Course summary
| Course length | 3 years |
|---|---|
| Degree | BA |
| Approximate yearly intake | Keble: 1 (Keble only offers Music as an undergraduate subject to the organ scholar.) |
| Department/Faculty: 20 | |
| Department/Faculty Open Day | See the Music Faculty Open Day page |
| Department Website | Faculty of Music |
Keble College has a distinguished record of musical activity dating back to its foundation. The organ scholarship has always been a natural focus of its musical life and has provided the starting-point for many distinguished careers, amongst them those of Henry Ley (1906-9), Sir Thomas Armstrong (1916-19), Sydney Watson (1922-5), Ralph Downes (1925-8), the pianist Joseph Cooper (1931-4) and the conductor Meredith Davies (1940,1945-7). More recently prominence has been achieved by David Owen Norris (1972-76), Jeremy Filsell (1982-85), Charles Hazlewood (1986-1989) and by several other former organ scholars who have entered the world of cathedral music.
An organ scholar is elected every year, so there are usually three organ scholars in post. The duties of the organ scholars, who are required to read for an undergraduate degree in Music, are to help recruit and rehearse the choir of men and women undergraduates under the guidance of the Director of Music, and to play the organ at the regular sung services in the Chapel, a weekly Eucharist and Evensong. There are also a few additional services, such as Corporate Communion on special feast-days and a weekly sung, unaccompanied Compline. Appropriate payments are made, and a piano or keyboard is provided for all of the organ scholars. The duties of holders of choral awards are to attend the regular choir practices and to sing at the weekly Sunday Eucharist, Evensong and Compline. All these awards, including the Organ Scholarship, are open to both men and women irrespective of any religious affiliation. Further details of the organ scholarships and choral bursaries are given below.
The admissions procedure is described in the current issue of the Undergraduate Prospectus. The tests for the organ scholarship (including the performance of a prepared piece, keyboard tests, aural tests, and a written examination) take place in the late September or early October of the year preceding that in which entrance is desired.
The college welcomes Organ Scholarship candidates who wish to read Music either on the basis of results already achieved, or conditionally on the attainment of specified grades. All candidates will be asked to submit specimens of their written work and may be given a short harmony test while they are in Oxford. Further information about this award may be obtained from the Music Fellow, and at the Faculty of Music website.
The Music course at Oxford is described in the Undergraduate Prospectus. It is designed to cover a broad range of musical history and to enable all students to acquire a certain skill in traditional techniques of composition. An undergraduate may choose to specialize in a particular period of musical history, or a traditional style of composition at a more advanced level. In addition there are such options available as orchestration, analysis, composition, the writing of a research paper, and solo performance, and a whole range of special subjects including Eastern or Western chant, musical literature, instruments, jazz, electronic music and acoustics.
The course is taught through the traditional medium of tutorials and lectures. Instrumental tuition can be provided as part of the course, and the college is able to encourage and advise in this respect, its precise role depending on the instrument in question and the particular needs of the student. Organ scholars receive money to help with organ tuition as well as free singing lessons.
The college library has a useful Music section which is rationally planned and is at present expanding at an above-average rate. As will be already apparent, the large Chapel is a focus for much of the college's musical life, while the attractive Music Room with its grand piano is used for practice and for informal concerts. The Music Society annually arranges a number of chamber and orchestral concerts, most of them given by undergraduates. The college has much to offer as a framework for musical activity of all kinds; much of it organized by undergraduates themselves.
Choral Awards
The College awards Choral Scholarships each year to candidates of sufficient merit. They are available for any voice, and their value is £200 per year. Awards may be divided between two candidates. They are held for one year in the first instance, and are renewable for a second and a third year, subject to satisfactory performance of the duties. In addition to their annual emolument, Choral Scholars receive vocal tuition from a visiting professional teacher each term. Choral scholars need to be enthusiastic and committed. Each week there is a sung College Communion on a Sunday evening and a sung mid-week service, usually Choral Evensong as well as a short, unaccompanied Compline on Thursdays. Rehearsals take place on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.
The examination for Choral Scholarships takes place in Oxford in late September and follows the procedures adopted by the other colleges offering choral awards.
Organ Awards
An Organ Scholar is elected each year to a candidate of at least Grade 8 ABRSM level. Candidates for the Organ Scholarship are required to read for an undergraduate degree in Music. The Henshall Organ Scholar receives a scholarship of £200 per term; the other Organ Scholars receive scholarships of £150 per term. All are entitled to a room in College for the whole of their time at Keble (the normal accommodation charges apply). A College piano and a telephone are provided for the Senior Organ Scholar whilst in post.
All three of the Organs Scholars are responsible, in consultation with the Director of Music and Chaplain, for all the musical aspects of the Chapel services, and in particular for recruiting and rehearsing the choir. Organ playing for services and recitals is shared between. Organ Scholars need to be enthusiastic and committed. Each week there is a sung College Communion on a Sunday evening and a sung mid-week service (usually Choral Evensong). Rehearsals take place on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. The Organ Scholars also gives recitals on the new Organ and help in the hosting of some world-class players. It is important that Organ scholars are also keen singers as they will sing with the choir from time to time.
Organ scholars play on the superb new Kenneth Tickell instrument inaugurated in September 2011. Frequently in demand as recitalists, accompanists and conductors, Keble Organ Scholars play a prominent role in the artistic life of the College and University. After graduating, many have taken up important positions, both sacred and secular, in the musical world; those considering a career with a focus on organ and/or choral music after Oxford are especially encouraged to apply. The examination for the Organ Scholarship takes place in Oxford in late September and follows the procedures adopted by the other colleges offering organ scholarships.