Department of Musicology/
Composition/Theory
The Department of Musicology/Composition/Theory boasts state-of-the-art music technology studios, a computer-assisted instruction lab, a broad range of medieval and Renaissance instruments, African percussion instruments and a Balinese Gamelan. Summer courses abroad have been held in Bali, Indonesia, and Ghana, West Africa. The department's full-time faculty of 13 includes award-winning composers as well as musicologists, theorists and ethnomusicologists whose research is published regularly.
Closely associated with the department is the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music, directed by faculty member Burton Beerman. The center sponsors the annual New Music & Art Festival, a three-day extravaganza of concerts, panels and paper sessions on 20th-century music. In addition, the journals Contemporary Music Forum and In Theory Only, are edited by theory faculty member, William E. Lake.
Many of the department’s graduates go on to receive doctorates in various fields and hold faculty positions at colleges and universities, as well as posts in other music-related careers.
Degree Programs
Composition
Degrees offered: BM in Composition, MM in Composition, DMA in Contemporary Music
The College of Musical Arts offers an undergraduate, a master’s degree and a doctoral degree in music composition. Admission to both programs is by audition. Majors receive a weekly private lesson and attend a bi-weekly seminar. Works are regularly performed in Student Composers’ Forums. Numerous guest artists visit the campus and present lectures and give private lessons. In 1994–98, we welcomed Samuel Adler to our faculty as Visiting Distinguished Professor. His weekly seminars gave our majors the experience of working with one of the nation's finest teachers and composers.
Music History
Degrees offered: BM in Music History, MM in Music History
The Bachelor of Music degree in Music History is intended for students who are interested in the academic study of music and who wish to prepare themselves for graduate work. Qualified students may pursue a double major in music history and music education, composition or performance. The degree combines a general view of music history, including jazz, popular music and world music, with more detailed study of cultures, styles and genres. Music history students can also participate in the departmental ensembles, collectively known as the Collegium Musicum (Afro-Caribbean Ensemble, Balinese Gamelan, New Music Ensemble, Early Music Ensemble).
The Master of Music in Music History allows students to pursue detailed work in music history and prepares them for further work in musicology. The program includes courses in performance practice, notation and genres, as well as specially designed topical seminars. These experiences are reinforced by participation in the departmental ensembles: the Afro-Caribbean Ensemble, the Balinese Gamelan, the Early Music Ensemble and the New Music Ensemble.
Music Theory
Degree offered: MM in Music Theory
The Master of Music in Music Theory degree totals 34 semester hours and normally takes two years to complete. Included are seminars in research techniques, structural analysis, style analysis and 20-century analysis. Electives and independent studies allow students to pursue subjects of special interest to them. Oral examinations in aural skills, bibliography and analysis are taken in residence. Study culminates in a thesis.
World Music/Ethnomusicology
Degrees offered: BM in World Music, MM in Ethnomusicology
The Bachelor of Music in World Music is a new degree that combines world music and Western art music, and provides training in the fundamentals of research and performance in the fields of ethnomusicology and musicology. Students enroll in performance courses such as Balinese gamelan and Afro-Caribbean ensemble, and may take other music history and jazz courses, popular culture and anthropology courses, and participate in music workshops to Bali, Indonesia, and Ghana, Africa. The World Music degree offers a broad education in musics of the world and prepares students for graduate and/or professional study.
The Master of Music in Ethnomusicology is a 34-credit-hour program that includes seminars in ethnomusicology, music history and disciplines related to the field such as popular culture, ethnic studies and women’s studies. Students study history and literature of ethnomusicology and the music cultures of Indonesia and/or the African diaspora, as well as receive training in field methodology and special topics. The degree offers performance opportunities in Balinese Gamelan and Afro-Caribbean Ensembles, as well as music workshop options in Bali, Indonesia, and Ghana, West Africa. The program culminates in a thesis and prepares students for further work in ethnomusicology.
For application information for any of the degrees listed, contact the Associate Dean.
Faculty Ensembles
Electric Arts Duo
Celesta Haraszti and Burton Beerman
The Electric Arts Duo is an intermedia performing arts ensemble comprised of clarinetist/composer Burton Beerman and dancer/choreographer Celesta Haraszti. The ensemble features real-time virtual reality environments in which the computer-generated sounds follow the musical lead of the electric clarinet and the computer music and video graphics and animations respond to the dancer’s movements. The ensemble performs and conducts master classes throughout the United States and Europe and has appeared in major cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Paris and Budapest.
Meditations (RealAudio)
Saxophone and Piano Duo
Marilyn Shrude and John Sampen
John Sampen, saxophone, and Marilyn Shrude, piano, have presented the repertoire for this instrumental combination for over 25 years. Their work has been described as follows: “the level of communication...that can be expected only from the finest chamber ensembles” (Computer Music Journal, Vol. 18, No. 1); “provide an outstanding showcase of contemporary music. As a duo they are unbeatable” (Saxophone Journal, Vol. 18, No. 3).
Renewing the Myth (RealAudio)