Music (BA), Music with a Concentration in Performance (BA)

The Department of Music offers courses designed to give students a broad understanding and appreciation of the intellectual, social, and spiritual values of music in the individual’s cultural life through performance, the study of theory and literature, participation in performing ensembles, and listening to music. Musical skills are cultivated by an extensive program of music theory, tonic solfège and keyboard study. The undergraduate curriculum is comprehensive because of the faculty’s fundamental belief in the reciprocal influences of performance, scholarship, and individual creativity, all of which, in turn, prepare the student for further graduate study or to proceed to the chosen vocation.

The Department of Music welcomes the non-music major to participate in the department’s performing ensembles, to study an instrument or voice in group or private study, to learn about music through the department’s history and appreciation courses, and to study music humanistically through the General Education Program.

Two types of curricula are offered to the music major. The Bachelor of Arts degree is designed for those students who wish to study music as part of the liberal arts program irrespective of specific career goals, or for students who plan careers in music which require a broader general education and less emphasis upon solo performance (e.g., teaching K-12, musicology, music history, music theory, music criticism, music business, or arts management). The content of the Bachelor of Arts with a Concentration in Performance includes a strong emphasis upon performance, along with supportive studies in music, and Dominican’s program of General Education. Students in both programs are required to audition, which may be done at the campus, or submitted by video or audio media. For more information about the audition, contact the Music Department.