Faculty:

• Clinton Bleil, M.M.
• Mark A. Boyle, D.M.A.
• Ted A. DiSanti, D.A.
• Laurie Fox, M.M.T., M.T.-B.C., L.P.C.
• Edward Kuhn, M.F.A.
• Christopher M. Marra, Ph.D.
• Sarah McMeekin, M.A., M.T.-B.C.
• Jessica Vaughan-Marra, Ph.D.

Learning Objectives: Commercial Music

1. Identify and work conceptually with the elements of music through analysis (e.g., aurally, orally, and visually), performance, and composition. 
2. Identify a wide selection of musical literature within principal eras and genres including Western and global cultures through listening, scholarly discourse, and written reflection. 
3. Develop and defend musical judgments through written reflection and scholarly discourse. 
4. Demonstrate growth in artistry, technical skills, collaborative competence, and knowledge of repertory through regular solo and ensemble performance, as well as attendance at concerts and recitals. 
5. Integrate emerging technologies in music through performing, composing, and arranging. 
6. Perform and/or compose attending to the compositional process, aesthetic properties of style, and the ways these are shaped by artistic and cultural forces. 
7. Sightread music at the degree required proficiency level. 
8. Perform at the degree required level on secondary instrument(s) through performance proficiency assessments. 
9. Perform at the degree required level on the major instrument from a cross-section of the appropriate repertoire. 
10. Synthesize a broad range of musical knowledge and skills while integrating the Foundational Musicianship and University Learning Objectives through self-directed study and the capstone assessment. 
11. Demonstrate a working knowledge of legal issues concerning the performance, reproduction, and distribution of original musical compositions, including both traditional and digital musical outlets through experiential projects and coursework. 
12. Demonstrate a fundamental knowledge of acoustics and live performance sound reinforcement techniques through applied sound mixing experiences. 
13. Create derivative or original music both extemporaneously and in written form in a variety of genres and styles including but not limited to Western, global, and vernacular musical styles (i.e., rock, jazz, Latin, R&B, hip hop and disco etc.). 
14. Perform at the degree required secondary proficiency level on voice and piano (i.e., traditional, commercial, and jazz). 
15. Perform, both individually and within ensemble settings, in a variety of vernacular musical styles, including but not limited to rock, jazz, Latin, R&B, hip hop and disco. 
16. Synthesize a broad range of musical knowledge and skills with the entrepreneurial mindset based upon innovative ideas and opportunities through experiential projects and practicum experiences (e.g., managing and coordinating various aspects of live concert promotion, managing profit and non-profit organization(s) etc.). 

Admission to the program in music is based on the successful completion of an audition for the music faculty, as well as admission to the University. Auditions are scheduled by appointment throughout the academic year. Consideration for music scholarships is determined by the quality of the entrance audition.

All candidates for the Bachelor of Music degree in commercial music must complete the Liberal Arts Curriculum requirements, the capstone assessment requirement, and the required courses for the major.

All music students are evaluated in the sophomore year for a formative review. Students complete and present the Year Two Self-Assessment on the Attainment of the Integration of Music/University Learning Objectives, and academic and music performance benchmarks are reviewed by the music faculty during the spring semester of the sophomore year. Upon successful completion of this evaluation, students continue through their upper-divisional major coursework.

The capstone assessment includes successful completion of coursework and assignments; successful completion of juries in the applied major; completion of all designated proficiencies in piano and voice. Students must also successfully complete the Senior Performance Test and Recital with accompanying program notes and musician’s statement on how the attainment and integration of major and University learning objectives informed the performance.

A minimum of 120 credits is required.

In addition, all music majors will have a performance examination (jury) on their major instrument each semester and perform in at least one student recital every semester. They must also participate in one music department major ensemble each semester and otherwise complete all requirements as identified in the ensemble documents.