Curriculum

Many students come to Colgate with important musical experience behind them, won through arduous and expensive study. The fundamental aim of the curriculum in music is to develop that experience to its utmost potential. Performance ensembles and private instruction build directly on that experience, while classroom instruction introduces student musicians to important ideas, histories, and various cultures that inform and broaden that experience. Qualified students can choose to develop in ways that most interest them. Those who choose to concentrate will find their development guided by a balanced program of performance and classroom studies. Graduating concentrators have gone on to graduate study in every area of music or have immediately entered careers in arts management, mathematics, medicine, law, business, sound engineering, and many other fields.

Another important aim of the curriculum is to introduce students with little or no musical background into the world of music as part of Colgate’s liberal arts program. These students should begin with MUSI 151 or 161.

Upper-level courses divide into three groups: history, theory, and performance. The history courses are designed to give students an understanding of music through a study of composers and historical periods. The theory sequence teaches how music is put together and how to write it. The performance courses offer opportunities for students to gain credit in department-sponsored ensembles and private instruction.

Students considering a major or minor concentration should elect MUSI 203, Harmony I as soon as possible. Alternatively, MUSI 211, 212, 213 (the historical survey) can be taken in any order as first courses.

The Music Department offers extensive performing opportunities that are open to all qualified students regardless of concentration. The Colgate University Chorus and Colgate University Orchestra are the large performing organizations (audition required). The department also sponsors the One Thirty Band, a jazz ensemble. Performance in chamber ensembles (quartets, trios, etc.) may be taken throughout the year, and private instruction in most instruments, including voice, is available to students at an additional fee. All of these programs may be elected on a credit or non-credit basis.

Concentration Program

1. Four courses in music theory:

  MUSI 203, 204, 301, and either 207 or 302

2. Three courses in music history: MUSI 211, 212, and 213

3. One elective course above the 100 level, not performance

4. Ongoing participation in music faculty-sponsored ensembles or private study

A music concentrator must have a C average in the above courses to graduate. The department recommends that students planning graduate work in music acquire background in foreign languages, particularly German, French, Italian, and Latin.

Minor Concentration Program

1. Two courses in music theory: MUSI 203 and 204

2. Two courses in music history, from MUSI 211, 212, or 213

3. One elective course above the 100 level, not performance

4. Ongoing participation in music faculty-sponsored ensembles or private study

Honors and High Honors

A candidate for the B.A. degree with honors in music must have, or exceed, by the time of graduation, a concentration GPA of 3.3 and an overall GPA of 3.0. For high honors the comparable GPA requirements are 3.7 and 3.0. Students with the requisite GPA must provide the department chair with a written proposal during the semester prior to the semester in which MUSI 470 is elected. All honors projects must be approved by a vote of the entire department no later than April 1 for fall semester projects or November 15 for spring semester projects. For honors, a candidate must complete a senior seminar (MUSI 470) in his or her field of special musical proficiency. The seminar, taught as an independent studies course, will have as its outcome either a thesis, a composition, or a recital. For honors the entire department faculty must concur that the work is at least A– quality. For high honors, the requirements for honors must be completed and a comprehensive music history and theory examination must be passed with distinction.

Awards

The Class of 1909 Music Prize —established at the 40th reunion of the class and awarded by the department to “the person who has, during the year, contributed the most to the advancement of the standards of musical performance on the campus.”

The Felix Eyle Memorial Prize in Music — established in 1991 by Mrs. Felix Eyle to provide an annual award to an outstanding violin student at Colgate. The recipient is chosen by the faculty of the Music Department solely on the basis of talent, not on financial need. The student will be featured during a normally scheduled concert.

The Robert G. Ingraham Memorial Music Prize — established as an annual award to the graduating senior who, in the judgment of the president, dean, chair of the Department of Music, and director of student activities, did the most to promote and stimulate good music as an undergraduate by voluntary activity, leadership, performance, or participation in the band, orchestra, choir, glee club, or any other musical endeavor, individual or group.