Music

Degree Type Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Science
Department Music
Academic Division The College
Offerings
Through small classes and one-on-one interaction with outstanding faculty, music majors develop the ability to perform, create, contextualize and analyze music, and have opportunities to pursue their musical interests through participation in the department’s classes, ensembles, applied lessons and events.

About the Department

The Music Department offers two majors and a minor: The B.A. in music allows you to focus on general music, performance, theory and composition or music history. It is also an excellent choice if you would like to double major in music and another field. If you want a degree with a higher content of music courses, you can choose the B.S. in music. Students interested in becoming music teachers may add the Education Minor to the B.S. in music in order to gain K-12 teacher certification. The music minor consists of 23 credits of coursework, and is easily added to most majors on campus.

Our Conducting Mentorship Program gives aspiring conductors plenty of podium time in front of our major ensembles. Our facilities are located in Wilson Hall and include modern, spacious practice rooms with excellent pianos. Most music performances take place in Wilson Concert Hall, a state-of-the art auditorium that is acoustically tunable for different types of concerts. Our faculty members are active scholars and performers who regularly appear on stages and in conferences around the country.

Why Study Music at W&L?

  • Applied Lessons are available in orchestral strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion, guitar, voice, piano, organ and harp.
  • Student music ensembles include University Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, University Singers, Men’s Glee Club, Cantatrici (women’s chorus) and Bluegrass Ensemble. We also offer chamber ensemble opportunities such as string quartets and piano trios.
  • The Concert Guild Series brings world-class classical music performers, and the SonoKlect Series brings equally great new music performers to campus each year.
  • Touring opportunities are available throughout the U.S. and abroad with the Jazz Ensemble, the Wind Ensemble and the University Singers.
  • The University Singers was one of four choirs from across America chosen to perform in the Gotham Sings! Choral Festival at Carnegie Hall in April 2017. The choir presented a 40-minute concert in Isaac Stern Auditorium.
  • The department offers a prison concert series in partnership with Augusta Correctional Center — the only series of its kind in Virginia. Every fall and winter term, W&L music students present a concert at the prison.
  • W&L hosted the Southeastern Composers League Forum in March 2017, bringing 29 composers to campus for two days of world premieres of their compositions.
  • K-12 music education licensure is offered in partnership with the W&L Education Program and Southern Virginia University through the Rockbridge Teacher Education Consortium. W&L is the only top-20 liberal arts college in America that offers a K-12 music education degree.
  • Summer research grants allow students to work under the supervision of music faculty on such projects as music arrangement and composition or music education.
  • The winner of the annual Concerto-Aria Competition performs as a soloist with the University Orchestra or Wind Ensemble.
  • Students may participate in music performances during the bi-annual Science, Society and the Arts (SSA) Conference.
  • Funding is available to students for music internships as well as participation in professional conferences. Music internships are available at such places as Pandora, PARMA Recordings, Charlottesville Opera, and the Roanoke Symphony.

After W&L

What can you do with a degree in music? Career paths in music include performance, teaching, church music and music marketing. Students with music majors are also successful in the fields of business and medicine. Employers include arts organizations, public and private schools, universities, businesses and hospitals.

Graduate Study

W&L music alumni have gone on to graduate study in a variety of different disciplines at institutions including Florida State University, Baylor University, Westminster Choir College, the University of Georgia, Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Notable Alumni include:

  • Kevin Struthers ’89 — Director of jazz programs, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, D.C.)
  • Anne Marie Patterson ’93 — Teacher, middle school and high school strings, and director, Charles County Youth Orchestra and Encore Strings (Charles County, Maryland)
  • Matt LaMotte ’00 — Vice president, marketing at Interscope Geffen A&M Records (Los Angeles, California)
  • Erin Dougherty ’04 — Operational enablement & excellence lead at Pandora, Inc. (New York, New York)
  • Morgan Luttig ’14 — Master of Music Education program, Westminster Choir College (Princeton, New Jersey)

For Applicants

All prospective students who are interested in pursuing their musical interests at W&L should upload audio or video recordings of their solo performances through the portfolio in their Generals Headquarters (GHQ) web portal. This is especially important for those students who are planning to declare a major in music. Guidelines concerning repertoire for your audition recording are available on our website: www.wlu.edu/music/about-the-department/advice-for-prospective-music-majors.

Gregory Parker

Department Head
P: 540-458-8854
E: parkerg@wlu.edu

Kati Grow

Administrative Assistant
P: 540-458-8852
E: kgrow@wlu.edu

Sample Courses

At W&L, we believe education and experience go hand-in-hand. You'll be encouraged to dive in, explore and discover connections that will broaden your perspective.
MUS 121

Worlds of Music

This course introduces students to musical cultures outside of the Western European tradition. Through readings, lectures, listening sessions, and research, students explore the musical traditions of Native American, African, African-American, Central and Southeastern European, Indian, Indonesian, Asian, Latin American, and Arab cultures. Whenever possible. attendance at a live concert of non-Western European music is included.

MUS 111

Opera Workshop

This course focuses on the preparation of scenes from operas or of complete operas. Students audition for and are cast in roles in the production of the opera or the scenes. Rehearsals are scheduled subject to the availability of the cast and instructor. While some cast members may rehearse during weekdays, most should expect evening and weekend rehearsals.

MUS 221

History of Jazz

A study of the development of jazz from its roots in turn-of-the-century New Orleans to contemporary styles. Strong emphasis is placed on listening and recognition of the performers and composers discussed.

MUS 325-327

Conducting and Methods I & II

Conducting and Methods I is designed to provide essential skills for basic conducting, including work on gesture, rehearsal techniques, and logistical considerations. MUS 326 continues with a focus on more advanced gesture and rehearsal techniques and choral literature and approaches from a broad spectrum of historical and cultural era and a variety of ensemble types. MUS 327 is focused on more advanced musical gesture and rehearsal techniques. Band and orchestral literature are studied, and the emphasis is on providing students with a broad spectrum of approaches from a variety of historical and cultural eras.

MUS 195

Pro Tools Fundamentals

An introduction to fundamental Pro Tools concepts and principles, covering everything for a basic project from initial setup to final mixdown. Students learn to build sessions that include multi-track recordings of live audio, MIDI sequences, and virtual instruments. Hands-on exercises and projects introduce essential techniques for creating sessions, recording, and importing audio and MIDI, editing session media, navigating sessions and arranging media on tracks, and using basic processing and mixing techniques to finalize a production. Included with the course material is a download of media files and Pro Tools sessions to accompany the exercises and projects in the text.

Meet the Faculty

At W&L, students enjoy small classes and close relationships with professors who educate and nurture.
Gregory Parker Department Chair, Applied Voice, Vocal Pedagogy
Parker teaches courses on applied voice, world music and vocal pedagogy. He has appeared as a baritone soloist in recitals, operas and oratorios.
Chris Dobbins Assistant Professor of Music, Director of Instrumental Activities
Dobbins leads the University Wind Ensemble and the University Orchestra. He also teaches courses in conducting; general music methods; secondary instrumental music methods; and the music, folklore and literature of Ireland.
Timothy Gaylard Professor of Music, Music History, Applied Piano
Gaylard, who joined the faculty in 1984, is a musicologist and pianist. His recent research includes work on the piano music of Liszt and the last three piano sonatas of Beethoven. He is an active performer as both a soloist and as a member of the Marlbrook Chamber Players.
Shane Lynch Associate Professor of Music, Director of Choral Activities
Lynch, a noted conductor and composer, is W&L’s director of choral activities. He conducts the award-winning University Singers, Cantatrici and the Glee Club, and oversees W&L’s unique conductor mentorship/teacher preparation program.
Terry Vosbein Professor of Music
Vosbein directs the University Jazz Ensemble and teaches Jazz History, Theory, and Composition. He a leading authority on jazz band leader Stan Kenton.
Shuko Watanabe Petty Instructor of Music, Applied Piano, Accompanying, Aural Skills
Petty earned a BM and MM from the Johns Hopkins University and a DMA from the University of Maryland. She is frequently engaged as a performer/lecturer, appearing at nearly 70 venues.