Washington College

The Department of Music provides an ideal enviroment for a liberal arts education with its integratd faculty of scholars, performers, composers and theorists. Click here to learn more about the music faculty.

The Department of Music is housed in the beautiful Gibson Arts Center. The newly renovated and expander Arts Center places the arts at the heart of the liberal arts experience. Click here to learn more about the Music Department's facilities, including performance spaces, rehearsal room, practice rooms, and classrooms.

All students at Washington College are invited to participate in Music Department Performance Ensembles. Student with experience in vocal and instrumental music can join one of our large ensembles, such as Concert Band, the String Ensemble, Jazz Band, or Vocal consort, or one of our many smaller ensembles.

Washington College Gibson Center for the Arts | Hotchkiss Recital Hall
All concerts start at 12 p.m.

2011-2012 Concert Season

Friday, September 16 - Opening Concert | Music Department Faculty

Friday, October 7 - Solo Recital | Hanchien Lee, Piano

Friday, November 4 - Naval Academy Brass Quintet

Friday, February 3 - Violin and Piano Duo | Lydia Chernicoff, Violin and
Ronaldo Rolim, Piano

Friday, March 2 - Annapolis Chamber Players

Friday, April 13 - Opera à la Carte | The Figaro Project

Six noon hour concerts take place throughout the 2011-2012 season in the 200-seat Hotchkiss Recital Hall, located in the newly renovated and expanded Gibson Center for the Arts building. Featuring internationally acclaimed guest artists from the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area, concerts are 45 minutes without intermission, and are held at 12:00 p.m. on the first Friday of the month. Admission is free and open to the public.

'12 @ Hotchkiss' was established by the Music Department of Washington College as a way to cater to the growing interest, curiosity, and excitement in classical music throughout the campus community. A wonderful chance to take a short break from the busy week, come and experience spectacular live music performed by talented young artists, every first Friday at noon.

For more information, please contact concert series director Grace Eun Hae Kim at 410-778-6457 or gkim2@washcoll.edu

Four theory courses:

• MUS 131 - Elementary Theory I
• MUS 132 - Elementary Theory II (MUS 131 required)
• MUS 231 - Advanced Theory I (MUS 132 required)
• MUS 232 - Advanced Theory II (MUS 231 required)

Two history courses selcted from the following:

• MUS 203 - Music History: Antiquity to Baroque
• MUS 204 - Music History: Classical to Romantic
• MUS 205 - Music History: Music Since 1900

Two additional courses selected from the following:

• MUS 303 - American Music
• MUS 304 - Opera
• MUS 305 - History of Jazz
• MUS 310 - Music and Gender
• MUS 311 - Mozart’s Operas
• MUS 312 - Music in the Romantic Period
• MUS 313 - Ethnomusicology in Latin America
• MUS 314 - Music of Asia
• MUS 327 - Music, Ritual and Early Christianity
• MUS 328 - The Symphony in Context: History and Development

In addition, all majors must complete two years of applied music (four years recommended). All majors are required to study two years of piano if the major area of performance is another instrument or voice. Music majors will also participate in those ensembles for which they are qualified. Music majors are also required to perform as a soloist in a student recital at least once during the junior or senior year. If a student intends to pursue graduate work in music, the department strongly recommends studying two years of German or French, in that order of preference.

In addition the following courses are recommended for all majors:

• MUS 330 - Counterpoint
• MUS 331 - Analytical Technique
• MUS 430 - Orchestration

A minor in music consists of seven courses.

Two theory courses:

• MUS 131 - Elementary Theory I
• MUS 132 - Elementary Theory II (MUS 131 required)

Two history courses selcted from the following:

• MUS 203 - Music History: Antiquity to Baroque
• MUS 204 - Music History: Classical to Romantic
• MUS 205 - Music History: Music Since 1900

Three additional courses are to be selected from the following:

• MUS 104 - Introduction to World Music and Ethnomusicology
• MUS 231 - Advance Theory I
• MUS 232 - Advance Theory II
• MUS 330 - Counterpoint
• MUS 331 - Analytical Technique
• MUS 303 - American Music
• MUS 304 - Opera
• MUS 305 - History of Jazz
• MUS 310 - Music and Gender
• MUS 311 - Mozart’s Operas
• MUS 312 - Music in the Romantic Period
• MUS 313 - Ethnomusicology in Latin America
• MUS 314 - Music of Asia
• MUS 327 - Music, Ritual and Early Christianity
• MUS 328 - The Symphony in Context: History and Development
• MUS 430 - Orchestration (2 credits)

Up to four semesters of applied music study may also be counted toward the minor. Music minors will also participate in those ensembles for which they are qualified.

All music majors must complete the Senior Capstone Experience, which is intended to strengthen the student's ability to think critically about music. Options available to students include writing a thesis, composing an extended composition, presenting a solo recital, or writing a research paper in conjunction with a lecture/recital.

One of these options must be chosen by the end of the junior year. Students who decide to double major must satisfy the same requirements.

Students electing to write a thesis must have the topic approved no later than the end of the fourth week of classes of the first semester of the senior year. The department follows the guidelines outlined in Mark A. Radice's Irvine's Writing about Music, 3rd. ed. (Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press, 1999) and Diana Hacker's A Writer's Reference, 6th ed. (Boston: Bedford Books, 2007). A detailed outline of the thesis is due by the end of the first semester of the senior year. The first draft is due by the beginning of March, a revised draft by the beginning of April, and the final draft by the last day of classes. (This schedule will be adjusted accordingly for students who are completing the thesis in December.) The department does not specify a length for the thesis, although the average length of theses over the past thirty years has been 96 pages. The department does require that the topic be covered thoroughly. The thesis advisor is chosen in consultation with the individual student.

Students who wish to compose an extended work or to prepare a lecture-recital should consult with the chair to discuss the particulars of these options. At this meeting, a timetable for the completion of the project will be developed.

The completed Senior Capstone Experience project will be judged as pass, fail, or honors by the full-time faculty of the department.