Music

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.

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.

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.

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.

Opera Workshop focuses on either a full production or individual scenes. 

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.

Exempt from tuition overload charges. 

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.

Exempt from tuition overload charges. 

Exempt from tuition overload charges. 

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.

Exempt from tuition overload charges. 

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

A detailed course in baton technique, score reading, rehearsal technique, and conducting larger ensembles.