90%
positivity for teaching
on my course
National Student Survey 2024
Top 15
in the UK for assessment
and feedback
National Student Survey 2024
31st
in the UK for Music
Guardian University Guide 2025
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
Select a year
American Musical Theatre MT
The module introduces key skills in examining repertoire drawn from succeeding periods of American Musical Theatre history. You will learn to support an examination of musical structure with a parallel focus on developments in dance and drama within the genre.
British Musical Theatre
This module introduces you to key skills in examining repertoire. You will explore repertoire from succeeding periods of British Musical Theatre history and examine musical structure with a focus on developments in dance and drama. Awareness of historic performance practice will be emphasized, and connections between music for the stage and film will be explored.
Ensemble
You will produce a professional standard performance, demonstrating confidence within your chosen repertoire(s) and technical and expressive maturity. You will need an appropriate balance in programming and the ability to lean towards either a supporting or leadership role and develop your skills in hosting events and presenting the work to others.
Music Now
This module introduces you to the various critical and analytical approaches used when encountering new music, as you explore the skills needed during your degree and to research case studies of contemporary work.
Musical Grammar 1
This module will introduce, reintroduce and familiarise you with a range of aspects of musical structure and its 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
This includes your 1 to 1 tuition in your selected instrumental or vocal study.
Professional Resilience
This module will explore a range of different strategies designed to offer support to the emerging arts practitioner and will introduce students to a number of different models of successful self-development.
Writing About Music
This module will introduce a range of concepts and debates which inform our lives as musicians.
You will develop your critical and analytical approach and gain the confidence and skill needed to express your analysis in written form.
These concepts and debates will be introduced and explored through the study and examination of a range of music and related artworks from different styles, genres and historical periods.
Classicism
This module will consider the Classical style in music primarily through the work of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.
Special consideration will be given to problems of formal analysis and the application of the conventions of a musicology to an artistic period so much defined by the work of a very small group of outstanding composers.
You will study a variety of work: solo, ensemble and orchestral, sacred and secular. You will undertake the preparation of a presentation or lecture recital relating to a movement from a late 18th century work, as chosen by the individual.
Contemporary Musical Theatre
This module builds upon the first year modules British and American Musical Theatre by relating an historical overview of the development of the genre to an examination of current trends and practices in musical theatre both here and in the USA.
Ensemble
You will produce a professional standard performance, demonstrating confidence within your chosen repertoire(s) and technical and expressive maturity. You will need an appropriate balance in programming and the ability to lean towards either a supporting or leadership role and develop your skills in hosting events and presenting the work to others.
History of Modern Jazz
This module will look at jazz from two perspectives.
Initially, the module will look at the history of jazz, starting with its birth in New Orleans and examining its stylistic developments concentrating on a number of key figures and movements in its evolution up to present day. However by the 1960s, the free jazz movement began to blur the boundaries and definitions of what jazz is.
Therefore, this module will also address the issue of the process that jazz has fore grounded as an evolving art form which constantly borrows from other musical influences to create ever-renewing hybrid forms of music. In looking at these two perspectives, the answer to the question ‘what is jazz?’ will be clarified alongside an appreciation for its rich and varied musical legacy.
Jazz and the Origins of the Modern Musical
Explore early 20th century examples of musical theatre, with a particular focus on performance style, the role of the pit band/orchestra, use of popular dance forms in supporting the development of narrative, and expressive parallels that exist with mainstream Jazz material.
Music and Society
This module will explore a range of topics, including:
- The canon
- Music and gender
- Music and mediation
- Music and education
- Music and cultural identity
- Popular and elite traditions.
You will be encouraged to discuss your own positioning and understanding within each of these subject areas, as well as drawing upon a variety of social and cultural theories including those held within musicology.
Music and the Community 1: Music and the Mind
This module considers how music defines and identifies communities. Through an exploration of your own relationship with music, you will analyse the nature of musical experience and perception, with reference to selected musical texts.
You will identify and discuss functions of music that extend beyond entertainment. This will include examining the esoteric functions of music, shamanic practice, music and ritual, healing and therapeutic functions of music and concept of ‘communitas’.
As part of this, you will examine the musical techniques that develop within such functions, including: overtone singing, collective improvisation, group drumming, chanting, vocal improvisation, intuitive harmonic voice work and interactive composition.
Opera and Operetta
Available in two different delivery modes, this module can be followed as either a conventional weekly series of lectures during semester two, or as a week-long intensive culminating in a staged performance outside the semester period.
Learning is focused on examples drawn from 19th century opera forms, seeking to develop a lively sense of the evolving performance context which came to be described as operetta.
Performance Anxiety
Examine the problem of performance anxiety and stage nerves and study the theoretical background and how to effectively deal with anxiety.
You will look at the performance itself and the surrounding physiological and psychological factors that lead to stage nerves during performance.
This module introduces a wide range of theories from relevant disciplines including cognitive behavioural therapy and neuro-linguistic programming.
Performance Development
This includes your 1 to 1 tuition in your selected instrumental or vocal study.
Preparing Young Musicians for Assessment and Performance
The practical, placement experience allows you to become a beginner all over again by learning a ‘new’ instrument during this term, recreating the feelings experienced by beginners.
Reflections on this experience will inform and shape your approach to teaching in placement contexts.
You will also observe school children in the early stages of learning to sing and will reflect on how the observations relate to their personal experience during the module. Various repertoire, aural tests, scales and sight reading will be included in a broad exploration of assessment, and discussions will cover the pressures or constraints that exams place on students.
Professional Resilience
This module will explore a range of different strategies designed to offer support to the emerging arts practitioner and will introduce students to a number of different models of successful self-development.
Psychology of Learning and Teaching
This module explores the psychology, or the internal processes, of both the teacher and student perspective during musical learning. You will develop a general understanding of the historical framework of learning theories and social frameworks with psychology.
Reading Popular Music
You will explore key critical texts and concepts such as authenticity, anthropology, ethnography and textual analysis, applying these to a variety of models in contemporary popular music.
The Baroque
You will explore a broad range of musical genres, ideas, styles and constructional devices from the birth of opera in 1600, through the rapid development of concerti grossi, the mass and the oraotorio, to the seminal theoretical and compositional writings of Jean-Phillippe Rameau.
The Movie Musical
The module will introduce students to key skills in examining repertoire drawn from succeeding periods of movie musical history, supporting an examination of musical structure with a parallel focus on developments in dance and drama within the genre.
The Roots of Jazz
You will explore the roots of jazz and focus on the development of jazz between 1890 and 1930 as you critically analyse the social, political and cultural context in New Orleans.
Arranging for Jazz
You will develop your ability to take standard repertoire from the jazz canon and rearrange it into your own personal vision, which is a key skill within the jazz domain. You will develop a personal repertoire of arrangements and compositions to prepare you to secure gigs in the future.
Club Music
Examine how music is used in clubs, the motivations of clubbers themselves, and the development of the role of the DJ.
You will consider the way technology has shaped the experience of club music, and how legal and marketing issues have shaped its consumption.
You are encouraged to explore the influence of club culture on mainstream commercial music, and the significance of symbols associated with a variety of club cultures and subcultures.
Communicating Music Through Movement & Gesture
This module explores the opportunities that exist for enhanced communication within the formal performance context, using the performer’s own physical projection of self and personal narrative of intention.
Work will also be developed in a broader context, allowing a deeper understanding of the semiotics of movement – the kinesic variables which impact upon the viewer – and the generic codes which attach to the music they play.
Devising for Musical Theatre
This module examines some current examples of the genre, mostly in video format but with the possibility of visits to live performance as appropriate.
The relationship between music and drama will be studied and analysed, in order to inform your own practical explorations.
Tasks in group improvisation will be set throughout the first part of the module, performed and discussed in class and informed by related lectures and tutorials.
Introduction to Fundraising in the Arts
The module will consider the third-sector in relation to the other two sectors, the legal structures for non-profit organisations and regional variations in regulation, alongside the charity model in at least one other country.
Musical Event
You will focus on one or more major performance projects which will involve opportunities to work creatively with a variety of ensembles and collaborations, including those which cross arts disciplines. Connections will be made with current projects in other institutions and at performance venues outside the university.
Opera
This module takes a chronological approach to the study of the genre, beginning with the early Baroque and offering examples of differing musical styles up until the first half of the 20th century, with a particular focus on the late 18th to mid 19th centuries.
The relationship between narrative and the musical expression of dramatic tension will be explored.
Your lectures will make connections between the function of musical structure and form within individual works and the development of character and plot.
Personal Study (Recital)
This module sees you select an area of study in performance, and develop it over an extended period.
For performers, this is an opportunity to present a longer and more challenging programme of work.
Personal Study (Written)
This module provides you with an opportunity to select an area of study of your choice, to research it and present your findings in written form, and to develop this over an extended period.
Post Modern Jazz
You will seek to find answers in a postmodern jazz world and ask if the intrinsic identity of jazz has been lost and where it can go from here. You will gain an understanding of its evolution since Coltrane by listening, playing and analysing jazz from the ’50s to the present day.
Professional Resilience
This module will explore a range of different strategies designed to offer support to the emerging arts practitioner and will introduce students to a number of different models of successful self-development.
Romanticism
This module will develop your confident and probing analytical style with a close exploration of compositional intention, particularly where this is allied to programmatic or narrative elements in the models you study.
Structures and Politics of Rock Music
You will examine a broad range of contemporary musical texts to develop a broad definition of rock culture and use an in-depth study of a selection of significant artists and groups to provide insights into a range of stylistic and structural devices employed by rock musicians.
You will learn to demonstrate the political space inhabited by their music and complete creative tasks in song-writing and collaborative composition and improvisation.
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.
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 as you enrich and broaden your educational experiences.
Students who have done this in the past have found it to be an amazing experience to broaden their horizons, a great opportunity to meet new people, undertake further travelling and to immerse themselves within a new culture.
You will be fully supported throughout the process to help find the right destination 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 that 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 2025/26
UK fee
International fee
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
BTEC
IB
IELTS
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.
Contextual offers
We believe everyone deserves an equal opportunity to pursue higher education, regardless of their background.
When we receive your application we consider your personal circumstances and the factors surrounding your achievements to see if you are eligible for a contextual offer. This is an offer with a reduced entry tariff – typically the equivalent of 16 fewer UCAS points (two A-level grades).
Find out more about our contextual offers.
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.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Click the ‘Apply now’ button to go to relevant UCAS page.
Many qualifications have a UCAS Tariff value. The score depends on the qualification, and the grade you achieved.
Head to the UCAS Tariff Points web page where you can find a tariff points calculator that can tell you how much your qualification and grades are worth.