Music
Music Major and Minor
Music at Allegheny combines the study of performance, history, and theory in a setting that engages the entire academic community. Our courses allow students to begin or continue their studies in any or all of these areas.
Music At a Glance
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Students are actively involved in a performing ensemble.
Three ways to minor in Music
Students may choose to concentrate their Music minor in their preferred area of interest:
Music History
Music Theory
Music Performance
4-Year Overview of the Music Program
Students are encouraged to explore performance opportunities with one or more ensembles and applied lessons. Students may choose to begin coursework in music theory and/or music history.
Students continue membership in ensembles and should begin their coursework in music theory and history if they have not already done so. Students who intend to minor in Music should discuss which of the three minor options works best for them with their applied teacher and/or the Music Department chair.
Music majors will continue music theory and history coursework and also take the Music Junior Seminar and one of the advanced Music courses (Form & Analysis or Post-Tonal Styles). Majors and some Music minors should begin juried-level applied lessons by year three if they have not done so already. Students may also consider an elective recital, either given as a solo performance or in collaboration with another student recitalist.
Music majors and minors will complete any unfinished coursework and their juried-level applied lessons. Music majors will also complete their Senior Comp over the course of one or two semesters. Students may also consider an elective recital, either given as a solo performance or in collaboration with another student recitalist.
Learning Outcomes
Studying music enables consumers (listeners), re-creators (performers), and creators (composers) to increase their understanding of all aspects of music. Study of musical styles, materials, and performance, achieves the following learning outcomes.
Demonstrate musical literacy within notated and aural contexts.
Recognize musical elements as defining features of a range of musical styles.
Demonstrate competence as a performer on their chosen instrument both in solo and ensemble repertoire.
Use musical research techniques to effectively analyze and synthesize ideas into effective writing and speaking.
Career Paths
Students often select a Music major in addition to a second major, or they combine a Music minor with a major in the natural or social sciences, leading to a variety of career paths, including:
Music Education and Performance
Medicine
Law
Daniel Honeycutt, Alumnus
Class of 2014, Music and Political Science Double Major; Navy Musician
“ Allegheny is probably one of the few colleges in the country that would actually encourage students to pursue a double major like mine, and without that support I would not have the career as a musician that I enjoy today. ”
Alumni Careers and Student Stories
Read Stories
Student Opportunities
Students regularly travel to festivals like the annual Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Band, where they rehearse and perform with other Pennsylvania collegiate musicians under the direction of a world-renowned guest conductor.
Guest Artists
Allegheny Music hosts internationally-recognized and award-winning artists, including the Alexander String Quartet, who hold a week-long residency at Allegheny in alternate years.
