The Music Department takes a fresh approach to the study of music, an approach inclusive of all music, one that recognizes that each kind of music functions differently in its own society and culture. Treating music as a multicultural phenomenon involves more than just sampling bits of it from around the world. They cross various boundaries within the field and are united in the conviction that a good program comes from interaction among its various parts.
All faculty members are active in performance or composition as well as scholarship.
One has a Grammy nomination for choral work, another has a prestigious award for the performance of early music. Music majors find they have freedom to create, perform, and study. They have the opportunity to write original scores, give public performances, and study all kinds of music. They are challenged to think of music in new ways, envision its effects in other societies and cultures, and think of it in relation to other arts, literature, and politics. Private instruction is available to music students each quarter to help them develop and refine their performance skills, whether their instrument be piano, violin, trombone, flute, lute, or voice.