- Year of study: First year of study, two semesters.
- Final assessment: Assessment from the course instructor.
- Prerequisites: Admission to Master in music performance/Master of Music with individual concentration
- Language of instruction: Norwegian/English.
Course description
This course is for students in the Master of Music with individual concentration, and the following programme option in the Master of Music Performance:
- Improvised Music/Jazz
The Master's Project is an individual independent project with a clear artistic focus.
Learning objectives
On completion of the course, the student is expected to
- show artistic integrity and maturity in the musical presentation of their Master's Project
- have developed a clear artistic profile
- be able to initiate, develop, manage and complete an artistic project
- be able to reflect critically on processes and issues concerning their creative project
- contribute to new ideas and innovative production through their role as a musician
- have knowledge of and be able to use material from artistic development work and research in their work
Overview
In the Master's Project, the student develops and completes an independent artistic performance project. The project must have coherency as an independent work. The student chooses an area of concentration from a broad range, and the project plan is developed in close dialogue with the project supervisor/the leader of the Master's Forum the student participate in.
Students on the programme option Performance and Research playing improvised music/jazz interacts with the leader of the Master's Forum for improvised music/jazz when it comes to the performing parts of the Master's Project.
Most of the Master's Project is comprised of the student's work with
- developing a Project Description for the Master's Project
- implementing and managing their own artistic project
- planning, rehearsing and implementing four-concert projects (total playing time for Master's projects I and II: 135 minutes)
- developing and preparing public presentations of their own Master's Project
- relevant literature (including material from artistic development work and research)
- keeping a log of various processes involved in the project
- writing a reflection paper on the Master's Project
Structure
Each student/ensemble is assigned a principal supervisor, normally a member of the Academy's faculty. The principal supervisor provides individual academic and artistic advice and feedback throughout the study programme. Supervisory resources (set down by the Academy in advance) are made available to the principal supervisor. In addition, the distribution of the student's project resources is determined in the dialogue between student and the leader of the respective Master's Forum/project supervisor (see the guidance for how to manage the project funds).
The use of project funds must be approved by the programme coordinator.
It is each individual student's responsibility to ensure their study progress. The student must take administrative charge of scheduling regular appointments with the principal supervisor and (if applicable) co-supervisors in order to ensure the expected course progression. The student is normally expected to present parts of their Master's Project at internal concerts, forums, etc. The Master's Project demands a high degree of artistic/academic independence from the student.
Students have registered automatically for instruction/supervision and assessment in the course, in accordance with the study progress requirements set out in the individual programme plan.
Course requirements
1. Submission of Project Description
The student develops a Project Description of approximately 3 000 words, containing details of the following: chosen focus area; project material and content; a progress plan; project supervisor(s). Find more information in the Project Proposal Guidelines. It is the student's responsibility to contact their supervisor(s) for appointments.
Deadline: 1 December in the first semester of the programme is the deadline for submitting the Project Description to the respective leader of the Master's Forum the student is associated with.
2. Submission of a detailed plan for each of the subprojects relating to the Master's Project
The plan must contain a description of the practical planning and execution of the various projects included in the Master's Project. The plan must be submitted to the leader of the respective Master's Forum/project supervisor prior to the semester in which the projects will be completed.
Deadline: The plan must be submitted to the leader of the respective Master's Forum/project supervisor no later than 1 December for the subsequent spring semester.
Final assessment
All course requirements must be fulfilled and approved before the student is given a final assessment.
The student will be assessed as described in this course description in the paragraph for Learning objectives. The final assessment will be given as a pass/fail mark, which will be determined on the basis of documented public performances and assessed by the principal supervisor.
Public performances/Studio recordings
Public performances of the Master's Project of at least 20-30 minutes in duration. The performance(s) are usually held at an external location and must be completed no later than 1 June in the second semester of studies. The choice of the form of presentation should be appropriate for the self-selected topic or repertoire area—examples of presentation forms: concert, media production, web project, performance, etc.
The performance(s) must be documented with an audio or video recording. The students are responsible for choosing the form of documentation and the format. The student is also responsible for organising the practical aspects of the performance(s) as well as for the recording and promotion costs (posters, programmes, etc.) and other costs related to the presentation(s). Within four weeks of the performance, the student must
- submit the audio/video recording to the respective leader of Master's Forum/project supervisor
New assessment
In the case of re-assessment, the same procedures apply.