BATH SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND PERFORMING ARTS
WELCOME FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL
Dr Matthew Lovett
Head of the Bath School of Music and Performing Arts
Welcome to the Bath School of Music and Performing Arts at Bath Spa University. Based at the University’s Newton Park campus, just outside the historic city of Bath, the School encompasses all performance and music courses, from acting to commercial music, dance to theatre, festival and event production.
We are a forward-thinking School that focuses on creating learning environments where students feel valued and able to develop skills, knowledge and experience that will equip them for successful, fulfilling, and sustainable careers in the global creative sector.
At the heart of our School are our people – a motivated, generous, ambitious and deeply human community of students and staff, all committed to making and sharing great work, creating amazing experiences for others and exchanging ideas and perspectives in respectful and inspiring ways.
All our courses are built on a learn-bydoing ethos, and building our students’ confidence is central to everything we do. Whether you’re a dancer, a musician, an actor or a theatre technician, we equip our students with the specialist skills and knowledge to excel in their field, with the people skills that are essential for working collaboratively with other professionals and the public, and the creative thinking and problemsolving skills that we know will be a vital ingredient in everyone’s career for the foreseeable future.
CONTENTS
BA Acting
BA Commercial Music
Staff and student profiles 4-5 6-7 8-9 10-11 12-13 14-15 16-17 18-19 20-21 22-23 24-25 26-27 30-31
BA Creative Sound and Music Production
BA Dance
BA Drama
BA Drama (Musical Theatre)
BA Music
BA Theatre Festival and Event Production
Our MA Courses
Interview with Little Boots
Our facilities
Our alumni
BA (HONS) ACTING
What does it take to be a professional actor? It demands that you develop a strong creative portfolio career facilitated through skills, industry insight and an entrepreneurial approach.
Our innovative BA (Hons) Acting prepares our students for a portfolio career in acting for stage, screen and digital media. We respond to new employability opportunities for actors, especially in the current developing landscape that new digital technology continues to open for creatives.
Surrounded by some of the leading theatres and production companies in the South-West, including Theatre Royal Bath, Bristol Old Vic and BBC, as well as many independent professionals. Our course works with local and regional partners and creatives to give our students authentic industry experiences throughout their time with us.
Across the first and second year, students build strong foundations in Actor training through the development of core skills; movement, singing, voice and accent work, before testing and applying these in various projects and performances across stage and digital media.
Second year students have the opportunity to gain a certificate from the British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat, with the option to further their skills in an intensive summer school course.
In the final year, there’s a strong focus on being industry ready, by developing students’ profiles through public performances and digital media work, building networks and adding professional credits to a portfolio CV. Students’ work is showcased in our annual performance festival SparkFest led by our in-house production company, Bath Spa Productions. We’re proud to say that students graduate as confident, selfassured performers, with strong technical skillsets and the ability to position themselves to find opportunities - and to create them for themselves.
“If I hadn’t gone to Bath Spa, I would most likely just be an unemployed actor, not a constantly working professional.”
Matthew David Emeny BA (Hons) Acting graduate
www.bathspa.ac.uk/courses/ug-acting
BA (HONS) COMMERCIAL MUSIC
If you have a flair for original musical ideas, our BA (Hons) Commercial Music course can take you on a creative journey to inspire and define a lifelong career.
Our Commercial Music course is about creation through songs, projects, bands, and entrepreneurial ideas. Commercial Music students develop practical skills that broaden their future career opportunities through writing, designing, promoting, performing, researching, touring, and launching their own creative material.
Whether through song-writing, performing in a band, or composing for media, our course has a strong focus on original creation and production of music. Students learn a range of production techniques that help them capture and present their ideas, combining vintage studio practices with the latest digital technologies.
Alongside this practical work, students undertake contextual studies, analysing their own creative outputs and the work of relevant artists. Performance is also central to the Commercial Music experience, and we support the development of strong performance skills, either as a solo artist or as part of a band.
In the final year, the focus expands to include music business, and students are encouraged to specialise their interests as they prepare for the next step beyond the course. They also receive “seed funding” to work in teams to develop and actively pursue a real-world music-related business project. Many of these ventures continue beyond graduation, with students regularly launching successful creative enterprises of their own.
“While giving you a deep understanding of the workings of the industry from business to creativity, it also allows an individual to pursue their specific interests in detail.”
Neil Martin, Broadcast Engineer, Abbey Road Live (Commercial Music graduate) www.bathspa.ac.uk/courses/ugcommercial-music
SCAN HERE
BA (HONS) CREATIVE SOUND AND MUSIC PRODUCTION
BA (Hons) Creative Sound and Music
Production at Bath Spa University fuses audio production, composition, sound design, and the creative exploration of sound and audio technology in these core areas.
Building on years of teaching and research, the long history of sound and music production at BSU has produced some leading talents in the industry and attracted students wanting to explore their creativity.
Combining elements of contemporary urban, dance and commercial music with composition for film and TV, students can hone skills in mixing, mastering, audio production and post-production, sound design and audio for the games industry.
With strong industry links and experience, and teaching from lecturers and technical demonstrators who are experts in their
field, and active in the industry, the degree programme prepares students to step into a wide range of careers.
Alumni have gone on to work on prestige projects with labels including Shogun, Hospital Records, Sony, XL and Hessle Audio, as well as working on films and TVs shows across the world, with multiple award nominees and winners - including BAFTAs.
Our recently completed £2.5 million investment in facilities will ensure generations of talented graduates for years to come (read more on pages 24-25).
“Great facilities, great staff and a great course. There’s very little that I learned during my three years at Bath Spa that I haven’t used and built upon, on a daily basis in my professional career."
BA (Hons) Creative Sound and Music graduate
www.bathspa.ac.uk/courses/ug-creativesound-and-music-production
BA (HONS) DANCE
Create. Perform. Transform. Our BA (Hons) Dance degree combines rigorous practical training and skills with artistic exploration to encourage creative ideas in movement and dance.
Studying Dance at BSU provides students with a uniquely diverse range of experiences to help them discover their potential and develop into a creative, confident dance artist. We thrive on encouraging our students to be curious, to explore new ideas, to challenge themselves and to make the most of the wide range of opportunities that are presented to them.
In choosing to study Dance at BSU, students join a vibrant community of students and staff who champion each others’ successes and face challenges together. They’re taught by a passionate team of experienced lecturers and professional artists who will support them at every stage of their journey.
Physical training is an important feature of the programme, and we provide excellent facilities for students to rehearse and train in, including a range of specialised dance studios at our Newton Park campus. BSU offers a broad foundation in dance practice,
drawing on a range of techniques including Cunningham, Limon, release, floor-based work, improvisation, ballet and more.
Alongside this, BSU dancers develop skills in hip hop and related styles, granting them a varied technical base that supports their growth as a versatile dancer.
There are regular opportunities throughout the course to present projects to peers and our wide network of professional artists.
The Guest Artist Programme (GAP) is one of the most exciting and distinctive elements of the dance courses at BSU.
From the very start of your studies, we work with professional artists in practical, studio-based workshops that allow students to immerse themselves in fresh, stimulating creative ideas. BA Dance students have previously worked with a wide range of companies and artists, including: Company Chameleon, The Egg Theatre, The Dance Network Association, Neon Dance, TrashDollys, Vincent Dance Theatre and many more.
“I felt like the whole course and experience was one big highlight of life so far. I've learnt so much, not just academically, but in life. I feel like I really lived and experienced these three years of my life to the fullest.”
Raquel dos Santos, BA (Hons) Dance graduate
www.bathspa.ac.uk/courses/ug-dance
bsu_dance
BA (HONS) DRAMA
Studying Drama at BSU gives students the performance, critical, and creative skills needed to launch themselves into a variety of exciting careers.
Our BA (Hons) Drama students refine their creative voice through a wide array of topics that cover the breadth of the theatrical arts allowing them to experiment, reflect and innovate in their general practice, and also to specialise in a specific area or niche if they wish.
We help them make key industry connections and gain crucial career experience through our strong partnerships with theatres and production companies across the country, including the Theatre Royal, the Bristol Old Vic, and the Bath Festival. This means we’re able to equip our students with the core skills needed to succeed in a wide array of career paths, or to continue into further study at BSU with our postgraduate degrees.
Throughout the course students study plays, practitioners and genres that have been particularly influential in shaping contemporary theatre and performance. There’s also a focus on play production and theatre performances, theatre in education, new plays written by students and new and existing works devised, directed and performed by students.
We also provide opportunities for students to take theatre out of BSU with education performances and workshops in local schools and community settings.
“The Drama department has been excellent in supporting us and offering advice and support when needed. The course was a springboard into the professional world of Drama.”
Simon Crispin, BA (Hons) Drama graduate
www.bathspa.ac.uk/courses/ug-drama
BA (HONS) DRAMA (MUSICAL THEATRE)
Explore the world of musical theatre in a dynamic, creative and collaborative setting.
Our BA (Hons) Drama (Musical Theatre) course are designed for people who are passionate about their craft and want to deepen their understanding of musical theatre, and professional opportunities after graduation.
Students on this course can expect to grow into an accomplished performer, interpreter, and creator, whilst also building key transferable skills in communication, critical thinking and leadership, applicable in a wide range of professional contexts.
In addition to performance skills development in core areas of singing, acting through song and staging, students explore a wide range of repertoire, learn to work confidently with music, and engage in the critical debates around the art form. Access to specialist drama modules help students to further broaden their portfolio of professional and transferable skills that will equip them to launch a career both within and beyond the performing arts industry after they graduate.
From 2027, this course will be run as a single honours degree with a planned title of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre.
“I loved the community I could sense amongst both the students and the lecturers and professors, who all strove to achieve at a high level academically whilst keeping the creativity at their core.”
Evie Williams, BA (Hons) Drama (Musical Theatre) SCAN
www.bathspa.ac.uk/courses/ug-dramamusical-theatre
BA (HONS) MUSIC
Our practical Music degree is is designed with an artist-first approach, so our students get the hands-on experience they need to launch a successful career in industry.
Over the course of our BA (Hons) Music degree, and the Performance pathway, we develop musical innovators and empower students to explore their musical identity through making original work from day one. This is an applied course designed to give students the time and space they need to develop their performance, production and audio design skills, improve their songwriting, expand their knowledge of global music cultures, and get crucial experience with our external partners.
We prepare our Music students to build careers in a variety of industries by encouraging them to build a portfolio of tangible experience and materials that
demonstrates their skills to employers. This includes public-facing performances, building websites and developing digital content and producing educational materials such as workshop plans.
Our Music students are based in our purpose-built music venue, the Michael Tippett Centre (the only one of its kind in Bath), which comprises a range of performance, production and rehearsal spaces, which sits alongside our recently opened £2.5million Hive and Arc music and sound spaces. Graduates from this course have gone on to work in film and TV, community arts organisations, music therapy, music education, or pursued further study.
“My time at Bath Spa was essential to my development as a musician. I look at my time at the University so fondly... Many of the skills I developed at Bath Spa have carried me through my career and form the bedrock of my success today.”
Tyler Spicer, BA (Hons) Music and English Literature graduate, multi-award winning music
producer
www.bathspa.ac.uk/courses/ug-music
bathspamusic
BA (HONS) THEATRE, FESTIVAL AND EVENT PRODUCTION
Our BA (Hons) Theatre, Festival and Event Production degree is a vocational training programme aimed at enthusiastic and imaginative individuals who want to maximise their creative potential.
Our focus is to train highly motivated, multi-skilled, freethinking individuals prepared for the challenges of working within the creative production industries. We equip our students with a creative mindset – multi-skilled, motivated and collaborative individuals who are ready to work in the creative production industries. BA Theatre, Festival and Event Production students train in all aspects of production, including costume, stage design, stage management, props, lighting, sound, video, scenic art and more.
This degree is unique in its structure, encouraging students to map their progression and career path through a choice of subjects, experimentation, skills practice and personal development. We provide comprehensive training in all areas of production across a wide range
of creative disciplines, and offer hands-on experience with Bath Spa Productions, the University's theatre and events company.
We utilise digital technologies including 3D AutoCAD, Lighting Pre-visualisation using Capture software and Projection mapping techniques as well as Virtual Reality headsets to allow students to explore concepts in the digital world.
Our course team are highly knowledgeable professionals with extensive industry experience and connections, allowing students to work directly with regional and national partners including Theatre Royal Bath, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Bristol Old Vic, The National Theatre, Bay Productions, Oxford Playhouse, Bath Festivals and Cardiff Theatrical Services.
“It really helped being on a smaller course and having that relationship with your lecturers where you can go to them about anything.”
Alexandra
Hopkins, BA (Hons) Theatre, Festival and Events Production graduate
www.bathspa.ac.uk/courses/ug-theatrefestival-and-event-production
tfep.creatives.bsu
MASTERS PROGRAMMES AT BSU
Our Masters programmes at BSU are designed to further practice, deepen knowledge and stretch creativity.
MA COMMERCIAL MUSIC
On our Commercial Music MA, students focus on a particular area of the music industry: songwriting, music production or the music business. As a songwriter, students could expect to create their own album, or write for others, and develop a showcase of material to pitch to publishers. As a producer, they’ll apply their skills to their own music or focus on producing for other artists. A focus on the music business could encompass anything from artist management to setting up a promotions company or starting a record label.
MA DANCE
One of the UK’s leading MA Dance courses allows students to explore and create choreography for live performance and film, develop dance practice in an interdisciplinary environment that balances taught and research components, and collaborate with other artists as part of an international dance community.
MA SOUND DESIGN
Students explore the creative use of sound within film, TV, animation, gaming, theatre, and other audiovisual media. The course focuses on the more creative aspects of sound design and advanced audio workflows and deepens technical skills allowing our students to create work without stylistic boundaries
“The campus boasts first-class amenities and is a place of inspiration and creativity. The professional blend of dance and film art allowed me give full play to my imagination... Through practice, I deeply understood dance creation and conception, and my personal breakthrough came not only as a performer on the stage, but also a creator of artistic works.”
Zhou Yu, MA Dance graduate
www.bathspa.ac.uk/schools/bath-schoolof-music-and-performing-arts/
LITTLE BOOTS JOINS BATH SPA UNIVERSITY
Victoria Mason, better known as Little Boots, is the newest lecturer for the School of Music and Performing Arts at Bath Spa University.
The singer-songwriter and DJ has just started her role as a lecturer in Commercial Music with over twenty years of careers expertise to offer students at BSU. After entering the talent show Pop Idol at the age of 16, and forming electropunk band Dead Disco in 2005, she rose to fame as a solo act called ‘Little Boots’ in 2008 with her debut record ‘Hands’. With subsequent performances on shows such as Later… with Jools Holland, the album reached the top five in the UK Album Charts, with songs ‘Remedy’ and ‘New in Town’ becoming top ten and top twenty hits respectively. She has since produced three more albums and has been a part of the ABBA Voyage, performing in the backup band on keyboards and synths.
Speaking on the significance of having an established musician join BSU, Head of the School of Music and Performing Arts Dr Matthew Lovett said:
“In the School of Music and Performing Arts at Bath Spa University, we’re serious about supporting our students to progress into careers in the Creative Industries. Having Victoria aka Little Boots join our Commercial Music team this year absolutely strengthens our ambition to take a lead role in the UK Higher Education sector to not only support our students to make great music and build careers for themselves as artists and music industry professionals, but also to strengthen the UK music industry.”
Speaking on becoming a lecturer at BSU, Victoria said:
“I’m thrilled to be joining BSU as a Lecturer in Commercial Music: I wish courses like this were around when I was starting out. All the lecturers are from the industry with incredible real-world experience, the new studio and facilities are phenomenal, and it’s exciting to see so many empowered young women on the course!
“My career has taken me from a Top 5 record to running my own independent label, performing worldwide, and exploring new fan funded models and immersive live shows. I’m passionate about sharing these experiences with the next generation of artists and helping them navigate the music industry with creativity, confidence, and resilience.”
Victoria joins a long line of talented lecturers within the School of Music and Performing Arts, with the Commercial Music team having an Emmy-award winning lecturer in Oli Baldwin, who won the award in June for his sound production work on the Apple TV series Earthsounds.
MUSIC FACILITIES RECEIVE ROCKSTAR TREATMENT WITH £2.5 MILLION INVESTMENT
In June 2025, we launched our brand-new music facilities, located on the Newton Park campus. This sizable investment of £2.5 million offers students the chance to experiment with top-of-the-range music technology and equipment, in spaces specifically designed to enhance their technical and professional skills.
The renovation is the culmination of the long-term ambitions of the Creative Music Technology and Commercial Music teams. Lead technician and BSU Commercial Music graduate Tom Turner spoke of hopeful conversations stretching back to the very launch of the Commercial Music course back in 2004, noting that:
“An investment of this scale is near unheard of in todays’ cultural environment.”
With resources being sourced from music retailers across Bristol and Bath, the renovation was designed and planned by the BSU community for BSU students and staff. The heart of the new renovation, which covers over 50 rooms across Compton, are the two central studios: The Arc, a critical listening and analysis space, and The Hive, a vintage-inspired collaborative recording studio, complete with key archival equipment.
Explore our Music and Performing Arts facilities using our virtual tour
THE ARC
The Arc is a new audiovisual and sound design space built with top-of-the-range sound proofing, speakers in the walls and ceilings, and a large cinema screen. This room is designed to allow students to integrate sound with media; for instance, for film scoring, foley sound, music production, and so on. All light and sound is fully synchronised to allow deep audiovisual analysis, and the Dolby Atmos rig within this room is one of the very first in the UK.
Speaking further on this, Tom said:
“The whole point of this is to teach students more industry-focused stuff... with the awareness that [the students] might not have access to this equipment for some time after graduating, so it’s good for them to learn to be experts now.”
Much of the equipment in this room and throughout the music facilities surpass industry standards, giving students access to top-tier tools and helping them develop outstanding technical skills for their future careers.
THE HIVE
The Hive is BSU’s vintage-inspired recording studio, complete with a wide array of instruments and musical equipment. Encased in 60 tonnes of steel, it is fully sound-proofed and designed with audio optimisation in mind.
The design of the Hive is unique as students will be able to experience everything in one space: live recording, producing, and mixing, all at once. Its vintage styling is a deliberate nod to iconic studios throughout music history, like Abbey Road, Sound City in Los Angeles, and Columbia Studios. As such, according to Tom, the space is as much an archival space as it is a technical one, curated to preserve the history of music, right at the centre of our Newton Park campus.
The star of the Hive is the custom made, specially designed Rupert Neve sound desk, which is the only one of its kind in an educational institution in the UK. Similar equipment was commonly used by the Beatles, Aerosmith and even Nirvana in their heydays.
Beyond this, the space is also home to iconic archival pieces, like the organ that UK-based band Rudimental recorded their last album on, an original LinnDrum sound mixer (only one of 5000 ever made), and replica drum kits modelled after the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, amongst a treasure trove of other technology and instruments. All equipment in both spaces is completely open for students to use with the support of expert Technical Demonstrators and course leaders.
OUR GRADUATE DESTINATIONS
ACTING, DRAMA, AND MUSICAL THEATRE:
Graduates of our performance subject area have gone on to work with Netflix, the BBC, ITV, Greedy Pig Theatre Company, the National Theatre, the Young Shakespeare Company, The Royal Shakespeare Company, Between Creatives and many more.
MUSIC, COMMERCIAL MUSIC, AND CREATIVE SOUND AND MUSIC PRODUCTION:
Our graduates have gone on to become award-winning music producers, songwriters, musicians, engineers and mixers, working with the likes of Florence and the Machine, Wolf Alice, the Vamps and more. Other graduate careers and destinations include festival production, film and TV sound engineering, community art organisations, Audible, No Roads Records, Glastonbury Festival, the BBC and more.
DANCE:
Many of our Dance graduates have gone on to form their own dance companies, including AllouAqui Dance Theatre, Circus Arts Ltd., Off The Map Dance Company, and the Flaming Feathers. Others have on to launch their own wellbeing and social-media agencies, pursued a career in dance therapy, or pursued further study.
THEATRE,
FESTIVAL AND EVENTS PRODUCTION:
Graduates have gone on to work with the National Theatre, Birmingham Royal Ballet, on major West End shows like Hamilton, Les Misérables, The Lion King and Mary Poppins, at Glastonbury Festival, Boomtown Festival and at Thorpe Park, and with Royal Caribbean Cruises and Virgin Voyages.
BSU’S PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL
Every year, Bath Spa University presents SparkFest, a city-wide, five-week long celebration of arts, music and culture, organised by students and staff.
SparkFest is programmed and produced by Bath Spa Productions, BSU's inhouse production company, run by students within and beyond the Bath School of Music and Performing Arts. It is the culmination of 12 months of work and preparation, and consistently the biggest project of the year for Bath Spa Productions. 2026 will mark the 9th year of the festival.
The aim of SparkFest is to champion the work of BSU's talented pool of performing arts students, and allow them to showcase to the wider public across Bath. Held in independent venues across the city including the Rondo Theatre, the Egg, the Holburne Museum, Widcombe Social Club, Burdall's Yard, and, of course, at BSU's own 186-seat University Theatre and 150-seat music hall, the Michael Tippet Centre. The 2026 edition of the festival has over 100 performances programmed across Bath.
Bath Spa Productions Graduate Content Producer had this to say about SparkFest:
"SparkFest's ethos is to promote connection throughout our community, across disciplines, locations and generations, whilst also championing creativity's cruciality in the maintenance of wellbeing. These guiding principles manifest through all our work, driven by our commitment to the development and nurturing of new talent, including early career creatives, practitioners and researchers.”
SparkFest is a labour of love, passion and hard work by staff, students and alumni of the Bath School of Music and Performing Arts. Many performing arts students at BSU have credited it as the jumpstart they needed to launch their careers, and granting them the confidence they need to take their shows and talent to the Edinburgh Fringe, independent theatre circuit, and beyond.
