A student choosing to major in music can develop a
course of study intended to cultivate specific musical interests and abilities.
Advisers in each music field may suggest the best academic plan for each
student. Areas of focus include performance or composition in classical, jazz,
or electronic music genres; western music research and history; music theory
and analysis; and ethnomusicology. To fulfill requirements in a desired focus,
students are suggested to take no fewer than six 200/300 level theory and
history courses by the time of graduation. Additional requirements may include
regular enrollment in one or more of the performance workshops, private
lessons, composition workshops, or ensembles that are offered each semester. By
the time of moderation, a student should ideally have completed half of their
suggested course requirements.
Students’ Moderation and Senior Projects should
ideally reflect their expressed musical interests and goals, whether they are based
in performance, composition, research, analysis, or any combination of these.
The Moderation Project for a student focused on composition or performance
usually consists of a 25-40 minute recital, highlighting original work and/or
other repertoire. For students interested in music scholarship or analysis, a
substantial music history or theory paper serves as an appropriate moderation
project.
A Senior Project in music can be accomplished in a
variety of ways. Performers and composers usually present two concerts from 30
to 60 minutes each. For some composers, one concert can be replaced by an
orchestra work written for performance by The Orchestra Now. In certain
circumstances, a finished, sophisticatedly produced recording or multimedia project
serves in place of a live performance. Music History and Theory students
typically present an advanced, scholarly research or analysis paper as the main
component of a Senior Project.
College & Community Ensembles
Unless otherwise noted, each ensemble is for one credit. It is possible to participate in more than
one ensemble and receive additional credit accordingly. If private lessons are taken in conjunction
with an ensemble, one or two credits may be added. Private lessons must be separately
registered.
92062 |
MUS 104
Bard College
Orchestra |
Erica Kiesewetter
Zachary Schwartzman |
M 7:30
pm-10:00 pm |
OLIN
AUDT |
PA |
PART |
2 credits Auditions for new members will be on
September 11, 2017. Please contact Greg Armbruster at [email protected] regarding auditions. The first
rehearsal is September 18, 2017. Class size: 30
92035 |
MUS 105
Bard College
Symphonic Chorus |
James Bagwell
|
T 7:30
pm-10:00 pm |
OLIN
AUDT |
PA |
PART |
First rehearsal will be September, 12,
2017 at 7:30 pm. Class size: 35
92053 |
MUS 106
Bard
Community Chamber Music |
Luis Garcia-Renart
|
TBD |
TBD |
PA |
PART |
Class size: 16
92041 |
MUS 108
AB Baroque
Ensemble |
Alexander Bonus
|
T 10:00
am-12:00 pm |
BLM
117 |
PA |
PART |
Performance ensemble focusing on music
from 1550-1750. Instrumentalists and vocalists are welcome to audition. Class size: 15
92219 |
MUS 108
CV Samba
Ensemble |
Carlos Valdez
|
F 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm - |
BLM N211 |
PA |
PART |
Samba Ensemble provides the opportunity
to learn exotic Brazilian rhythms (samba, maracatu, batucada, samba reggai). Class size: 20
92073 |
MUS 108
MS Electric
Guitar Ensemble |
Matthew Sargent
|
M 6:40
pm-8:00 pm |
BLM
N119 |
PA |
PART |
This ensemble will focus on
contemporary/experimental electric guitar repertoire, including Steve Reich,
Julius Eastman, Lois Vierk, Paula Matthusen, John Cage, and others. Enrolled
students will also be encouraged to compose new works for the ensemble. The
ensemble will present a concert at the end of the semester. The course requires the ability to read
musical notation (non-reading students committed to learning notation may
contact Matt Sargent prior to registration).
Class
size: 10
92076 |
MUS 108
PS Mixed Trios,
Quartets and Quintets |
Patricia Spencer
|
TBD |
TBD |
PA |
PART |
Mixing winds and strings
in an ensemble offers special challenges (such as matching tonguing and bowing)
as well as unique colors, and taps into a wealth of repertoire. Choices for
flute and strings include classics by Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn, strong works
by more recent composers (Amy Beach, Alberto Ginastera, and others) and
contemporary giants such as John Harbison, Thea Musgrave and Nicholas
Maw. Choices for clarinet or oboe or bassoon and strings likewise include
a wide range: Mozart, Danzi, Brahms, Joan Tower, Shulamit Ran, and many,
many more. Class meetings are arranged according to the
schedules of those who sign up. Class size: 6
92077 |
MUS 108
PS2 Ensemble for
Any Instrument |
Patricia Spencer
|
T 7:30
pm-9:00 pm |
Bard Hall
|
PA |
PART |
The large
variety of works written “for any instruments” invites exploration of atypical
groupings – flute, marimba and tuba have been known to project wonderful
blends. This repertoire often requires a high degree of responsibility on
the part of the performer: not only choosing dynamics and tempos but also
instrumentation of various phrases and sometimes overall structure.
Members of this ensemble will engage in musical thinking outside the bounds of
“normal” chamber music, and will discover how (or if) that may open a new
dimension in their approach to more conventional performance. Class size: 6
Repertoire under consideration:
Frederic Rzewski, Attica [or
Les moutons de Panurge]
Arnold Schoenberg, Canon for
Thomas Mann, and other canons
Christian Wolff, Snowdrop
Judith Shatin, Grito del
Corazón
Kurt Schwitters, Ursonate
(selection)
Stefan
Wolpe, Selections from “Music for Any Instruments”
92034 |
MUS 108D
Ensemble:
Chamber Singers |
James Bagwell
|
T Th 4:40
pm-6:40 pm |
BITO
CPS |
|
PART |
2 credits. Class size: 25
92037 |
MUS 108F
Ensemble:
Community Jazz OrchESTRA |
Thurman Barker
|
M 7:00
pm-9:00 pm |
BLM
N211 |
PA |
PART |
Class size: 12
92080 |
MUS 108H
Ensemble:
Balinese Gamelan |
Ketut Suadin Maria Sonevytsky
|
M 5:00
pm-7:00 pm |
OLIN
GREEN ROOM |
PA |
PART |
Class size: 20
92038 |
MUS 108J
Ensemble:
Percussion |
Thurman Barker
|
T 4:00
pm-5:30 pm |
BLM
N211 |
PA |
PART |
Class size: 12
92065 |
MUS 108N
EL Contemporary
Jazz Composers |
Erica Lindsay
|
M 4:40
pm-6:40 pm |
BLM
HALL |
PA |
PART |
2 credits This class will involve the interpretation of
contemporary composers’ works, ranging from sextet to big band. This will be an advanced class restricted to instrumentalists
(and vocalists) who have the necessary reading, technical, and interpretive
skills to perform demanding music. There
will be a featured composer who will visit as a guest artist and perform in
concert with the ensemble each semester.
Pieces written by student composers involved in the jazz composition
classes will also be performed. Class
size will vary according to the amount of qualified instrumentalists and the
instrumentation requirements of the featured composer. Interested students are encouraged to sign up
at registration, although confirmation of participation will only be given
after auditions are held. Auditions will be conducted during the first
scheduled class meeting. Class size: 12
92067 |
MUS 108R
Bard Georgian
Choir |
Carl Linich
|
Th 4:40
pm-7:00 pm |
BDH
|
PA |
PART |
The Bard Georgian Choir is an all-vocal group that
studies and performs traditional polyphonic songs from the Republic of Georgia (former
USSR). Most songs are taught orally, and no previous singing experience or
music reading skills are required. Special vocal techniques are also explored,
including ornamented singing and yodeling. The group performs concerts at the
end of each semester. Carl Linich, the choir’s director, has been a scholar,
teacher and acclaimed performer of Georgian polyphonic singing since 1990, and
is a founding member of Trio Kavkasia. A basic ability to match pitch is
required. Please contact the instructor directly: [email protected]
to arrange auditions. Class size: 30
92048 |
MUS 121
History on
the Music Stage: Poppea & Hamilton |
Gergely Fazekas |
T Th 11:50
am-1:10 pm |
BLM
N210 |
AA |
AART |
Opera as ‘high-art’ is often seen in contrast to the
Broadway musical as a form of public entertainment. Yet in mid-17th century
Venice, at the beginning of its history, opera was showbiz par excellence.
Operas by Cavalli, Sacrati and Monteverdi—and their production and
reception—far closer resemble today’s Broadway musicals than contemporary opera
does. The course offers a comparative study of one of the best known early
baroque operas, Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione
di Poppea (1642), and the new Broadway hit, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton (2015). Both works are based on a historical narrative (one on the story
of the eccentric ancient Roman emperor Nero, as described by Tacitus, the other
on the American founding father, Alexander Hamilton, as described by historian
Ron Chernow), both play with the conventions of the respective genres
(Monteverdi with the standard operatic forms such as lament, lullaby, love
duet, while Miranda pairs Broadway style with hip-hop), both use an elevated
form of speech in the dialogues (one the recitative, the other rap), and both
offer the audience an irresistible musico-dramatic experience. Class
size: 20
92059 |
MUS 169
Listening to
String Quartets |
Marka Gustavsson
|
T Th 10:10
am-11:30 am |
OLIN
104 |
AA |
AART |
Many composers of string quartets
reserved that particular genre for their most profound and unusual utterances.
We will listen to the expressive, conversational music in this form, from its
roots in the Classical First Viennese School, through German Romanticism,
European Nationalism, the Second Viennese School, up to and including American
and European Modernism. In addition to developing tools for listening to this
complex polyphonic texture, through classroom experience with recordings, and
attending concerts, we will read composers’ letters such as Beethoven’s Heiligenstadt
testament, as well as articles from current publications including such
authors as Alex Ross, Kyle Gann, Christopher Gibbs, and Richard Taruskin.
Assignments will include two papers (5 pages), one concert review, informal
writing in class, and a final project. Knowledge of music notation is not
required. This course does no fulfill a
music history credit. Class size: 16
92046 |
MUS 171
Jazz Harmony
I |
John Esposito
|
M W 9:40
am-11:30 am |
BLM
N211 |
PA |
PART |
Cross-listed: Africana
Studies Introduces the basic harmonic
structures that are components of the Blues and the Tin Pan Alley songs that
modern Jazz musicians used as vehicles for improvisation. Basic keyboard skills
are learned including transposition. The semester includes a short historical
survey of Blues and of Jazz from Ragtime to the Swing era as part of the effort
to understand the practice of the technical/aesthetic fundamentals
specific to Jazz as a 20th-century African American music including
an introduction to the contribution of female musicians to the Jazz legacy.
There is an ear-training component to this course. The melodic component includes
singing the basic 20th-century harmonic materials, Blues melodies
and transcriptions of solos by Jazz masters. It includes the practice of the
syncopated rhythmic language underlying linear melodic phrasing. This course
fulfills a music theory/performance requirement for music majors. Required
course for moderating into the Jazz program. Class
size: 22
92075 |
MUS 185
Intro to
Ethnomusicology |
Maria Sonevytsky
|
T Th 10:10
am-11:30 am |
BLM
N210 |
SA |
SSCI |
Cross-listed: Anthropology
This
course provides an introduction to the discipline of ethnomusicology, the study
of music in and around its social and cultural contexts. Through our
exploration of the materiality and meaning of music, we will listen to
wide-ranging examples of sounds from around the globe. We will consider ways to
listen deeply and to write critically about music. We will examine how music
has been represented in the past and how it is variously represented today, and
will develop ethnographic research and writing skills. We will ask questions
about the utility and value of music as a commodity in our everyday lives and
in our globalized world. We will debate the ethics of musical appropriations
and collaborations. We will examine both the foundational questions of the
discipline (addressing debates about musical authenticity, musical origins,
universals, comparative frameworks, and the preservationist ethos) as well as
recent subjects of ethnomusicological concern. Topics will include: media and
technology; post-colonial issues; music and language; hybridity; circulation
and consumption; music and labor; music and gender; and the relevance of music
to contemporary indigenous politics and human rights.
Class size: 15
92033 |
MUS 190
Death Set to
Music |
James Bagwell
|
T Th 11:50
am-1:10 pm |
BLM
N211 |
AA |
AART |
This course will discuss and analyze a
number of key musical works that use death and mourning as subject matter. Works to be analyzed will include the Requiems
of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Giuseppe Verdi, Johannes Brahms, Benjamin Britten
and Paul Hindemith. Other works will
include Johann Sebastian Bach’s Johannes-Passion, and Ich habe genug (Cantata
82). Evaluation will be based on two
exams and a research paper. This course
fulfills a music history requirement for music majors. Class size: 20
92040 |
MUS 201
Music Theory
/ Ear Training |
Erika Allen
Alexander Bonus |
M
T W
Th 1:30 pm-2:50 pm |
BLM
N217 |
PA |
PART |
This
course serves as an introduction to music theory and music making, and is the
entry-level course to the classical theory sequence. Basics of musical notation
will be the starting point, after which we will move quickly to scales and
recognition of triads and seventh chords, as well as rhythmic performance. At
all times the course will emphasize analysis of real music, and an ear-training
component will reinforce the theoretical knowledge with practical experience.
There are no prerequisites; the course serves as prerequisite for Music Theory
II and all high-level theory courses. This fulfills theory requirements.
Class size: 20
92036 |
MUS 211
Jazz in
Literature I |
Thurman Barker
|
M W 10:10
am-11:30 am |
BLM
N210 |
AA |
AART |
Cross-listed: Africana
Studies; American Studies This course presents some of the short stories and poems by Rudolph
Fisher, Langston Hughes, Ann Petry, and Julio Cortazar. The texts used in this
section is Hot and Cool by Marcela
Briton and the Harlem Renaissance Reader,
edited by David Lewis. This course
counts towards the music history requirement for the music program. Class size: 22
92050 |
MUS 233
Evolution of
the Sonata |
Kyle Gann
|
T Th 11:50
am-1:10 pm |
BLM
N217 |
AA |
AART |
Sonata
form is the most pervasive collective achievement in European music, running
from the early 18th century on and still influencing the way much music is
written today. It was considered such a natural phenomenon that it was
discussed as having been "discovered," not merely invented by humans,
yet in many ways it was an artificial formula that killed as much music as it
enlivened. This analysis course will study sonata form in its glorious heyday,
before it was officially labeled by A.B. Marx in 1828. We'll start with simple
binary forms of Kuhnau and Sammartini, proceeding through works of C.P.E. Bach,
Haydn, Clementi, Mozart, Dussek, Beethoven, Hummel, and Schubert, with Schumann
and Brahms as an epilogue. The course will be graded on two analysis papers and
weekly analysis of sonatas and symphonies given in class. It fulfills a theory
requirement for music majors and is intended for musicians who have had Theory
1 and 2 or the equivalent, but any interested and qualified student is welcome.
Class size: 22
92082 |
MUS 238
History of
Electronic Music |
Richard Teitelbaum
|
W 1:30
pm-3:50 pm |
BLM
N119 |
AA |
AART |
In the 1920’s, a number of new electronic
instruments such as the Theremin, the Ondes Martenot, and the Trautonium were invented,
and a number of composers, including Hindemith and Messiaen, composed new works
for them. After the invention of
magnetic recording tape in the late 40’s electronic music became an enterprise
that was produced in special studios and fixed on tape for later playback.
Starting around 1960, John Cage and David Tudor began experimental performances
with such works as Cartridge Music (1960), Variations II and other pieces that
reintroduced the live performer to the electronic medium. Many composers, such as Mumma, Behrman,
Lucier, Ashley, Stockhausen, Nono, and Boulez, as well as collective
improvisationally-based groups such as AMM Music in London, and Musica
Elettronica Viva in Rome soon followed suit.
During the 60’s and 70’s, with the advent of smaller and the more
personal synthesizers invented by Moog, Buchla and others, the field of live
electronic music became a practical reality. Some ten years later, a similar
sequence of events took place with regard to computer music, where the large
mainframes of the 50’s and 60’s were superseded by the PC revolution of the
late 70’s and 80’s. This was followed by
the more recent development of the laptop that has enabled performers to carry
powerful, portable computers on stage. This course will trace these
developments, examine the literature of the field, encourage live performances
of “classic” pieces, and the creation and performance of new compositions and
improvisations. It is strongly recommended that this course be taken in
conjunction with Electro-Acoustic Ensemble.
This course counts towards the music history requirement for music
majors. Class size: 16
92071 |
MUS 240
Introduction
to Electronic Music |
Matthew Sargent
|
M W 10:10
am-11:30 am |
BLM
N119 |
PA |
PART |
This hands-on
course will serve as an introduction to music technology and will focus on the
creation of original work, including a final project, through the use of
digital and analog tools and processes. Students will be introduced to
foundational practices in electro-acoustic sound production and their
contemporary/digital analogues, with particular emphasis on signal processing,
studio and field recording, and modes of diffusion, including multichannel
installation and live performance, and instruction in digital audio workstation
software (Logic Pro, Pro Tools, and others). Examples from the history of
electronic music will assist students in exploring contemporary approaches to
electronic music software and technology. Enrollment in the course automatically
gives students access to the Bard electronic music studios. Class size: 20
92051 |
MUS 250
Postmodern
Music / Postmodern Listening |
Kyle Gann
|
T Th 3:10
pm-4:30 pm |
BLM
N217 |
AA |
AART |
For
thirty years postmodern has been a notoriously
difficult term to apply in music with any consistency. The late theorist
Jonathan Kramer, though, advanced a view that postmodern is less a musical
attribute than a style of listening, and his posthumous book Postmodern Music, Postmodern Listening
represents the most profound work available on the topic. This course will use
that book as a text, and will explore issues such as, what does it mean when we
mix different styles in a piece of music? How do we know when to listen
ironically? Is surreal music possible? Can music reorder our sense of linear
time? Is postmodern music inherently a critique of modernism, or a new
historical period? We’ll be listening critically, sometimes ironically, to
works from Charles Ives and Carl Nielsen to John Cage to John Adams to George
Rochberg to John Zorn and beyond, basically constructing a philosophical
framework for justifying musical style choices in the 21st century.
Coursework will include two research papers, additional readings, and plenty of
class and Moodle discussion. Some prior acquaintance with musical analysis will
prove helpful, and we will be reading musical scores in class, though compensatory skills in other areas
might successfully substitute. This course fulfills a music theory requirement
for music majors. Class
size: 22
92081 |
MUS 254A
Pronunciation
& Diction for Singers I |
Erika Switzer
|
T Th 10:10
am-11:30 am |
BDH
|
|
PART |
This two-semester course is an introduction
to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), its symbols and practical use in
performing or preparing Italian, French, German and English vocal literature.
The fall semester will be devoted to the English and Italian languages, the
spring to German and French. Through song literature, students will take from
this course a basic understanding of pronunciation rules and rhythm of each
language. No previous knowledge of the languages is required. Class size: 10
92061 |
MUS 262
Topics in Music
Software: video game and media composition |
Paul Hembree |
M W 11:50
am-1:10 pm |
BLM
N119 |
AA |
AART |
Cross-listed: Experimental Humanities In this course,
students will learn how to integrate sound and music into interactive
experiences, primarily using the Unity game engine and editor. Unity is a
widely used tool in interactive media design, allowing users to publish
stand-alone applications on multiple platforms, including desktop, mobile, web
and virtual reality. Specific topics will include contrasting sample-based vs.
procedural sound design, musical cues that adapt to user input, algorithmic or
generative music, and techniques for designing convincing spatial audio.
Students will also learn basic programming concepts, using easy-to-integrate
scriptable behaviors in the C# language. This course is open to majors and
non-majors. Students should have some previous classroom experience in
electronic music (such as Introduction to Electronic Music), electronic arts,
or computer science. Class size: 15
92055 |
MUS 265
Literature
& Language of Music – Romantic MUSIC |
Christopher Gibbs
|
M W 11:50
am-1:10 pm |
BLM
N217 |
AA |
AART |
A
survey of selected musical works composed in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Works will be placed in a broad historical
context with specific focus on stylistic and compositional traits. In addition, musical terminology, composers
and historical and theoretical methodology will be introduced and described in
relationship to the repertoire. Students
will be evaluated on the basis of short essays and two listening exams. This course counts towards the music history
requirement for music majors. It is not
required that students have taken the first semester (Music 264), which covered
music from the Middle Ages to 1800.
Class size: 20
92045 |
MUS 266A
American
Popular Song 1900-1929 |
John Esposito
|
M W 11:50
am-1:10 pm |
BLM
N211 |
AA |
AART DIFF |
Cross-listed: Africana Studies, American Studies - This performance-based
course is a survey of the major American popular song composers of the Tin Pan
Alley era, whose work forms the core of the Jazz repertoire. Composers
studied will include Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Walter
Donaldson, Vincent Youmans, Richard Whiting, Henderson/Da Silva/ Brown and
others. The course will include readings, recorded music, and films. The
students and instructor will perform the music studied in a workshop setting.
Prerequisite: Jazz Harmony II or permission of the instructor. This fulfills a
music history requirement for music majors.
Class
size: 22
92049 |
MUS 277
J. S. Bach's
Musical Imagination |
Gergely Fazekas |
W F 11:50
am-1:10 pm |
BLM
N210 |
AA |
AART |
J.S. Bach has long
dominated concert programmes and music history curricula as the foremost
representative of Baroque music. This fact has distorted both how we see Bach
and the music of his age. The course attempts to put Bach back into his own
time, giving an insight into the musical and cultural contexts in which Bach
worked. After two general introductory classes, the course surveys the most
important genres that Bach cultivated. His sonatas, concertos, suites, organ
works and cantatas will be compared with those of his fellow composers Corelli,
Vivaldi, Handel, the French clavecinists and North-German organists. Vocal
music will be the topic of three subsequent classes, then the focus will be put
on more theoretical issues such as what kind of contrapuntal and formal
mechanisms work beneath the surface of Bach’s music. Questions of a more
aesthetic nature will appear at the end the course: how Bach treated the texts
he set to music, how and why he built up carefully designed sets and cycles
from his works, and where to place him in the aesthetic landscape of the early
18th century. Class size: 12
92042 |
MUS 328
A History of
Rhythm: finding the beat in european music from 1000 to 2000 ce. |
Alexander Bonus
|
T 1:30
pm-3:50 pm |
BLM
N210 |
AA |
AART |
“In
the Beginning, there was Rhythm,” states the opening of an influential
nineteenth-century study on time, motion, and labor. Although catchy, the adage
is utterly fallacious. As this course attempts to show, there was never
agreement about the phenomenon of “Rhythm” in the whole of human history.
Musical rhythm, like time, is more accurately considered a relativity --
notions of musical motion, pulse, and meter vary across locations, communities,
and individuals. Indeed, musical time changes over the course of time itself.
In a History of Rhythm, students will discover various definitions for
“The Beat,” multiple meanings and practices that dictated “good rhythm” within
various musical cultures. Weekly lectures focus on historical musical notation,
pedagogical techniques, compositional trends, and performance practices. The
class will also analyze musical manuscripts and first editions by Machaut,
Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Stravinsky, and others. An ability to read
music is required. Through the student's successful completion of a final
project, this course can fulfill either the music history or theory
requirement. Class
size: 14
92110 |
MUS 335
Jazz:The
Freedom Principle III |
Thurman Barker
|
M 1:30
pm-3:50 pm |
BLM
N210 |
|
AART |
Cross-listed: Africana
Studies, American Studies
The third part of a four-part course in Jazz History. This section is a
study of modern jazz from 1937 to 1950. Emphasis will focus on modern musicians
such as Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillispie and Max Roach. We will
examine the solo and combo style of these musicians. Also we will examine how
the music developed from Swing to Bebop. This will be illustrated with
recordings and films. This course employs a cultural approach designed to look
at the social climate surrounding the music through the 40’s, such as World War
II, Jim Crow laws in the south and the recording industry strike. Classroom
discussions will focus on the different styles of each musician. Students will
be evaluated by written assignments and oral presentations. This course reaches
out to anyone with an interest in Jazz and would like to get a better
understanding of the music and its effect on our culture in the last 100
years. Enrollment limited. This course counts towards the music history
requirement for music majors. Class size: 15
92074 |
MUS 347
Contemporary Ethnographies of
Music and Sound |
Maria Sonevytsky
|
W 2:00
pm-4:30 pm |
BLM
N210 |
AA |
AART |
Cross-listed: Anthropology Students in this advanced seminar will read and
interpret recently published ethnographic works on music and sound. We will examine
the themes, intellectual frameworks, and guiding questions of cutting-edge
critical music and sound studies, and learn how to situate individual projects
into broader frameworks of knowledge. Selected authors will visit the seminar
to provide a “backstage” perspective on the process of research and writing.
Seminar participants will be able to choose at least one text (a recently
published monograph or journal article) on a topic of their interest that will
be read by the entire class. Topics may include: war and acoustic violence, the
politics of aesthetics, gender and performance, cultural policy and music,
indigenous modernities and human rights, media and childhood, and other
subjects. Regions studied may include: South Africa, the Dominican Republic,
Argentina, Australia, Japan, Nepal, rural Vermont, and other areas subject to
students’ interests and expertise. Students will be expected to lead class
discussion once during the semester, provide weekly discussion questions, and
write two short book reviews. Preference will be given to students who plan to
pursue an ethnographic senior project in Music, Anthropology, or Sociology.
Class
size: 15
92072 |
MUS 352
Electronic,
ELECTROAcoustic, and Computer composition |
Matthew Sargent
|
M 1:30
pm-3:50 pm |
BLM
N119 |
PA |
PART |
This
course, intended primarily for music majors, will be focused on the individual
creative work of the students enrolled. The course will serve as a workshop environment
for student work: participants will be expected to regularly present and
discuss their ongoing compositional projects. These will be examined by the
instructor and other class members. Students may also take on collaborative
works, installations, and intermedia projects. Analyses and class presentations
of contemporary electroacoustic repertoire will also be expected of the
students during the semester. This fulfills a music theory requirement. Class size: 12
92084 |
MUS 364
Composition Techniques
for Musicians and Orchestrations toolkit |
George Tsontakis
|
W 1:30
pm-3:50 pm |
BLM
N211 |
PA |
PART |
A
multi-faceted workshop designed for composers, conductors and instrumentalist to
include all aspects of composing and manuscript and parts formatting and
preparation for student's original chamber to orchestral works. Unveiling the
composition techniques by "modeling" historical masters in order to
enhance ones own work. Writing after works by composers such as Debussy,
Stravinsky, Ravel, Schoenberg, Bartok and Messiaen. Students will offer works
to review as well, including conductor's and performers score study. Class size: 12
92047 |
MUS 366C
Advanced Contemporary
Jazz Techniques III |
John Esposito
|
T 9:10
am-11:30 am |
BLM
N211 |
PA |
PART |
Cross-listed: Africana Studies This course will focus on strategies for
improvisation without predetermined chord structures or rhythmic frameworks and
on methods for shaping performances spontaneously. We will also explore
collaboration with artists from other disciplines such as dance, spoken word
and visual arts. This class is open to moderated upper college students who
have successfully completed advanced contemporary Jazz techniques A & B. Class size: 15
92269 |
MUS 367A
Jazz
Composition I |
Erica Lindsay
|
W 6:00
pm-9:00 pm |
BLM
N211 |
PA |
PART |
This class acts as an introduction to jazz composition,
covering first practical aspects of notation, instrumentation, Sibelius/Finale
and score/parts preparation that will be necessary for the remainder of the two
year sequence. The focus of the first semester is on the less structured
realm of modal harmony. Students compose and have their piece performed in
class on a weekly basis allowing them to begin to find their own voice and to
master the practical techniques necessary for a successful performance of their
work. Class size: 12
92054 |
MUS PROJ
LGR Special
Projects |
Luis Garcia-Renart
|
TBD |
TBD |
|
PART |
Interested students should contact
Prof. Garcia-Renart in person (Blum 201). Class
size: 8
MUSIC WORKSHOPS:
Workshops carry 2
credits, unless otherwise noted.
92063 |
MUS WKSH
EK Advanced
Orchestral Audition Prep. |
Erica Kiesewetter
|
TBD |
TBD |
PA |
PART |
This class is for advanced violinists
(and any orchestral instrumentalist) who would like to learn orchestral excerpts
for festival and orchestra auditions. The student is expected to prepare 3-5
excerpts in the semester, play in class most weeks, and participate in
feedback. The class will involve detailed coaching on the excerpts including a
focus on understanding the work in context and the composer's style, advice on
preparation and performance anxiety and mock audition practice. Final is a mock
audition with 3-5 excerpts. Class size: 12
92058 |
MUS WKSH
GM Sonata &
Chamber Workshop |
Marka Gustavsson
Blair McMillen |
TBD |
TBD |
PA |
PART |
This workshop will explore the wide
repertoire of sonatas with instrument and piano, as coached by the professors.
Students may sign up as a pre-formed group or be placed. Open to college and conservatory
students by recommendation or audition. Class size: 12
92052 |
MUS WKSH
LGR Performance
Class |
Luis Garcia-Renart
|
W 4:00
pm-7:00 pm |
BLM
HALL |
PA |
PART |
Students must contact Prof. Garcia-Renart in
person prior to online registration (Blum 201). Class size: 25
92083 |
MUS WKSHA
Workshop:
Composition |
Joan Tower
|
M 1:30
pm-3:50 pm |
BLM
HALL |
PA |
PART |
This workshop is for both composers
and performers- primarily music majors who can read music. The process is one
of learning how to put one's musical soul onto the page, pass
that page first to players in the class and then to Conservatory players
as well as the College Players who record and play these pieces. All
along the way, the hope is that the music will "come back" to
the composer as he or she had intended it to with some kind of profile and
excitement. Students should email Prof. Tower ([email protected])
prior to registration to determine eligibility. Class size: 10
92069 |
MUS WKSHB
RM Workshop
- Performance Class: Wayward Women;
Female Composers in a Man’s World |
Rufus Muller
|
M 4:40
pm-7:00 pm |
BITO
CPS |
PA |
PART |
Song
recitals can often be boring, or even alienating. In this class we
explore ways to make the performance of art song moving and satisfying for
performer and public alike. For collaborative pianists as well as
singers. Class size: 15
92044 |
MUS WKSHL
Workshop:
Opera Workshop |
Teresa Buchholz
Ilka LoMonaco Rufus Muller |
W 4:40
pm-7:00 pm |
BDH
|
PA |
PART |
In the Fall Semester we prepare a themed program
of operatic excerpts (choruses, ensembles, solos), which is performed in the Fisher
Center, fully staged and with orchestra, in the early part of the Spring
Semester. Typically this involves intensive rehearsals during the week before
Spring Semester, and evening rehearsals in the first week of semester. Students
enrolling in the Fall Semester for two credits thus commit themselves to the
final rehearsals and performances in the Spring Semester, which earn them an
additional two credits. Enrollment is by
audition. Please contact Professors Müller ([email protected])
and LoMonaco ([email protected])
for details. Class size: 30
92079 |
MUS WKSHN
"Hands-on"
Music History |
Patricia Spencer
|
T 5:00
pm-7:00 pm |
BDH
|
|
PART |
Members of this class will explore our
musical past by playing it! Also improving sight reading, the course will
cover a sampling of chamber music
from different eras. Members will
build familiarity with a wide variety of harmonies and musical styles (mostly
European) from the Renaissance through
the present. Background readings
and class discussion about the composers will provide historical context for
the works being played. Parts and scores
will be provided one week in advance
for those who prefer to prepare their sight-reading. Composers may
include but are not limited to: Gesualdo,
Machaut, di Lasso, Monteverdi, Purcell,
Frederick the Great, J.S. Bach and his sons, Vivaldi, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven,
Brahms, Schumann, Dvorak,
Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Ravel, Copland,
Cage, Carter, Rzewski and many more. Works will not be rehearsed to a
performance level, but may occasionally be repeated. Class
size: 16
92066 |
MUS WKSP3
Workshop:
Jazz Improvisation |
Erica Lindsay
|
Th 4:40
pm-7:40 pm |
BLM
N211 |
PA |
PART |
This class is an ensemble performance
workshop focused on developing improvisational skills within the harmonic
context of both jazz harmony and free improvisation. The goal is to develop facility
in being able to improvise over harmonic structures from the blues to more free
form styles of improvisation. Students are assigned to an ensemble that is
appropriate to the level of their experience. Class size: 12
92261 |
MUS WKSP7 jazz vocal workshop |
Pamela Pentony
|
Tu 4:30
pm – 7:00 pm |
BLM
HALL |
PA |
PART |
Beginning level
course: The Jazz Vocal Workshop is a
performance workshop designed to familiarize the beginning singer with the components
of a successful jazz performance. How to
begin a song (intros) and how to end a song (outros and turnarounds), how to
pick a key, a song and a tempo. How to
utilize simple (and not so simple) arrangements. Particular attention is paid to phrasing. The language of scat singing, with emphasis
on practice in every class. The forms of
the blues, rhythm changes and 32 bar song form, and practical applications
taken from The Great American Songbook. There is one (or more) concert(s) scheduled
during the semester and students are encouraged to seek out and perform in many
local venues. There is a final exam in
this class. Class size: no limit.
92262 |
MUS WKSHD sight reading workshop |
Mike DeMicco
|
Tu 12:00
pm – 1:00 pm |
BLM
HALL |
PA |
PART |
This workshop is designed to improve
basic music reading skills. Drawing from a varied selection of material such as
lead sheets, jazz fake book charts and simple to intermediate classical etudes,
students learn to read melody and rhythm more confidently. This course works
well for C (concert) instruments and may be adapted for other instruments as
well. Class size: 14
PRIVATE LESSONS –
(register for lessons with a drop/add form.)
All students are eligible for private
music instruction. Lessons can be taken for either one or two credits or
audited (no credit). In order to receive credit, the student must be registered
with the Registrar’s office. Registration for private lessons must be
completed by the end of the add/drop period (September 13th).
When lessons are taken for credit, the
student must also be enrolled in a music ensemble or the equivalent, to be
determined by the Music Dept. The ensemble can be taken for credit or audited.
Students taking lessons for credit are assessed a nominal lab fee of $200 per
semester by the college (approximately $16.66 per lesson X 12 lessons) whether
it is 1 or 2 credits. Students receive 12 lessons per semester. If private
lessons are audited (no credit), a fee is mutually agreed upon by the student
and the instructor. Audited lessons will not appear in the student’s
registration or on the transcript. If students are taking more than one lesson,
the same rules apply as above – the student must be enrolled in another
ensemble to receive the lesson rate of $200 per semester.
Ø Kathryn
Aldous - violin
Ø Teresa
Buchholz – classical voice
Ø Ira
Coleman - jazz bass
Ø David
Degge - percussion
Ø Mike
DiMicco - jazz guitar
Ø Dani
Dobkin- Serge modular synthesizer
Ø Greg
Glassman - jazz trumpet
Ø Marka
Gustavsson – violin, viola
Ø Larry
Ham – jazz piano
Ø Ryan
Kamm - classical bass
Ø Erica
Kiesewetter – violin
Ø Ilka
LoMonaco- classical voice
Ø Blair
McMillen - piano
Ø Rufus
Müller – classical voice
Ø Peter
O'Brien - jazz drums
Ø Isabelle
O’Connell - piano
Ø Pamela
Pentony - voice (jazz)
Ø Steve
Raleigh – jazz guitar
Ø Raman
Ramakrishnan - cello
Ø Patricia
Spencer – flute
Ø Erika
Switzer – classical piano
Ø John
Charles Thomas - trumpet (classical and jazz), French horn and didjeridu
Ø Carlos
Valdez – Latin jazz, hand percussion and drums
Ø Bruce
Williams - jazz and classical saxophone