Eastman School Of Music University of Rochester
| At Eastman, our passion is music. We believe that music enriches the heart, nourishes the mind, and heals the soul. We believe in the power of music to transform lives. |
| We study music in the classroom, engage with music in the rehearsal room, live with music in the practice room, investigate and reveal music through scholarship, perform music on stages, and share music throughout the community. A favorite T-shirt logo at the Eastman School of Music (ESM) is “Eat, Sleep, Music.” |
| Music does not exist in a vacuum—it lives in the real world. Music is about communication. As the great composer Gustav Mahler wrote, “If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music.” In order to have something meaningful to say, a musician must lead a rich and interesting life. Toward that end, we believe in educating the whole student—not just about the techniques of music, but also through the study of humanities, by interdisciplinary pursuits, and by converging music with other arts. |
| Eastman is an amazing community of artists, performers, composers, and scholars who are committed to preparing students for meaningful lives in music. The questions we grapple with are: What will these lives look like years into the future?, and: How can we best prepare our students to lead and shape that future? We believe that a core foundation of absolute musical excellence, enhanced by innovative initiatives like the Institute for Music Leadership, provides the formula for inspiring outstanding musicians to make a difference in the world through music. Engraved on the façade of the Eastman Theatre is the phrase, “for the enrichment of community life.” We are committed to enriching life through music. |
| If your passion is music, I encourage you to browse the pages of this web site to learn more about the Eastman School of Music, and I invite you to visit Eastman to experience the richness of our remarkable community in person. |
Degree
| Bachelor of Music | At Eastman we foster a community of passionate and talented students who possess the self-discipline and intellectual curiosity to succeed in music. The Bachelor of Music curriculum is a four-year* program designed to develop not only students’ performance abilities, but also their practical and academic skills.The core curriculum of this degree centers on applied lessons, ensemble participation, music theory, music history, keyboard proficiency, and humanities. A student who chooses the BM degree program is typically preparing to become a performing musician, music educator, composer, theorist, musicologist, or a professional in another musical field. |
| Applied Music (Performance) | This performance-intensive major is designed for students who are seriously considering futures as professional performers: soloists, opera and concert vocalists, orchestral and band musicians, conductors, chamber musicians, recording artists and studio musicians, church musicians, studio teachers, and other professions in the music business. Curriculum details are outlined in the advising worksheets |
| Composition | The composition major gives students who wish to develop craft in the manipulation of musical materials a thorough understanding of contemporary harmonic, melodic, rhythmic, contrapuntal, and timbral elements. Over four years, composition majors study with members of the composition faculty on a rotating basis. Composition majors take required lessons on an instrument or voice in faculty studios and participate in student ensembles. |
| Jazz Studies & Contemporary Media | This major is designed for students seeking careers in jazz performance or jazz writing and arranging. The JCM department offers a major in performance skills on the following instruments: trumpet, saxophone, trombone, piano, guitar, double bass, and drumset. Writing skills applicants must audition on and maintain proficiency on one of the above instruments. The Eastman Jazz program does not include vocal jazz. |
| Music Education | The Music Education major prepares students to become articulate leaders by developing a greater understanding of learning and teaching processes. Students who major in music education elect general, vocal, or instrumental music emphasis. Music education majors are provided with innovative music instruction opportunities at all levels. These include hands-on, pilot, or research programs in instrumental, choral, and pre-K music education in the Rochester |
| Theory | This major is intended for students who have achieved an advanced level with aural and written theory skills. First-year admission is rare; it is more common for a student with another major, such as applied music, to add the theory major after completing the core theory curriculum at an advanced level. Music theory majors take required lessons in faculty studios and participate in student ensembles. |
| Double Majors | Within the BM, students may elect to pursue more than one major. For example, a major in applied music or jazz studies may be combined with a major in music education. Students may apply to both majors as fist-years or transfer students, or by petitioning to add or change a major during enrollment. Approval to add a second major for an enrolled student is given by the dean of academic affairs on the recommendation of the chairs of the major departments. It is important to note that students may take courses or secondary lessons outside of their major without being enrolled in two majors. Applicants who wish to audition in two separate applied areas will ultimately be admitted to only one performance area. This is also true of applicants wishing to audition for both jazz and classical performance. Jazz bass applicants have the option of pursuing a ‘hybrid’ curriculum that allows for 3 semesters of classical study and orchestra participation and 5 semesters of jazz study and jazz ensemble participation. |
| Dual Degree Program | Some students wish to undertake the bachelor of music degree, but have such strong interests in another field that they also wish to complete the bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree. The fact that Eastman is a school within the University of Rochester makes such combined degree programs possible.Eastman is one of the professional schools of the University. In addition to Eastman, the University has a division known as the College, which offers the Bachelor of Arts degree and the Bachelor of Science degree. Applicants who wish to obtain both a Bachelor of Music degree from Eastman and a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree from the College must complete both the Eastman application and a College application. This autonomy of admission processes gives each school the latitude to enroll its ideal students. At Eastman we define our ideal student as a passionate and talented musician with a high level of musical and academic achievement, and with the self-discipline and intellectual curiosity to become a successful professional in many diverse career paths. Once applicants are successfully admitted to Eastman and to the College according to the individual criteria of each division, they are considered dual degree students of the University. |
| Special Programs | |
| Arts Leadership Program | The goal of the Arts Leadership Program (ALP) is to equip students with the skills necessary to make a seamless transition from formal education to the working world. Recognizing that success as a professional musician requires more than superb technique and artistry, the ALP helps Eastman students maximize their marketability in the competitive and rapidly changing professional music world by providing career advising, relevant curricula and real-world opportunities. |
| Conservatory Exchange | The Conservatory Exchange Program expands opportunities for Eastman students by creating student exchanges with leading European conservatories. A semester or year abroad offers the chance to improve language skills, appreciate a different culture, find a unique educational experience, learn about national performing styles, complete important research, or seek career opportunities. |
| Forte Program | The FORTE (four years plus teaching experience) program is a ninth semester of tuition-free enrollment for selected music education majors at the Eastman School. This semester is devoted exclusively to completion of the student teaching experience. The FORTE program is available to students enrolled in undergraduate music education programs who also are enrolled in a second major. Students must be in good standing in both majors in order to apply, and must be recommended by their music education advisers as well as by their studio teachers. All requirements for both majors must be completed in eight semesters, with the exception of the student teaching. Applied study is not available to students as part of this tuition-free semester. |
| World Music & Ethnomusicology | A growing awareness of the richness and beauty of non-western music and the interrelatedness of all musical cultures has led the Eastman School to develop both a Certificate and Diploma Program in World Music and Ethnomusicology. Beginning in the Fall of 2002 these programs opened to both undergraduate and graduate students interested in learning more about the world’s musical traditions (World Music Certificate) and the discipline of Ethnomusicology (Advanced Certificate in Ethnomusicology). |
| Graduate | |
| Master of Music | Master’s degrees with majors in composition and music education may be undertaken either within the division of graduate professional studies (the MM as described in this section) or within the division of graduate research studies (the Master of Arts). All MM degree programs, including composition and music education, have a strong performance emphasis, and require an audition on an applied instrument or voice. The MA does not require an audition for admission, but may include applied study on the secondary level. |
| Master of Arts | Because the MA is a research degree, a strong emphasis is placed on writing and research skills. Full command of written English is assumed for students admitted to MA programs, and is required before students are permitted to begin a thesis or dissertation project.Composition and music education may be undertaken within the division of graduate research studies (the MA as described in this section) or within the division of graduate professional studies (the Master of Music). These two programs have differences in emphasis and course content. As part of the application process, the master of music requires an audition on an applied instrument or voice; the MA does not, with the exception of the MA in Music Leadership. It is especially important that composition and music education applicants decide whether they should apply to the MA or MM program, based on their backgrounds and goals. Applicants to the MA must submit GRE scores. |
| Postgraduate program | |
| Doctor of Musical Arts | The DMA degree is awarded for high attainments in the practice of music, with emphasis on the arts of performing and teaching. A candidate for this degree must be a capable artist who demonstrates intellectual attributes of the highest order.Studies in composition and music education may be undertaken within the division of graduate professional studies (the DMA as described here) or within the division of graduate research studies. The respective programs have differences in emphasis and course content. In terms of applying, the Doctor of Musical Arts program requires an audition on an applied instrument or voice; the Doctor of Philosophy program does not require an audition for admission. Emphasis is on practical applied music in varying degrees in each of the DMA majors, and constitutes a distinctive feature of the division. Thus the composition and music education majors contain a strong performance component in the DMA degree program, and have a distinctly different emphasis in the PhD degree program. |
| Doctor of Philosophy | The doctor of philosophy degree is awarded for completion of scholarly research satisfactorily defended in a dissertation or for outstanding creative work in the field of composition. It is assumed that recipients of this degree are not only well-versed in the subject matter and techniques of a specific discipline, but also have demonstrated a breadth of interest and originality of outlook that indicate real promise of success in research or composition, as well as mastery of the teaching of their disciplines A combined MA/PhD program is offered in the Composition, Theory and the Musicology departments. |
Administrative links
Area of Specialization
Master of Music
Postgraduate program DMA