Church musician

The Master's programme in Church Music is a practice-oriented artistic education focusing on you developing a highly relevant set of professional skills. Its purpose is to make you a proactive, competent and well-informed musician who understands how to translate reflection into professional action. The programme aims to help you develop your own artistic and professional profile as a basis for a multifaceted career in music and cultural life.

The Master's programme focuses on five important and mutually supportive key roles for the professional musician:

THE PERFORMER:
The performer represents the core of musicianship at Danish National Academy of Music. This is where you develop your technical, musical and artistic skills, enabling you to achieve a high level of musicality and mastery of your instrument, as well as to communicate your artistic vision in an engaging way to different audiences.

THE TEACHER:
The teacher is your ability to communicate and convey your musical knowledge and skills. Teaching is a central part of many musicians' careers, which is why the programmes offer a strong basic pedagogical education, where you learn to plan and implement teaching programmes for different target groups, including children, young people and adults.

THE CREATOR:
The creator is the role in which you explore and develop your own creative practice, whether in composition, improvisation, sound art or concept development. This role supports not only the traditional understanding of creating music, but also innovation in artistic expression and projects.

THE DEVELOPER AND ENTREPRENEUR:
The developer and entrepreneur role focuses on preparing you to navigate the economic and organisational realities of music and cultural life. Here you will acquire the tools to realise your own projects, create new opportunities and build a sustainable career.
 

THE LEADER:
The leader represents your ability to take responsibility and inspire others. This role is trained through collaboration, project management and organisational understanding, giving you the skills to take on leadership roles in various artistic, musical and interdisciplinary contexts.

During your Master's programme, you will acquire a high level of knowledge, competencies and skills that will enable you to contribute to the development of the music industry and the arts and culture scene. You will have the opportunity to put this into practice in the large community-oriented project in the second semester, where you will apply your music and professional skills in a social and welfare-relevant context in close collaboration with an external partner. The Master's programme is a well-rounded educational programme that provides you with a foundation for a sustainable musical, artistic and pedagogical working life and enables you to perform as an organist and/or performing artist at the highest level. It is also a requirement if you wish to work as an organist in larger city churches.

As an organist, you will learn to utilise the many possibilities that the instrument places in your hands and feet, enabling you to be the heart, brain and soul of the organ.

In addition to organ lessons, your education consists of a number of subjects that give you a theoretical foundation and teach you to view music from angles other than purely performance-related. During the course, you will also be introduced to the administrative and PR aspects of a career as a musician.

Besides focusing on the mastery of your main instrument, the Master's programme also focuses on special subjects such as hymnology, liturgy and organ studies, as well as teaching in didactics, psychology and theoretical pedagogy.

You will also be taught entrepreneurship, where you will learn how to manage a career as a performing musician and teacher and transform ideas into targeted activities. 

 

SCHEDULE

Your schedule will vary from week to week throughout the year. Some subjects are only available for limited periods during the year, while other subjects are available throughout the year. In addition to the scheduled classes, you should plan to set aside time for practicing and for unscheduled study activities such as masterclasses, workshops and concerts. When you do not have scheduled classes, you can reserve available rooms for practicing alone or with other students.

Below is an example of what a schedule might look like in a random week during the year.