WELCOME TO THE DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC AND DANCE

The Department of Music and Dance consists of over 300 music and dance majors focused in the areas of applied music and over 40 dance majors focusing in the areas of performance and secondary level dance education. The graduate program in music offers degrees in performance, music education, and ethnomusicology.   The music area of our department offers a Master of Music Degree, a Bachelor of Music degree and minors in Applied Music. In addition, it offers teaching fields for majors in both secondary and all-level Music Teacher Certification.   All students majoring in music and dance, in addition to taking courses in general education, theory, and literature of music and dance, pursue excellence in performance in their areas of major interest. Instruction is offered in modern dance, Folklorico, flamenco, ballet, voice, guitar, piano, and all of the instruments of the band and orchestra.

Mission Statement
Department of Music and Dance

The mission of the Department of Music and Dance is to provide high-quality training in the areas of music and/or dance performance and education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The department strives to offer a broad education in the liberal arts tradition to the university's general population of students, as well as enhancing the multicultural environment of music and dance in the community through the talents and expertise of its faculty and students.  The Department of Music and Dance seeks to fulfill its responsibilities through excellent teaching, appropriate course offerings, a wide variety of performance opportunities, and scholarly and creative contributions to the academic and general communities with the use of state-of-the-art equipment and facilities.  
 
The goal of the Bachelor of Music program is to provide a comprehensive education of music training, including both technical and artistic skills in solo, small ensemble, and large ensemble settings, incorporating prepared, sight-reading, and improvised work, all shaped by historical and cultural factors. Furthermore, we seek to impart sound principles of teaching so our students and graduates are equipped to train the next generation of young musicians. Areas of specialization in the graduate program include Music Education, Music Performance, and Ethnomusicology.
 
The mission of the Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance is to provide a broad coverage of technical training from a foundational to advanced level in the areas of ballet, modern dance, flamenco and folkloric dance. The program is designed to develop informed teachers of dance as well as confident performers and choreographers through the study of historical and cultural dimensions of dance, the science behind dance, and proven principles of teaching dance effectively and safely.  The program endeavors to provide numerous performance opportunities in a variety of genres to hone performance skills and is committed to the nurturing of young choreographers through the study of dance improvisation and choreography.
 
In both the Music and Dance programs, students will ultimately be prepared to teach in a public/private school setting, continue the study of their chosen discipline at the graduate level, or advance into the professional world.