Music

Dr. Matthew Baumer, Chair

The mission of the Department of Music is to prepare the next generation of music professionals: teachers, performers, composers, conductors, scholars, and those in music-adjacent fields. The department is committed to artistic and intellectual excellence and provides its students with thorough training and meaningful cultural experiences. The department also recognizes its responsibility to serve a local and global community, to promote diversity, and to encourage lifelong advocacy for the arts.

The Department of Music is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Music. It offers the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Science in Education, Music Minor, and Certificate in Popular Music Studies.

The Bachelor of Arts degree has two specializations: Music Industry and General Music. The former combines a core music curriculum with courses in business, management, and marketing. The latter provides focused instruction in music within the context of a traditional liberal arts education.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree emphasizes the acquisition and application of musical skill and knowledge. It is designed to prepare students for careers as professional performers and composers, often with graduate study in mind. As such, applicants to the program are held to high artistic standards.

The Bachelor of Science in Education degree, the department’s most popular, is a program that leads to K-12 teaching certification in the state of Pennsylvania. It integrates music instruction with courses in the College of Education and Communications. The final semester is a hands-on teaching experience under faculty supervision.

Admission to the department’s degree programs requires a satisfactory audition, interview, or portfolio review. Information about this process is available on the department’s website.

Special Requirements for All Music Majors

1. Students must declare a primary performing medium. Those in the Music Industry Specialization of the BA may specify a non-traditional instrument, such as a DAW, provided they are able to participate in at least one of the department’s ensembles. Students may establish a secondary performing medium with four semesters of applied study and a successful jury.

2. Students must demonstrate piano proficiency. Those in the Music Industry Specialization of the BA are encouraged, but not required, to study piano. Non-keyboardists who arrive with skills beyond those covered in class piano will elect applied instruction for a total of two credits. Vocalists typically elect piano as a secondary instrument.

3. Students must participate in ensembles. Those in the BFA and BSEd programs must join at least one large and one small ensemble per semester, as directed by their advisor. BA students are required to participate in one ensemble per semester. Students may register for ensembles at zero credits provided they accrue the number of hours required by their program. Pianists, guitarists, and other musicians whose instrument does not feature regularly in large ensembles will be assigned suitable alternatives by the chairperson.

4. Students must register for MUSC 475 Music Lab and attend four departmental meetings and eight campus performances each semester. Performances may include recitals, concerts, opera and theater productions, guest lectures, art exhibits, and so on. A great number of these events are hosted by the Department of Music for the direct benefit of its students.