Bachelor of Music in Music Performance

The Bachelor of Music in performance degree prepares students for careers in music, combining applied lessons on one's instrument with a variety of ensemble and performing experiences. Students also study literature, pedagogy, and other areas related to musical performance. The faculty is comprised of highly celebrated performers, who are committed to teaching excellence. Learning Outcomes - Students will be able to: Perform with an acceptable tone quality, pitch and rhythmic accuracy, dynamic control, articulation, and expressiveness. Participate in a musical ensemble, with appropriate technique and musicality. Identify and analyze the elements of music in a given piece, including an understanding of its compositional processes, aesthetic properties, and artistic, social, and historical context. Identify significant composers and works in the Western music tradition, and trace the evolution of musical styles through the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Contemporary periods, as well as in jazz and select world music cultures. Hear, notate, analyze, and perform music through aural skills, sight-singing, and keyboard skills. Demonstrate basic conducting knowledge and skills for both instrumental and vocal settings. Develop an expanded global awareness and cultural understanding through musical study Describe basic information about health and safety within the contexts of practice, performing, teaching, and listening; topics will include hearing, vocal, and musculoskeletal health and injury prevention. Concentration Specific Outcomes - Wind, String, and Percussion: Students will be able to: Perform at the level of an advanced student, young professional or higher, demonstrating competence in technical aspects of performance, i.e., tone quality, articulation, pitch consistency, dynamic control, technical agility, and accurate rhythmic concepts. Demonstrate growing maturity in musical concepts - using tools of performance to create artistic products. Demonstrate increasing competence as an ensemble performer through participation in orchestras, wind ensemble, wind symphony, contemporary music ensemble, and/or chamber music groups. Work independently (practicing well) and with peers through unsupervised rehearsals. Use pedagogical methods and materials to teach one’s major instrument. Know and perform the orchestral repertoire through successful fulfillment of orchestral repertoire courses. Vocal: Students will be able to: Demonstrate a sound vocal technique and an understanding of the vocal mechanism. Develop a foundational knowledge of vocal pedagogy. Demonstrate a proficiency in Italian, German, and French diction. Piano: Students will be able to: Demonstrate the technique and musicianship necessary to perform as both soloist and within an ensemble at an advanced, pre-professional level. Possess a fundamental knowledge of piano repertoire and history, including its most important exponents and performers of the last two centuries. Demonstrate the basic skills necessary to perform as a chamber/orchestral musician and vocal/instrumental accompanist. Demonstrate a level of professionalism, maturity, and respect for themselves and fellow colleagues essential for future success as a working musician. Develop a basic understanding of the essentials of piano pedagogy.