Music and Creative Writing

Music and Creative Writing offers a perfect combination of creative disciplines. You will pursue music studies in performance, composition and musicology, and will study the creative practice of writing in a variety of forms. You will approach texts as both reader and writer, and engage with music as a listener, performer and composer. Our close links with local theatres, poetry groups and vibrant student societies will give you opportunities to get involved in arts and culture, and be a part of a thriving music community.

Studying Music is a creative opportunity to grow as a musician, guided by world-renowned composers, performers, musicologists and researchers. You will perform in, or attend performances at, public venues such as Pontio or the magnificent Prichard Jones Hall. In Creative Writing you will approach your studies through a variety of disciplinary pathways: instruction in using the techniques and forms of creative writing; study of the short story, the novel and poetry as literary forms; vocationally-oriented modules in journalism, screenwriting, scriptwriting, storytelling, genre writing, writing for performance and publication, and writing for online and other digital media.

Your musical experience will extend beyond the lecture room, with opportunities to join the University Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Choir or one of the many student societies for Music, such as Opera, Concert Band, DJ, Musical Theatre, and String Orchestra. You will also benefit from Bangor’s excellent links with leading organisations in the UK, including the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, with whom we have an annual composition workshop.

This course will equip you with a solid grounding in the critical and practical skills writing and musical skill you will need to pursue a career in writing, music, and a wide range of other careers.

‘Placement Year’ and 'International Experience Year’ options are available for this course. You will have the opportunity to fully consider these options when you have started your course at Bangor and can make an application for a transfer onto such a pathway at the appropriate time. You can find more information about these options on our website and if you have any questions, please get in touch.

If you don’t have the required qualifications for this degree-level course or are looking to re-enter education after time away from study, then a Foundation Year Programme might be the right choice for you. Please see Music (with Foundation Year) W30F or English Language and English Literature (with Foundation Year) QQCF.