Diploma in Music Performance at Camosun College

Get the technical skills to be an elite performer

The Music Performance diploma program is offered through a partnership between the Victoria Conservatory of Music and Camosun College. This program is designed to meet a heightened requirement for versatility in performance style. Increasing demand on artists to participate in creation, along with the quick implementation of music technologies to create, capture, and transfer music, indicates the need for non-traditional training.

This is a first-of-its-kind credential–one that deliberately blends practitioners of all styles in a common first year, proceeds with a highly specialized second year, and steeps the whole in a performance orientation.

The Music Performance diploma is offered over four 14-week semesters, running from September to early April over two years; select courses may be offered during spring/summer terms. You may elect to study full-time or part-time; however, you should be prepared to dedicate both daytime and evening hours to scheduled courses, and if you select a part-time option you should be aware that alternate-year delivery schedule of some courses may add significantly to the length of the full program. Courses are taught on the Victoria Conservatory of Music campus at 900 Johnson Street in downtown Victoria, or by distance learning.

Upon successful completion of the diploma, you will have deep, practical training in music, instilling the skills vital for success in the 21st-century music workplace.

What to expect

Musicians of any musical genre will find a place in our innovative training environment. Classical, Contemporary (includes folk, jazz and rock), and cutting-edge musicians work side-by-side in the vibrant musical atmosphere of our campus at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. The Diploma in Music Performance will increase your personal strengths in music making through a balance of performance and hands-on application of practical skills. Intensive one-on-one studio instruction, group performance, music theory and contexts, music technologies, and career skills will give you the foundations for success in the 21st-century music profession.

Year 1

A common first year for musicians of all genres will lay the ground work for future specialized study. Performance, music theory and contexts, aural skills, and music technologies are taught.

Year 2

In the second year, you will choose areas of musical specialization. Areas of performance, contexts and creativity, composition, improvisation, performance practice, and stagecraft are emphasized.