MA Creative Music Practice

The MA by Creative Practice welcomes applications from returning Hope graduates as well as those having graduated from other HE institutions in the UK and abroad.  The vibrant mix of subjectivities available for study encompasses Fine Art, Design, Drama, Dance, Performance Studies and Music.

The course is designed to suit both students progressing from undergraduate design studies and also for professionals wishing to update and re-establish their creative practices. The MA is comprised of both formally taught modules delivered by a wide range of creative staff and practitioners and an individual programme of practice and research negotiated with an appropriate subject specialist who acts as your practice supervisor.

Applicants must be highly motivated with a strong desire to develop both intellectually as well as developing an imaginative, thoughtful and exciting body of work or professional performance practice. 

There is strong emphasis on independent learning within the MA structure requiring personal responsibility, reflection and evaluation as well as ample scope for the dissemination of creative research outcomes in professional standard spaces and PGR forums within and beyond the university. 

Areas that may be covered include Music, Fine Art, Design, Drama, Dance and Performance Studies.

Teaching & Research

The Creative Campus is the city-centre home of creative and performing arts subjects such as Fine Art, Design, Dance, Drama & Performance Studies and Music. The site houses theatres and performance spaces as well as art and design studios and practice spaces. The Creative Campus contains two historic Grade II Listed buildings and a modern hall of residence offering self-catering en-suite accommodation for up to 180 students along with the newly built Capstone building, a £6 million centre for Music, Performance and Innovation, opened in March 2010, providing additional facilities including the 300 seat contemporary Hope Theatre. The site has been continuously developed since Liverpool Hope purchased the former St Francis Xavier school building in the 1990s. Since then, the University has invested £34 million in the creative and performing arts campus. The site includes a Refectory and two Cafes, a reading room, computer suits and a subject specific library.

The state-of-the-art facilities include two theatres, three dance studios, a popular music basement, a three electroacoustic studio workstations, an eight-channel surround sound electroacoustic studio, 2 music technology laboratories (8 and 12 unit) and an industry standard recording studio all equipped with Macs, and studios for painting, sculpture, ceramics, metal and textiles along with significant investment in computers and related software including, Adobe CS6, CorelDraw, SolidWorks and digital output including Mimaki Textile Printers, Laser Cutters and 3D Printing. All technical areas are supported by full-time and graduate technicians. A gallery space and display cabinets also invigorate exhibitions and feedback on outputs.

All six modules are taught within the Creative Campus at Hope’s Everton site. The three practice modules are taught through individual tutorial contact with a subject specialist. The three theoretical lectures are taught in lecture rooms within the Cornerstone building. Students’ practice generally takes place in their own subject workshops, studios, performance spaces, theatres, music suites, dance studios, reading rooms, library and IT suites, within the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. On occasions, collaboration with outside organisations, facilities, performance spaces, galleries and industry may be appropriate.