Classical music
At Turku Conservatory, classical music education is based on individual instruction with the main and secondary instrument. Turku Conservatory also offers an opportunity to specialise in classical church music, even though actual studies to become a cantor are not available.
What do the studies contain?
Instrument studies
At Turku Conservatory, classical music education is based on high-quality individual instruction with the main and secondary instrument and singing. You can also specialise in church music at Turku Conservatory. Our students get to see the work of church musicians in practice through our partner parish. Our many teachers who are specialised in old music (such as baroque violin, baroque trumpet and harpsichord) bring a nice addition to our curriculum.
Ensemble playing
Our educational institution provides excellent opportunities for playing music together. Chamber music is taught periodically, bringing together our instrumentalists. Concerts are held at our own concert series at the Sibelius Museum, for example. The singers’ own acoustic vocal ensemble is the latest addition to our options for ensemble playing. Lied and opera instruction is provided in cooperation with Turku University of Applied Sciences. Our students have been very successful in national Lied competitions. In opera studies, students always get to create their productions, even smaller ones, on stage. Larger complete opera productions are performed approximately every couple of years. The annual productions of church music are another addition to ensemble playing.
Orchestras and choirs
The largest orchestra in our educational institution is Sigyn Sinfonietta, a symphony orchestra operating in cooperation with Turku University of Applied Sciences. Our educational institution also has many other orchestras, such as a chamber music orchestra, a wind instrument orchestra and a guitar orchestra. Our students also get to participate in annual cooperation projects with the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra and the Navy Band. Our singing students have an opportunity to participate in the activities of our internationally award-winning chamber music choir. Our new choir, the entertainment choir, is for all vocational students. As playing and singing in a band are at the core of a musician’s work, we support ensemble playing by offering an opportunity to study how to lead a band or choir, for example.
Music perception and other topics
The basics of music teach students to read and write music fluently. The aim is to provide the students with theoretical skills that will help them become versatile musicians and continue developing as musicians for the rest of their lives.
We also teach arrangement, where students make competence demonstrations. Composing is also one of the optional courses. Our students can also choose from the wide range of courses in our entire educational institution. For example, courses in the pop and jazz music department and music technology are a good addition for many when thinking about their future careers.