Music with Innovation

The innovators of the 21st century will think across arts, science, engineering, humanities and enterprise to deliver innovative products, services and ways of living. They will be team players with a breadth of skills and qualities that enable them to work across specialisms and cultures.

This course combines in-depth subject specialism at the university alongside interdisciplinary, practice-based learning. In conjunction with your music studies, you will apply your subject knowledge by translating ideas into innovative solutions, which may include plans for digital and creative enterprises, both social and commercial.

The Music Department offers a broad range of units in musicology, composition and performance*, across diverse styles and genres. These are complemented by weekly concerts, regular masterclasses and performances in the department, and opportunities to get involved in the many vocal and instrumental ensembles in the department and the dynamic music scene in the city of Bristol. You will be taught by internationally recognised musicologists and composers and by a team of professional instrumental and vocal tutors. Our teaching and music-making take place in the magnificent 19th-century Victoria Rooms, a familiar Bristol landmark with a 530-seat auditorium. A number of our students have secured organ and choral scholarships with our local churches and Bristol Cathedral.

Group work is a core component of teaching and learning in innovation. You will come together with students from other innovation disciplines, such as theatre, history and finance. Each subject contributes a different perspective on a challenge as you identify needs and develop ideas. By drawing on your unique ideas and views on the world, you will learn from your subject and other students to develop innovative solutions together. You will also develop personal skills with opportunities for individual development and pursuit of topics and projects driven by your interests and values.

By the time you graduate, you will have a portfolio of work ranging from live client projects to planning your entrepreneurial venture. You will have learned how to evaluate the potential of products and services, and how to sustain new endeavours including through financing. Importantly, you will have cultivated a network of peers and advisers who have worked with you through your studies.

*In performance, we offer a wide range of instruments and vocal styles. If tuition on your particular instrument/vocal type is not currently offered in Bristol, you will be able to discuss options with the Department.

For more information visit the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship: www.bristol.ac.uk/innovation/

The Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship will be located in the University’s new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, opening 2026, where your Innovation units will be taught. Here, a new Centre student hub, Active Learning Studios, a hands-on Maker Space and event spaces will provide the backdrop for challenge-led learning and enhanced links with businesses.

Your Music units will be taught on the Clifton Campus, home to the University’s main library, the Students’ Union and more.