Master’s Programme in Viola

String Instruments Department, Music and Dance Faculty, Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (HAMU)

Overview

The Master’s Programme in Viola at HAMU is a two-year, full-time course designed for advanced violists seeking to refine technical mastery, artistic expression, and professional readiness. The programme focuses exclusively on high-level performance, interpretation, and career preparation, fostering an independent artistic voice in solo, chamber, and orchestral contexts. Students engage with a wide repertoire spanning Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and contemporary works, while also exploring interdisciplinary collaboration, contemporary media, and performance innovation. The programme balances intensive individual tuition with public performance, masterclasses, and professional practice, preparing graduates for international careers as soloists, ensemble leaders, educators, and collaborative artists.

Programme Goals

The programme aims to produce highly skilled, versatile, and professionally prepared violists. Key objectives include:

• Advanced technical mastery: Perfecting bowing, fingering, articulation, intonation, phrasing, and expressive control.

• Artistic individuality: Encouraging students to develop a distinctive interpretative voice and personal stage presence.

• Professional versatility: Preparing graduates to perform in solo recitals, chamber ensembles, orchestras, and interdisciplinary projects.

• Critical and reflective skills: Enabling students to contextualise repertoire historically and stylistically, and to evaluate their performance critically.

• Career readiness: Equipping students with project management, concert programming, and professional communication skills.

• Repertoire breadth: Mastery of solo, chamber, and orchestral literature, including Czech and international works across historical and contemporary styles.

Graduates emerge as technically proficient, musically insightful, and professionally confident violists.

Curriculum Structure

The programme spans four semesters, combining intensive instrumental training with professional practice and performance opportunities:

• Individual tuition: Weekly one-on-one lessons tailored to each student’s artistic development and technical requirements.

• Chamber music and orchestral participation: Training in ensemble leadership, collaboration, and rehearsal techniques.

• Performance practice and repertoire: Students prepare advanced solo and chamber repertoire for public recitals and examinations.

• Masterclasses and workshops: Sessions with renowned national and international violists, offering artistic insight and professional guidance.

• Professional development: Seminars in career management, concert organisation, pedagogy, performance psychology, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

• Final recital or portfolio: Students present a major solo or ensemble project demonstrating technical mastery, interpretative depth, and professional maturity.

This integrated curriculum ensures that graduates develop a combination of technical excellence, artistic individuality, and professional competence.

Graduate Profile

Graduates of the Master’s Programme in Viola possess:

• Technical excellence: Command of advanced techniques and stylistic versatility required for professional performance.

• Artistic maturity: Personal interpretative insight, expressive nuance, and stage presence.

• Professional adaptability: Prepared to work in solo, chamber, orchestral, and interdisciplinary contexts.

• Critical and reflective skills: Ability to analyse repertoire historically and stylistically, and to refine their own performance through self-evaluation.

• Career readiness: Skills to organise concerts, engage in collaborations, pursue teaching, and manage professional projects.

Graduates are equipped to excel in diverse professional contexts, from international performance stages to educational and collaborative roles.

Why Choose HAMU?

HAMU offers a unique environment for advanced viola study:

• Specialised tuition: Individual lessons tailored to the student’s instrument, repertoire, and artistic goals.

• High-level performance opportunities: Public recitals, chamber ensembles, orchestral projects, and participation in festivals.

• International exposure: English-language programme attracts students worldwide, fostering global networking.

• Masterclasses and mentorship: Engagement with leading violists and visiting artists enhances learning and artistic development.

• Cultural and musical setting: Prague provides historic concert halls, ensembles, festivals, and a vibrant musical community.

• Interdisciplinary collaboration: Opportunities to work with composition, theatre, dance, and media departments.

These factors create an environment where advanced violists can fully develop artistry, technical skill, and professional readiness.

Admissions Requirements

Applicants must demonstrate advanced technical skill, musical maturity, and professional potential:

• Bachelor’s degree in viola or equivalent.

• Portfolio submission: Recordings of recent performances showcasing technical ability and interpretative skill.

• Live audition: Performance of advanced repertoire, demonstrating artistic and technical readiness for graduate-level study.

• Language proficiency: English for international-taught programmes.

• Selection process: Competitive audition and interview assessing technical mastery, interpretative individuality, and professional potential.

Admitted students receive intensive one-on-one instruction, performance opportunities, and professional guidance.

Career Prospects

Graduates are prepared for careers as:

• Solo performers: Recitals, recordings, and festival appearances.

• Chamber musicians: Quartets, ensembles, and collaborative projects.

• Orchestral players: National and international symphony orchestras, opera houses, and contemporary ensembles.

• Educators: Teaching at conservatories, universities, private studios, and workshops.

• Interdisciplinary collaborators: Projects with dance, theatre, film, and media.

• Arts managers and leaders: Concert programming, festival organisation, and artistic project management.

Graduates’ combination of technical skill, interpretative insight, and professional readiness enables success on national and international stages.

Conclusion

The Master’s Programme in Viola at HAMU provides rigorous technical training, artistic refinement, and professional preparation. Through individual tuition, chamber and orchestral experience, masterclasses, interdisciplinary collaboration, and exposure to Prague’s vibrant musical life, students cultivate the skills, artistry, and confidence to succeed as professional violists in diverse contexts worldwide.