Music is a discipline that stretches back to the ancient world. One of the seven original liberal arts, music maintains a place in the University as a subject of broad and passionate interest to composers, sound artists, musicologists, performers, technologists, and theorists.

Music: The course for you?

Studying music will allow you to engage with a range of traditions to acquire a profound understanding of how music works in theory and in creative practice. If you are interested in understanding music’s place in society, developing music technology skills, writing music, or improving your skills as an informed performer, this course could be for you. A music degree will prepare you for a wide range of careers, in the creative arts, journalism, music production, arts management, research, and teaching.

Music @ Trinity

Trinity’s Music Department is Ireland’s oldest and most internationally renowned venue for the study of music. With a distinguished team of academics and practitioners, the department attracts Irish and international students of the highest calibre. Alumni include Derek Bell, harpist in the Chieftains; Niall Doyle, Head of Music at the Arts Council; Deborah Kelleher, Director of the Royal Irish Academy of Music; and Donnacha Dennehy, Assistant Professor of Music at Princeton University.

Our curriculum integrates practical musicianship with rigorous scholarship. We offer a balanced musical education that provides specialisation in three key areas – composition, music technology, and musicology (the historical and analytical study of music). The course includes a wide range of options, allowing students to focus on their chosen areas of interest. A particular strength is the department’s commitment to small group teaching, with many subjects taught in groups of ten students or fewer.

The facilities in the Music Department include a recital room, practice rooms, computer workstations, a recording studio, listening equipment, and a substantial lending collection of CDs and videos.

Since the Music Department became part of the School of Drama, Film, and Music in 2006 it has developed interdisciplinary connections, which include a jointly-taught undergraduate module in film production. Music is closely affiliated with the University-wide research theme of Creative Arts Practice. The department hosts the university’s Music Composition Centre and collaborates with the Lir (National Academy of Dramatic Art), as well as Trinity’s Arts and Technology Research Lab.

In 2013, the Royal Irish Academy of Music became an Associate College – a move designed to facilitate the development of an internationally renowned centre of excellence in performing arts. 2015 marked the appointment of Professor Jane Alden as Chair of Music, and a renewed commitment to social engagement and educational outreach.

Graduate skills and career opportunities

The employment record for Trinity’s graduates in Music is excellent. Recent alumni have established successful careers as composers, music producers (for television, radio, or recording companies), performers, conductors, administrators, teachers, and academics in institutions worldwide. Several recent graduates have been commissioned by organisations such as RTÉ. Trinity Music students have an outstanding record of obtaining scholarships for further study abroad as well as from the Arts Council of Ireland. Some have used the analytical and intellectual skills that a Music degree offers to build successful careers in medicine, law, financial investment, and public relations.