The Department of Fine Arts Music Program

The study of music as a liberal art requires an integrated approach to theory, history, and performance, experience in all three fields being essential to the understanding of music as an artistic and intellectual achievement. Theory courses allow the student to work with musical material, to understand modes of organization in composition, and to employ methods of musical analysis. History courses introduce students to methods of studying the development of musical styles and genres, and the relationship of music to the other arts and areas of thought. The music program encourages students to develop performing skills through private study and through participation in the college choir, early music ensemble, and performance ensemble. Practice rooms are available for students to use for rehearsal. Recognizing the need for a critical listening audience, the program offers a variety of courses for the general student body that assume no previous musical background and that are designed to enhance an understanding of the continuing tradition of the world's music.

Students with specific professional goals (performance, composition, or musicology) should be advised of the curriculum requirements found under Course Requirements.

Students in the program have the opportunity to study with artist-faculty of the first rank and also take advantage of the splendid cultural and artistic activities in the Philadelphia area. The Music Program also presents many concerts and recitals on campus. Recitals take place in the Mallery Music Room which houses a Moller Pipe Organ, a beautiful Bösendorfer concert grand piano, a Heartz harpsichord, and a Wolf forte-piano. Larger concerts with orchestra and soloists are held in the spectacular Walter Gordon Theatre, renowned for its near-perfect acoustics.

Julianne Baird, Ph.D. , Soprano, Vocal Performance Practice, History of Music, History of Opera

Joseph C Schiavo, Ph.D., Music Program Director, Music History and Theory

Mark Zaki, Ph.D., Director of Electroacoustic Music Studios, Music Composition