or instrumental specialist to assess your current repertoire and begin an exploration of new work.
This module provides an overview of skills particular to your individual vocal or instrumental style, and you will explore different approaches to performance.
British and American Musical Theatre
This module introduces you to key skills in examining repertoire drawn from succeeding periods of transatlantic Musical Theatre history, supporting an examination of musical structure with a parallel focus on developments in dance and drama within the genre.
Awareness of historic performance practice will be emphasised, and connections between music for the stage and film will be explored. You will also be exposed to the influences of key practitioners within the genre.
Facilities
Use industry-standard spaces and equipment
This programme is mainly taught at our Chichester campus and is located in one of the largest music departments in the UK, with enviable teaching, performance and practice resources.
Conservatoire Building
Study and rehearse in our practice rooms with grand pianos supplied by Steinway & Sons and use our computerised recording and media studio.
Learning Resource Centre
The Learning Resource Centre (LRC) contains the library, a café, IT/teaching rooms and the Support and Information Zone (SIZ).
Library
Our campus library holds more than 200,000 books and over 500,000 eBooks.
Other facilities include:
- On campus and off campus theatre and concert performing spaces, including box office.
- Studio performance space.
- Dedicated dance studios with Harlequin flooring.
- Lighting and sound equipment.
- A suite of 30 practice rooms.
- Dedicated pit band and orchestral rehearsal rooms.
- Dedicated chamber music building.
- High quality kits, amps, PA, mics and other equipment.
- Dedicated acting rehearsal rooms.
- Concert pianos supplied by Steinway & Sons.
- Practice grand pianos supplied by Steinway & Sons.
The on-campus Assembly Theatre has been redeveloped into a multi-purpose rehearsal and theatre studio space, seating an audience of up to 80. Students will also use the 350-seater Alexandra Theatre in Bognor Regis, on-campus recital and orchestral performance spaces and a range of external venues in the UK and overseas..
The Bognor Regis campus is seven miles from the Bishop Otter campus and is connected by frequent buses. Our students therefore have access to both an historic cathedral city and an iconic south-coast seaside resort!
Study Abroad
Explore the opportunity to study part of your course abroad
As a student at the University of Chichester, you can explore opportunities to study abroad during your studies to enrich your educational experiences.
It’s a chance to broaden your horizons, a great opportunity to meet new people, undertake further travelling and to immerse yourself within a new culture.
You will be fully supported throughout the process to help find the right destination and institution for you and your course. We can take you through everything that you will need to consider, from visas to financial support, to ensure you get the best out of your time studying abroad.
Careers
Where you could go after your studies
This BA (Hons) Music and Musical Theatre degree will give you a broad range of skills to enhance your employability after you graduate. Our alumni are now working within some of the principal producing houses.
As performers, our alumni have gone into:
- West End productions
- Major touring productions throughout Europe
- Pit band and musical direction regionally and in the West End
- Major cruise ships including Disney
- UK and International small-scale touring theatre
- Film and TV in both the UK and US
- Edinburgh Festival
- Cabaret
- Stage managers, arts managers and producers earning prestigious contracts in the UK and around the world.
Further Study
You could choose to continue your studies at postgraduate level.
Study options at the University of Chichester include:
- MA Music Performance
- MA Music Teaching
- PGCE
- PhD/MPhil.
University of Chichester alumni who have completed a full undergraduate degree at the University will receive a 15% discount on their postgraduate fees.
Course Costs
Course Fees 2026/27
UK fee
£9,790
Subject to Parliamentary approval
International fee
£16,800
EU/EEA Fee Reduction Scholarship
EU/EEA students automatically pay the equivalent of UK fees via the EU/EEA Fee Reduction Scholarship
For further details about fees, please see our Tuition Fees page.
For further details about international scholarships, please see our Scholarships page.
To find out about any additional costs on this course, please see our Additional Costs page.
Entry Requirements
Typical offers (individual offers may vary):
UCAS
104
tariff points from A levels or combination with Extended Project / BTEC / Cambridge Technical.
A Levels
BCC
BTEC/Cambridge Technical
DMM
IB
28 points
IELTS
6.0
with no element lower than 5.5.
Auditions
You will need to demonstrate your ability in dance, acting and singing in a performance audition. Applicants with high levels of performance skills may be considered for a lower academic offer.
A successful audition at the university may result in an unconditional offer.
Interviews and Auditions
Auditions and interviews usually run from January until March/April.
We aim to offer you a genuine dialogue during your application process. This gives you a sense of worth and achievement from the audition process itself; a sense of ownership for you during the process and, ultimately, is an opportunity for us to get a clear understanding of who you are, what you need and how we can best prepare you for your degree.
We judge you on your skills, your potential and your personality, not your background.
If you are invited to audition you will receive an email asking you to book your audition date on ChiView. If you are unsuccessful we will email you to let you know.
You can usually choose between multiple days on ChiView at one time. If none of the current dates suit you please contact admissions@chi.ac.uk.
Once you have booked your audition, you will be able to access the audition guidance document on ChiView – just log into the ChiView portal, click on ‘Events schedule’ and then ‘View details’ to access the document, which will tell you how to prepare for your audition, what to expect on the day, etc.
If your situation changes and you can no longer attend your audition date, you should cancel your booking in ChiView by visiting your ‘Event Schedule’ and clicking ‘Cancel Attendance’. You also need to inform the admissions team by emailing admissions@chi.ac.uk, so we can send you a new audition invitation.
Sometimes if you are viewing your ChiView portal on a phone you will not be able to see the page correctly. If this happens you should try again on another device.
You may need to clear your browser history.
If you are still unable to see the ‘View details’ button, please check that you have successfully booked your audition by clicking ‘respond to interview invitation’.
If all else fails please email admissions@chi.ac.uk with your query and applicant number.
Once you have booked your audition, please log into the ChiView portal, click on ‘Events schedule’ and then ‘View details’ to access the audition guidance document, which will tell you (amongst other things) what will happen at the audition itself, a basic itinerary of the whole day, parking information, etc.
In brief, there should be an introductory talk by the department, the chance to meet lecturers and other applicants, as well as your opportunity to perform for the audition panel.
After your audition, the panel will discuss your performance and pass our decision onto the admissions team, who will update UCAS and email you with the outcome, whatever it might be.
- We make bespoke offers: Your offer is specifically for you. If we offer less than your predicted grades, this will reflect the potential and quality of your audition and we’d like to take a bit of pressure off of you heading into your exams.
- We don’t do unconditional offers: Unless you already have your grades (you are a mature student), we will always insist on certain grade achievements because we want you to succeed in all aspects of your academic life including your A levels, BTEC, etc.
- If you do not get the grades you wanted: Don’t panic. You received an offer because you were good enough for the department at audition. On Results Day, just ring us on the clearing hotline, so we can discuss things with you.
- We may offer you a different course: We may offer you a place on an alternative, relevant course within the department, rather than offer you the course you applied for. If this is the case, we will state this in your offer letter/email and update your course on UCAS. We will explain our reasoning, which will revolve around placing you on the most appropriate course where we think you will thrive.