Waterford secondary school students preparing for practical music assessments reap the benefits of having a third level Music course on their doorstep
In the run up to the Leaving Cert lecturers and students from WIT’s BA (Hons) Music programme are visiting secondary schools to help them prepare their practical music assessments.
Course leader Dr Hazel Farrell explains how students benefit: “Our lecturers and students are delighted to be able to engage with second level students and give them advice on the pieces they will perform for their Leaving Cert practical exams. The genres of jazz, pop and classical guitar and voice appear to be the most popular at the moment and we are very lucky to have many highly skilled performers at WIT who can offer great guidance to the Leaving Cert candidates.”
Intending third level students with a love of music must place Music in WIT on their CAO list by 5.15pm on Monday, 1 February as it is one of the restricted courses.
“You don’t have to study music at second level to apply to do it at third level. We assess students on their performance ability, aural, composition and writing skills. The main thing is that they have a love of Music and some talent,” she said.
The course offers an ideal balance between practical and academic subjects with options available in the genres of jazz, pop, classical and Irish traditional music.
“The landscape of music has changed and we have changed with it. We have quite a lot of jazz, rock and pop guitarists, bass players and singers among our students whereas in the past the perception was that to pursue a music degree you would need to be a classical pianist or violinist. Our students have formed and play in numerous bands throughout the South East and three of these bands performed at Electric Picnic this year.”
Music students at WIT study a range of subjects including Performance, Composition, Music History, Music Technology, Pedagogy, Arts Management etc.
“This diversity serves the students well in both the current job market and in pursuing postgraduate options,” said Dr Farrell.
A Live CAO Deadline Q&A runs from 3pm-5pm on 27 and 28 January, ahead of the main CAO deadline of 1 February on both [url=http://www.wit.ie/cao]http://www.wit.ie/cao[/url] and beat102103.com/cao
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