Student spotlights
Find out what it's like to study Music at The University of Manchester from current undergraduate and master's students.
Max Bilbe
Final year student Max has accelerated his skills as a pianist at Manchester, performing Prokofiev, Schumann and getting involved in a number of societies and music companies.
George Blakesley
Final year student George talks about a passion for performing with professionals and seeing his own compositions performed. He is continuing his musical journey into a master’s degree.
Tiger Wong Dazeley
Tiger is a first-year Music and Drama student learning the ropes here at The University of Manchester. She has some great advice for applicants and newcomers and is already involved in many performances.
Dexter Drown
Dexter is from Oxford originally and started on the MusB programme in 2018. He plays the trombone, sings and conducts ensembles with the Music Society.
Hannah Elliott
Drawn to Manchester by its academic reputation and modern course, Hannah talks about pushing herself, being a choral conductor, singing with her friends and her ambitions to compose for film and television.
Patrick Friel
PhD Composition student Patrick, who was a winner at the Discovering Young Composers of Europe competition, is thinking about music in new ways thanks to his research.
James Gillett
Originally destined for a maths degree, James’s love of music led him to Manchester where he has thrown himself into opera, The University’s many music societies and his dissertation.
Eleanor Hall
Final year student Eleanor looks back on the skills she learned from getting involved in societies and going on placements, and how her course fed her love of performance while setting her up for a career in arts management.
Zoe Kundu
Second-year student Zoe has a calling for teaching music to the next generation and on her degree has got involved in musical schemes at primary schools and in societies, expanding her horizons and skills.
Benjamin Marrington-Reeve
Final-year MusB student Benjamin is preparing for postgraduate study while enjoying hearing his own compositions performed at and outside of the University.
Freya Parry
BA Music and Drama student Freya is currently studying solo and ensemble performance while also undertaking the duties of President of Chorus.
Patrick Shepherd
Patrick jumped into life as a music student feet first, involving himself in a number of societies and taking on the responsibility of President of MUMS. He describes his experience as exhausting but satisfying.
Katherine Stonham
Violinist Katherine talks about her joint degree with RNCM and balancing academia with performance, as well as shadowing Halle musicians and learning how to prioritise a busy schedule.
Ryan Woods
Ryan is studying a master’s in electroacoustic composition after completing an undergraduate music degree at Manchester. He talks about his passion for music in the community, studying in Canada and the MANTIS festival.