Music

The John E.N. and Dede Howard Department of Music

Chairman and Associate Professor: DANIEL TACKE
Professors: JAMES A. HOLLEMAN, MELISSA GERBER KNECHT
Director of Sacred Music and Associate Professor of Music: TIMOTHY MCDONNELL
Associate Professor: DEREK STAUFF
Visiting Assistant Professor: MICHAEL E. RUHLING
Artists/Teachers: BRAD BLACKHAM, EMILY DOUGLASS, STACEY JONES-GARRISON, DANIEL KUEHLER, CHRISTOPHER McCOURRY
Adjunct Instructors: KARIN CODE, JOSH COOK, CYNTHIA DUDA PANT, CHRISTINA EASTMAN, TAYLOR FLOWERS, JONATHON GEWIRTZ, ROBERT HENTHORNE, HANK HORTON, AARON JOHNSON, LORI LEFEVRE JOHNSON, ROBERT KILLIPS, AMY LEY, ROBERT LIVINGSTON, KRISTI MATSON, NICHOLAS NESTORAK, LAWRENCE OCHILTREE, JAN OURENSMA, DANIEL PALMER, DAVID PESHLAKAI, KATHERINE RICK, KARL SCHMIDT, LINDA SMITH, ANDREW SPRUNG, BIJAN TAGHAVI, ALAN TAPLIN, JAIMIE WAGNER, RANDY WESTMORELAND, CHRISTOPHER WHEELER, DEBBI WYSE
Department Accompanist: THOMAS RYSKAMP

The Department of Music pursues a two-fold mission: 1) to allow students to choose music as a field of concentration toward the completion of a bachelor of arts or science degree by undertaking a comprehensive program of music study and performance, and 2) to allow students of any discipline to study music and participate in performing ensembles.

Degrees

Courses of Instruction

MUS 030: Composition

Credits 1
The student pursues individual projects through weekly private instruction focused on the development of compositional imagination and technique. With the supervision of the instructor, students will reinforce and extend their technical and expressive facility with all aspects of composition, as well as engaging practical and aesthetical issues of musical performance and reception Prerequisite: 320 or instructor permission.

MUS 033: Private Conducting

Credits 1

Students who have completed MUS 324, Beginning Conducting, and MUS 424, Advanced Conducting, and who wish to continue the study of conducting may sign up for private conducting lessons. Permission of instructor required.

MUS 040: Composition

Credits 1
The student pursues individual projects through weekly private instruction focused on the development of compositional imagination and technique. With the supervision of the instructor, students will reinforce and extend their technical and expressive facility with all aspects of composition, as well as engaging practical and aesthetical issues of musical performance and reception Prerequisite: 320 or instructor permission.

MUS 043: Private Conducting

Credits 1

Students who have completed MUS 324, Beginning Conducting, and MUS 424, Advanced Conducting, and who wish to continue the study of conducting may sign up for private conducting lessons. Permission of instructor required.

MUS 120: Guitar Class

Credits 1
Emphasis on posture and procedures in holding the instrument and fundamentals of reading various forms of tablature and notation. Students are grouped into sections of: A - Beginning, B - Intermediate and C - Advanced.

MUS 130: Beginning Voice Class

Credits 1
Emphasis on finding the student's true voice, establishing proper resonance and singing effectively with an evenly placed melodic line, with stress on the projection and delivery of the text and foreign language reading. Posture, breathing, diction, stage poise and physical makeup of the vocal apparatus are some of the principles covered. Open to all students.

MUS 135: Class Instrument Instruction

Credits 1
Students wishing to learn an instrument at the beginning level will either sign up for private instruction or class instruction. The number of beginners registered on a single instrument per semester will determine whether the student will receive private or small group lessons. Permission of instructor required.

MUS 170P: Percussion Ensemble

Credits 1
An opportunity for students to study chamber music for string, brass, woodwind or percussion ensembles. Two hours of rehearsal weekly.

MUS 170Q: Woodwind Ensemble

Credits 1
An opportunity for students to study chamber music for string, brass, woodwind or percussion ensembles. Two hours of rehearsal weekly.

MUS 170S: Strings Ensemble

Credits 1
An opportunity for students to study chamber music for string, brass, woodwind or percussion ensembles. Two hours of rehearsal weekly.

MUS 170Z: Opera Workshop

Credits 1
Opera Workshop focuses on either a full production or individual scenes. Offered once a year, either in the fall or spring semester.

MUS 180: Orchestra

Credits 1
A full instrumentation college symphony orchestra performing advanced standard repertoire. Any student with sufficient performing skill may become a member by audition or recommendation of the studio teachers. Public performances.

MUS 190: Choir

Credits 1
Open to all students desiring a choral ensemble experience. Music of various historical periods is performed both on and off campus and is sung in the original languages. Promoting musical excellence is the choir's chief purpose.

MUS 199: Chamber Choir

Credits 1
An auditioned group of 28 voices that focuses on challenging a cappella repertoire. Multiple performances in various venues are presented on and off campus each year.

MUS 201: Music Theory I

Credits 3
Introduces students to principles of diatonic function through studies of melody, harmony, voice-leading, and basic components of form. Through exercises in analysis and composition, students will gain a greater understanding of the expressive and structural significances of diatonic material as well as a greater facility with musical notation. Students will also develop their abilities in critical listening and reasoning through discussion and writing activities, leading to well-supported interpretations of musical works and excerpts. Prerequisite: MUS 206 or permission of instructor. Simultaneous enrollment in MUS 201L. Spring, every year.

MUS 201L: Musicianship Lab I

Credits 1
Gives students constant practice in hearing, internalizing, and performing aspects of musical material, function, and structure presented in Music Theory I. Through exercises in singing, rhythmic drills, contextual listening, dictation, and basic keyboard skills, students will gain a greater familiarity with the expressive and structural qualities of diatonic harmony, as well as greater fluency with musical notation. Prerequisite: MUS 206 or permission of instructor. Simultaneous enrollment in MUS 201 required. Spring, every year.

MUS 204: The Understanding of Music

Credits 3
For students with limited experience with notated music, provides guidance in basic listening skills, an introduction to the repertoire of Western music, and practice in writing about music. Fulfills the Fine Arts Core requirement. Not intended for music majors, music minors, or those with skill in reading music. Prerequisite: none.

MUS 206: Advanced Understanding Music

Credits 3
206 Advanced Understanding Music 3 hours Provides students with prior experience in music, including the ability to read notation, with the foundational skills in aural and written music theory, an introduction to the repertoire of Western music, and practice in writing about music. Fulfills the Fine Arts Core requirement. Prerequisite: music reading skills.

MUS 221: Music Theory II

Credits 3
Extends the subjects and practices of Music Theory I to include chromatic function. Through exercises in analysis and composition, students will gain a greater understanding of the expressive and structural significances of chromatic harmony, including altered chords, tonal modulations, and larger components of form. Students will also continue to develop their abilities in critical listening and reasoning through discussion and writing activities, leading to well-supported interpretations of musical works culminating in a major analysis project. Prerequisite: MUS 201 or permission of instructor. Simultaneous enrollment in MUS 221L required. Fall, every year.

MUS 221L: Musicianship Lab II

Credits 1
Gives students constant practice in hearing, internalizing, and performing aspects of musical material, function, and structure presented in Music Theory II. Through exercises in singing, rhythmic drills, contextual listening, dictation, and basic keyboard skills, students will gain a greater familiarity with the expressive and structural qualities of chromatic harmony, as well as greater fluency with musical notation. Prerequisite: MUS 201 L or permission of instructor. Simultaneous enrollment in MUS 221 required. Fall, every year.

MUS 270: Advanced Chamber Music

Credits 2
An analysis and performance of the standard chamber music repertoire selected from string quartets and piano quintets of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Dvorak, Faure, Grieg and other romantic and twentieth century repertoire at the discretion of the instructor. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.

MUS 310: Music Pedagogy

Credits 1 Max Credits 2
Students wishing to teach private studio instruction on their primary instrument or voice will study the methods, materials and techniques of private instrument instruction. Students may be supervised in the teaching of local community students.

MUS 320: The Craft of Musical Composition

Credits 2
An elective course dedicated to studies in the art and technique of musical composition, with a particular focus on melodic writing, texture, and development. Students will also learn how to write idiomatically for instruments, develop good notational practices, and prepare readings and performances of their compositions. Prerequisite: MUS 221 or instructor permission.

MUS 321: Music Theory III

Credits 3
A study of large-scale musical form, including elemental building blocks of material, long-term structural relationships, and a survey of formal paradigms. This is the final course in the basic music theory sequence, with a focus on independent research, writing, presentation, and the cultivation of critical reasoning, listening, and discussion skills in forming creative, rigorous, and well-designed interpretations of complete works. Prerequisite: MUS 221 or permission of instructor. Simultaneous enrollment in MUS 321 L required. Spring, every year.

MUS 321L: Musicianship Lab III

Credits 1
Gives students constant practice in hearing, internalizing, and performing aspects of musical material, function, and structure. Through exercises in singing, rhythmic drills, contextual listening, dictation, and basic keyboard skills, students will continue to practice and refine skills developed in Labs I & II while extended their abilities to include large-scale trajectories, greater nuance and detail, and atypical methods of pitch and rhythmic organization. Prerequisite: MUS 221 L or permission of instructor. Simultaneous enrollment in MUS 321 required. Spring, every year.

MUS 322: History and Literature of Music I

Credits 3

The history of Western music from its beginnings in ancient Greece to about 1600. An introduction to the main styles, genres, composers, and musical concepts situated in historical context. Prerequisite: MUS 206, 201.

MUS 323: History and Literature of Music II

Credits 3

The history of Western music from about 1600 to 1800. An introduction to the main styles, genres, composers, and musical concepts situated in historical context. Prerequisite: MUS 206, 201.

MUS 324: Beginning Conducting

Credits 2
The history of conducting, and the basics of baton and rehearsal technique. A workshop course in the fundamental theory and practice of conducting for students with little or no experience. Prerequisite: MUS 221 or permission of instructor. Fall, every year.

MUS 325: History and Literature of Music III

Credits 3

The history of Western music from about 1800 to the present. An introduction to the main styles, genres, composers, and musical concepts situated in historical context. Prerequisite: MUS 206, 201.

MUS 326: The History of Jazz

Credits 2
Overview of the emergence, development, and relevance of one of Americaís most genuine musical art forms. Students will study the basic elements of jazz; develop an ability to listen to jazz analytically as well as critically; discover how the historical development of jazz relates to cultural development; and form a basic knowledge of the relationship between composer, artist, and audience in a jazz-oriented setting.

MUS 408: Advanced Topics in Music History

Credits 3

A capstone music course focusing on a specialized topic within musicology. Students will develop several key skills: working with primary sources, music analysis, and engaging with notable scholarship and issues in musicology. Prerequisite: at least one 300-level music history course or current enrollment with permission of the instructor.

MUS 409: Advanced Topics in Music Theory

Credits 3

Extends the essential foundation of the music theory sequence by pursuing detailed studies in a designated topic. The purpose of the course is to acquire theoretical experience with a specific selection of musical repertoire, a particular aspect of musical material and form, and/or methodologies of musical analysis, but also to develop students' technical and expressive vocabularies in ways that reinforce and enrich their music-making more broadly. The course may draw from a fixed collection of topics, including counterpoint, orchestration, and post-tonal theory, but additional topics may be introduced on an individual or recurring basis. Prerequisites: MUS 321 and MUS 321L or permission of instructor

MUS 424: Advanced Conducting

Credits 1
A detailed course in baton technique, score reading, rehearsal technique, and conducting larger ensembles. Prerequisite: MUS 324. Spring, every year.