The Department is fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. Performance opportunities include more than twenty vocal and instrumental ensembles and the opportunity to enter competitions, including the Department's own Concerto Competition. Advanced students audition to play in the South Dakota Symphony, the Sioux City Symphony, and the Sioux City and Sioux Falls municipal bands. Guidance is provided by nineteen full-time and eight adjunct faculty members. An electronic studio and computer technology provide students with the tools needed to work in today's musical environment.
Graduates go on to rewarding careers as educators, performers, and administrators.
The Rawlins Piano Trio discovers and records little-known works by American composers, in addition to playing traditional piano trio literature, and has performed at national meetings of the Sonneck Society for American Music. Within these concentrations, students can emphasize historically informed performance, scholarship, or both. Programs of study are tailored to meet student needs and interests. The M.M. degree in performance allows students to concentrate on a major instrument, yet pursue other interests. The M.M. degree with a concentration in the history of musical instruments is a research-driven thesis program, in which students can focus on interests ranging from conservation to cataloging, yet students who want to perform are encouraged to do so.