Music in Oxford - Help

Hi,

I'm in my last of high school now(year 13 in New Zealand) and applying for BMus Oxford starting from Oct 2025 alongside the conservatoire applications. Which college is better/stronger at music?

My predicted grades are A* for music, A* for maths, A for chemistry and A for physics-not sure good enough or not as I got ABBC for AS results but very high A and Bs, C is maths but I'm going to resit all the papers this year.

For written work, Oxford required one or two harmony/counterpoint- I'm not quite sure how it works even with the guideline. Anyone able to explain a bit more how it works? At the same time, they also asked for 2 academic writings with no topic limitation.

Oxford also asked for the 5 minutes performance recording- which level of performance do they actually require? I'm asking this because my strength is composition and I got an operation 3 years ago so my performance level is not very outstanding, but still capable to deal with A level music. My main instruments are all world instruments: qunan, guzheng and koto and I just started piano last year.

For composition, Oxford mentioned that I can submit one or two short composition-how short does it have to be? 15 minutes? 5 minutes? Or even shorter?

Overall, how do these 3 components weight in my application?

I have Oct/Nov exam series which means I'm preparing for the university application and exams at the same time...Huge stress on me so have to deal with these problems in several weeks. Please give some extra suggestions about music in Oxford if possible!

Reply 1

The_Lonely_Goatherd

Tagging @qwerties as they would be able to give more up-to-date info :smile:

Reply 2

qwerties

Original post by ' '"

Hi,
I'm in my last of high school now(year 13 in New Zealand) and applying for BMus Oxford starting from Oct 2025 alongside the conservatoire applications. Which college is better/stronger at music?
My predicted grades are A* for music, A* for maths, A for chemistry and A for physics-not sure good enough or not as I got ABBC for AS results but very high A and Bs, C is maths but I'm going to resit all the papers this year.
For written work, Oxford required one or two harmony/counterpoint- I'm not quite sure how it works even with the guideline. Anyone able to explain a bit more how it works? At the same time, they also asked for 2 academic writings with no topic limitation.
Oxford also asked for the 5 minutes performance recording- which level of performance do they actually require? I'm asking this because my strength is composition and I got an operation 3 years ago so my performance level is not very outstanding, but still capable to deal with A level music. My main instruments are all world instruments: qunan, guzheng and koto and I just started piano last year.
For composition, Oxford mentioned that I can submit one or two short composition-how short does it have to be? 15 minutes? 5 minutes? Or even shorter?
Overall, how do these 3 components weight in my application?
I have Oct/Nov exam series which means I'm preparing for the university application and exams at the same time...Huge stress on me so have to deal with these problems in several weeks. Please give some extra suggestions about music in Oxford if possible!

So for written work, specifically the harmonisation exercise, the faculty are just looking for a submission and most colleges won’t weigh in heavily on it when making a decision on your offer. Most people choose to harmonise the lower three parts of a Bach Chorale to a soprano line. https://youtu.be/iCDE0hBZLv4?si=hwpNa3q6uauPgtRY More info could be found here if it helps.

For performance, I think they expect around ABRSM / Trinity G8 or equivalent in your main instrument, but do not expect any formal qualifications. This grade expectation can be found on the faculty admissions page. However, when you submit your performance on the form, you can specify your mitigating circumstances (your operation and recovery), they should understand.

I’m not sure if there is a time limit on the composition, as I believe a whole score could be submitted with a recording, which they haven’t specified in length. In any case, check this website again: https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses/course-listing/music

You are right in that these components of written work do weigh differently; I expect most emphasis to be placed on your two essays as this is formerly an academic course, which the essays give the interviewers a good insight into how you think as an academic. The counterpoint and performance are merely formalities, there is very little chance where they would penalise you for poor performance. However, do try to make those as strong as possible. The composition is just another factor to show yourself as a rounded musician. I expect these components to contribute to a holistic decision to a successful application. Best of luck, do DM if you need more help.