Raising standards in performance

Over the past few years, instrumental performance has been subject to considerable
research in this journal and elsewhere. A great deal of this research has concentrated on
the practice strategies and individual lessons, which most students undertake in preparing
as performers. Little has been done on raising standards of performance on a larger scale
within the context of a large music department. This article describes the outcomes of a
two-year programme undertaken with undergraduates at Barnsley College. It looks
speci®cally at the scope for curriculum changes over that period and the way the various
individual aspects of performance lessons are brought together through a weekly class
which focuses on the demands of a public performance and the strategies required to
prepare for that event.