The Performance Certificate recognizes outstanding undergraduate musicians who are not enrolled in the B.M. in performance degree program. Graduate Quartet Students in graduate string quartets receive a yearly stipend plus substantial reductions in tuition fees. These quartets perform recitals, assist with coaching undergraduate chamber groups, and perform as an outreach to area school programs. Opportunities for Non-Music Majors String players who attend the University but are not music majors are encouraged to play in the University Orchestras and to participate in other School of Music activities. Non-music majors may receive credit for orchestra, private lessons and other music courses in many degree programs.
Orchestral scholarships are also available for non-music majors.
Opportunities in Columbia, SC The University is advantageously located in the state capital where students have the chance to experience diverse cultural activities. Past performances have included Isaac Stern, Leon Fleisher, the Cleveland Quartet, New York City Opera, the London Philharmonic, Itzhak Perlman, the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, the New Orleans Philharmonic, Leonard Rose, the St. Lawrence String Quartet, and the Tel Aviv String Quartet. In addition, the South Carolina Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestras, Columbia Ballet, Palmetto Mastersingers, Columbia Choral Society and more than a dozen community and professional theatres provide students with performance opportunities as well as year-round entertainment. Columbia's central location also offers students the opportunity to perform in community orchestras throughout South Carolina and Georgia. The library also includes the Lucien De Groote Collection with several thousand scores including chamber works and solo violin and cello literature.