The Associate in Music, Australia (AMusA) is a diploma awarded by examination to outstanding candidates in the fields of musical performance and music theory by the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB).
AMEB administers music examinations in Australia, and its Associate diploma is considered a prestigious award, equivalent to achieving an undergraduate tertiary qualification in Music.[1] Typically, a candidate will have already completed AMEB Level 2 exams up to Grade 8 or Certificate of Performance prior to attempting the AMusA, although there is no requirement for this. The requirement is to have successfully completed a Grade 5 theory examination for a practical AMusA, and a Grade 5 practical examination for a theory AMusA. Above the AMusA is the very prestigious diploma of Licentiate in Music, Australia (LMusA) and the most prestigious but extremely rare Fellowship in Music, Australia (FMusA).
An AMusA practical examination is conducted by two examiners.[2] Candidates must present a repertoire from the prescribed lists of pieces that is 25–40 minutes in length, with a further ten minutes testing musical general knowledge of the pieces presented. Candidates receive one of three grades at diploma level: "no award", "award", and the exceptional "award with distinction". As the AMEB is considered the benchmark of music examination boards in Australia, achieving this award is seen as prestigious, and signifies a high performance standard.
The AMusA is awarded in these categories:
Theory:
Keyboard:
Strings
Woodwind
Orchestral Brass
Brass Band
Singing
Ensemble Performance
2012 Manual of Syllabuses. Australian Music Examinations Board. Victoria, 2011. ISSN 0729-3569