Education in European music conservatories has long been founded on disciplines and traditions whose cultural relevance and authority were not in question. The transfer of skills and expertise within these disciplines was mainly based on master-apprentice learning models. Recent social and cultural developments, a rapidly changing professional landscape, and the increasing importance of cross-disciplinary values have put pressure on this traditional one-to-one learning model.

As a result, curricula in higher music education are evolving towards more modular and flexible programmes in which the student is given the responsibility for creating coherence within the learning trajectory. This shift raises new questions about expertise, professionalism and assessment in higher music education. Using the example of recent master curriculum reforms at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, I will address some of the challenges of a radically student-centred curriculum. I propose a role for music conservatories to foster new connections, but also to curate exchanges between traditional and emerging areas of expertise in a critical way.