Start Date: September
Location: Prince of Wales Campus
Length: 2 Years
Credential: Diploma, Music Performance
Program Availability: Fall 2024 Term
Canadian Applicants: Open
International Applicants with a Valid Study Permit: Open
Other International Applicants: Closed
Program Availability: Fall 2025 Term
Canadian Applicants: Open
International Applicants with a Valid Study Permit: Open
Other International Applicants: Open
Students come from all over the world to take the Music Performance program. You’ll learn how to interpret, improvise, and perform contemporary music styles such as country, Celtic, rock, R&B, jazz, world music, and pop. In addition to theory and arranging, you’ll learn the ins and outs of the music business and the lucrative field of music licensing. The Music Performance program uses official curriculum materials from Berklee College of Music in Boston for all core music courses.
You will develop your performance style on stage in the Florence Simmons Performance Hall and SoPA’s coolest rehearsal space, the SoPA Garage, and as a student in the Music Performance program, you will receive a membership to Music Prince Edward Island.
Visit the School of Performing Arts page.
Our instructors are musicians and professionals still working and performing in the industry. They'll ensure that your training is current and relevant to the music industry and help you build your professional network. Meet our Instructors
Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will be able to:
Students in our School of Performing Arts have access to specialized campus facilities. Check out our virtual tours for a glimpse of the program space.
Tour our SoPA Garage
Tour the Florence Simmons Performance Hall
The Berklee – Holland College Pathway program provides students who have been accepted to Berklee College of Music with an exciting opportunity to take part in a one- to two-year Music Performance program at Holland College in beautiful Prince Edward Island, Canada.
This program has degree pathways, giving you the opportunity to receive credit for your Holland College diploma when you continue your education. For a complete list of agreements, visit the Degree Pathways page.
| Partner Institution | Credential | Details of Agreement |
|---|---|---|
| Berklee College of Music, Boston, Mass., U.S.A. | Bachelor of Music | Graduates may receive up to 57 of the 120 credits required for a Bachelor of Music degree. |
| St. Francis Xavier University (StFX), Antigonish, N.S. | Bachelor of Music | Graduates receive two years of credit toward the Bachelor of Music degree. |
| St. Francis Xavier University (StFX), Antigonish, N.S. | Bachelor of Arts Honours Music | Graduates receive two years credit toward the Bachelor of Arts Honours Music degree. |
| Mount Allison, Sackville, N.B. | Bachelor of Music | Graduates receive two years of credit toward a Bachelor of Music degree. An audition is required as part of the entry process. |
Auditions are by appointment. Please email Adam Hill to schedule your audition. You must have applied to the Music Performance program before you can audition.
Detailed list of Performance Audition requirements.
NOTES
Tuition, fees, and other costs are listed in Canadian dollars. International tuition includes the International Student Fee.
Fees are Course Based
|
1st Year |
Canadian |
International |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | $4,852 | $10,852 |
| Fees | $2,648 | $3,398 |
| Other Costs | $650 | $650 |
| Total | $8,150 | $14,900 |
|
2nd Year |
Canadian |
International |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | $5,460 | $10,560 |
| Fees | $2,748 | $3,498 |
| Other Costs | $500 | $500 |
| Total | $8,708 | $14,558 |
|
Tuition & Fees |
1st Year |
2nd Year |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | $4,852 | $5,460 |
| Private Lessons | $1,920 | $1,920 |
| Student Union | $178 | $178 |
| Health Insurance Fee | $470 | $470 |
| Fitness Centre Fee | $80 | $80 |
| Graduation Fee | – | $100 |
| Total payment to Holland College | $7,500 | $8,208 |
| 1st installment due first day of first semester | $4,114 | $4,518 |
| 2nd installment due first day of second semester | $3,386 | $3,690 |
| Other Costs Please note: the cost of books, materials, and supplies are included here for your information only, this amount is not payable to the college. Do not include this amount in your tuition payment. |
1st Year |
2nd Year |
| Books | $500 | $500 |
| Equipment | $150 | - |
| Total | $650 | $500 |
| Grand Total | $8,150 | $8,708 |
|
Tuition & Fees |
1st Year |
2nd Year |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition* | $10,852 | $10,560 |
| Private Lessons | $1,920 | $1,920 |
| Student Union | $178 | $178 |
| Health Insurance Fee | $1,220 | $1,220 |
| Fitness Centre Fee | $80 | $80 |
| Graduation Fee | – | $100 |
| Total payment to Holland College | $14,250 | $14,058 |
| 1st installment due first day of first semester | $10,864 | $10,368 |
| 2ndi installment due first day of second semester | $3,386 | $3,690 |
|
Other Costs |
1st Year |
2nd Year |
| Books | $ 500 | $ 500 |
| Equipment | $150 | - |
| Total | $ 650 | $ 500 |
| Grand Total | $14,900 | $14,558 |
*Includes the International Student Fee.
The Music Performance program has degree pathway agreements with Berklee College of Music, University of Limerick, UNB - Saint John, Acadia University, York University, and Dalhousie University.
Many Holland College programs have degree pathway agreements with other post-secondary institutions. You can receive credit for your Holland College diploma toward a university degree or other post-graduate credential, saving you time and money! Find out more on the Degree Pathways page.
Course Code:SAFE-1005
An overview of the Occupational Health and Safety Act of Prince Edward Island. Students examine the legislation, how PEI employees are protected while on the job and the responsibilities of employees and employers.
Credit Value:0
Course Code:MUSC-1000
Examine basic music theory concepts and the common musical notation used in today's music industry. Students learn about the use of major and minor scales to construct intervals and chords, and also learn about notating contemporary parts for drums and bass. Students develop a working knowledge of basic harmonic analysis, modal harmony, and modal interchange.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:MUSC-1005
Learn the basic aural skills required to function as a professional musician. Learn to perceive common melodic patterns, harmonic progressions, and basic rhythm patterns. Students demonstrate their aural skills through musical dictation, sight-singing, and conducting.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:MUSC-1010
Students learn about the stylistic musical and interpretation elements that characterize the Rock genre and the Country genre.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:MUSC-1015
Build on the knowledge gained from Music Styles: Rock and Country to reproduce the authentic sounds and performance characteristics of both the Rock and Country genres. Students will have an opportunity to use a variety of techniques such as personal and group rehearsals, part building and jam sessions to demonstrate their musical performance skills in these genres.
Credit Value:2
Course Code:MUSC-1020
Students will learn a "hands-on" introductory approach to the basic knowledge of piano technique, chords, and chord progressions for contemporary music.
Credit Value:1
Course Code:MUSC-1025
Students begin to develop techniques for professional musicianship, solo, and group performance. Students focus on two areas; their ability to play or sing with fluency, confidence, and dexterity, and their ability to arrive at that point through a structured and logical practice routine.
Credit Value:2
Course Code:MUSC-1030
Explore diatonic functioning dominant chords, secondary dominants, extended dominants, and deceptive resolution. Students learn how to develop guide tone lines and work with minor key harmony in terms of available tensions, subdominant minor, and modal interchange. Students develop a working knowledge of the Blues, melodic scales and intervals, and the relationships between form, melody, harmony, and rhythm.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:MUSC-1035
Further develop skills learned in MUSC-1005 Ear Training II. Continued study on perceiving common melodic patterns, harmonic progressions, and rhythm patterns. Students demonstrate their aural skills through musical dictation, sight-singing, and conducting.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:MUSC-1045
Students learn about the stylistic musical and interpretation elements that characterize the Rhythm & Blues (R&B) genre and the Pop genre.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:MUSC-1050
Build on knowledge gained from Music Styles: Rhythm & Blues (R&B) and Pop to reproduce the authentic sounds and performance characteristics of both the Rhythm & Blues (R&B) and Pop genres. Use a variety of techniques such as personal and group rehearsals, part building and jam sessions to demonstrate musical performance skills in these genres.
Credit Value:2
Course Code:MUSC-1055
Students further develop skills aquired in Keyboard Harmony: Introduction. Students advance their knowledge of piano chords and increase their skills with keyboard accompaniment for contemporary music.
Credit Value:1
Course Code:MUSC-1060
Students further develop professional musicianship, solo, and group performance techniques learned in Private Lesson 1. Students focus on two areas; the ability to play or sing with fluency, confidence, and dexterity, and their ability to arrive at that point through a structured and logical practice routine.
Credit Value:2
Course Code:MUSC-2000
Building on Harmony: Introduction, students gain an understanding of diatonic functioning chord scales, dominant chord functions, diminished chord patterns, and modulation considerations.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:MUSC-2005
Students learn the musical concepts of melody, rhythm, harmony, and form, as applied to the principles and techniques of writing and arranging for the rhythm section, and a lead-line in a solo instrument, two horns, or voice. Students explore various contemporary musical styles and musical concepts that comprise them, including writing from the "bottom up" (groove-driven), and "top down" (working with a melody in a lead instrument or voice).
Credit Value:3
Course Code:MUSC-2015
Students learn about the stylistic musical and interpretation elements that characterize the Celtic genre and the World Music genre.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:MUSC-2020
Building on knowledge gained from Music Styles: Celtic and World Music, students learn to reproduce the authentic sounds and performance characteristics of the Celtic and Acadian Music genres. Students use a variety of techniques such as personal and group rehearsals, part building, and jam sessions to demonstrate musical performance skills in these genres.
Credit Value:2
Course Code:MUSC-2025
Develop skills improvising music in contrasting styles such as Rock, Country, R&B and Pop using a variety of techniques such as personal and group rehearsals, part building and jam sessions. Identify personal goals, review progress and implement strategies for improvement.
Credit Value:2
Course Code:MUSC-2030
Students further develop professional musicianship, solo, and group performance techniques learned in Private Lesson 1 and 2. Students focus on two areas; the ability to play or sing with fluency, confidence, and dexterity, and their ability to arrive at that point through a structured and logical practice routine.
Credit Value:2
Course Code:MUSC-2050
Students learn about the stylistic musical and interpretation elements that characterize the Jazz genre and the Latin genre.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:MUSC-2055
Build on knowledge gained from Music Styles: Jazz and Latin to reproduce the authentic sounds and performance characteristics of both the Jazz and Latin genres. Use a variety of techniques such as personal and group rehearsals, part building and jam sessions to demonstrate musical performance skills in these genres.
Credit Value:2
Course Code:MUSC-2060
Further develop improvisational skills learned in Ensemble: Improvisation Introduction. Demonstrate improvisation techniques at a more complex level using a variety of techniques such as personal and group rehearsals, part building and jam sessions. The focus will be on improvisation in contrasting styles such as Celtic, World, Jazz and Latin.
Credit Value:2
Course Code:MUSC-2065
Students further develop professional musicianship, solo, and group performance techniques learned in Private Lesson 1, 2 and 3. Students focus on two areas; the ability to play or sing with fluency, confidence, and dexterity, and the ability to arrive at that point through a structured and logical practice routine. Students take on a leadership role, creating their own graduation recital, in collaboration with others.
Credit Value:2
Course Code:MUSC-2070
Building on Harmony: Intermediate, students gain an understanding of harmonic situations that do not fit into "normal practice" of popular musical styles. Students become familiar with different dominant 7th chord resolution situations, modal interchange, pedal point, ostinato, modal harmony, compound chords, and constant structures.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:MUSC-2105
Third in a series of four courses, this course continues to develop the students aural perception of intervals, 7th chords with tensions, common melodic patterns, harmonic progressions and rhythmic patterns. Areas of exploration and focus include: Secondary and Substitute Dominants, Related II's, Modal Interchange, Diminished Chord patterns and Minor Key progressions and melodies. Rhythmic studies will include 2/8, 3/8, 6/8, 12/8, cut time, and 5/4 time signatures. The rhythmic devices explored in Ear Training II will continue to be developed, with additional attention given to syncopated 16th note practices. Students will demonstrate their aural skills through musical dictation, sight-singing, and conducting.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:ANAT-1000
An introduction to the structure and function of the body in its normal, healthy state. It serves as the basis for understanding pathophysiology and altered body states caused by illness. Students examine individual body organ systems, their components and processes, and how they interrelate.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:ANAT-1247
The intent of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the structure and function of the human body. Emphasis is placed on the study of the cardiovascular, skeletal, muscular, nervous, and respiratory systems.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:ARTS-1030
An introduction to the development of art in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the identification of well-known artists throughout history. Explore the key stylistic characteristics of major artistic movements. Using the Feldman method of art criticism, learn to discuss and evaluate various forms of creative expression. Gain a wide variety of artistic experiences to help move from the role of observer to one of active engagement in the world of art.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:BIOL-1100
An introduction to applied microbiology including a practical and theoretical introduction to structure and function of micro-organisms. The diversity of the microbial world is examined by comparing bacterial, fungal, protozoan and viral organisms. The growth, reproduction and enumeration of micro-organisms are studied as well as the effects of environmental conditions on microbial growth. The laboratory component provides hands-on experience in the isolation, cultivation and enumeration of micro-organisms as well as in the preparation of microbiological media.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:BUSI-2030
Explore the basic principles and concepts of micro and macro economics. Learn the concepts of demand and supply, the theory of the firm, and distribution of income, including the study of business behavior and decision making under various market conditions. A macroeconomics view includes the examination of national income levels, employment and prices, the business cycle, factors affecting economic growth and monetary and fiscal policies.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:CHEM-1000
A survey of general chemistry, starting with the properties of the basic elements and their chemical reactions and progressing to the behaviour of organic compounds. Students study acid/base chemistry, chemical equilibrium and reductive/oxidative reactions.
Credit Value:4
Course Code:COMM-1002
Develop professional writing that is concise, clear, and grammatically correct. Students will acquire competency with focus placed on grammar, punctuation, proofreading, editing, and word usage in the first portion of the course. In the later portion, focus will be placed on developing reports and research projects consistent with academic and professional standards.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:KINE-1146
This course provides students with both a basic understanding of the structure and function of the human body and an understanding of the expected responses and adaptations the body makes during acute exercise. Topic areas include; homeostasis, bioenergetics, neuroendocrinology, the nervous system, the musculoskeletal system, the circulatory system, and acid-base balance. Students examine acute body systems responses to various forms of exercise and chronic adaptations resulting from participation in regular exercise training.
Credit Value:4
Course Code:MATH-1290
This course provides students with an introduction to the basic concepts of descriptive and basic probability, sampling techniques and inferential statistics. Topics include; proper sampling techniques, measures of center and variation, basic probability concepts, normal distribution, confidence intervals for means and proportions, hypothesis testing, paired samples as two independent samples, contingency tables, introduction to analysis of variance, linear regression and correlation. Students are introduced to a statistical computer package.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:MKTG-2065
Gain knowledge and understanding of the marketing and promotion skills required to successfully launch and sustain a career in the music industry. Students learn methods of self-promotion and working with promoters, agents, and managers. Students examine the methods and benefits of promotion of their recordings, projects, concerts, and merchandise, and how to successfully forward their career through best practices in marketing and promotion.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:MUSC-1040
An outline of all business and creative aspects of music licensing, from including production techniques, composing styles, the various media formats, music libraries, music catalogues, the role of music in each media format, and other related material. Students will learn how to create multiple revenue streams by licensing their music for various media formats.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:MUSC-1065
An introduction to the various ways in which music technology is incorporated into the production of music. Students gain a working knowledge of Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI), sequencing, the use of virtual instruments (VSTs), effects, editing, and mixing. Students gain a working knowledge of music composition for multiple media formats including television, film, video games, and advertising, sound design, DAWs, Foley, and musical notation utilizing Finale.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:MUSC-2200
A thorough exploration of the business practices required to be successful in the music business. Students learn about the role of various professionals, their influence and impact, and how they will interact with them during their career. Students apply financial planning, project planning, and business planning principles to create a business plan related to their own career.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:PSYC-1001
The theory, methods and research within the science of psychology will be examined, including sensation and perception, consciousness, conditioning and learning, memory, and thinking and intelligence. In addition, the history of psychology and the connection between biology and psychology will be explored, with a Canadian research perspective highlighted when appropriate.
Credit Value:3
Course Code:PSYC-1002
The theory, methods and research within the science of psychology will be examined, including lifespan development. emotion and motivation, personality and stress. Additionally, psychological disorders, therapy and treatment will be explored.
Credit Value:3
