Quick Facts

Quick Facts | Dalton Center | Mission Statement | Degrees | Newsletter (pdf)

We are tradition
Music has been present on campus since the 1905 organization of the first orchestra. The Music Therapy Concert celebrated its 25th Anniversary this past spring.

We are comprehensive
The School of Music provides undergraduate programs in music education, music therapy, composition, jazz studies, and performance. The School has masters programs in music education, music therapy, performance, and composition.

We are leaders
Our Faculty
The School of Music is served by faculty members and staff that are active leaders in their professional organizations. This includes service as the president of the Double Bass Society, the International Horn Society, the American Music Therapy Association, and the International Trumpet Guild.

Our Students
The School of Music has earned Downbeat awards for the 12th consecutive year. Both Gold Company and the Gold Company Sextet earned top awards in their respective categories. Other individual awards were won by Mialtin Zhezha, classical soloist college winner – violin; Katie Campbell, jazz vocalist college winner; Johnaye Kendrick, jazz vocalist college outstanding performance; and Justin Avery for both blues/pop/rock soloist and group college winner.

Joe Beutel, vocal performance major from Fort Wayne, IN, was chosen to be a member of the World Youth Choir that will be performing in South Korea and Japan this summer.

We are unique
We are the only School of Music in Michigan to offer a guaranteed 4-summer masters program in music education. All necessary coursework can be completed in four consecutive semesters of study.

We are professionally accredited
The School of Music is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. The music therapy program meets the standards of the American Music Therapy Association.

We are just the right size
There are 340 undergraduate music majors and 70 graduate students enrolled in various masters programs during this fall semester. Another 58 graduate students are enrolled in the 4-summer masters program in music education.

We are selective
The School of Music has selective admission that allows us to better utilize resources. This past year less than one third of those that auditioned were accepted. The entering freshman class had an average high school GPA of 3.62 and an average ACT Composite of 24.4. In 2003–04 over 360 students applied to enroll in one of the 90 positions available to entering undergraduates. The College of Fine Arts freshmen had the highest GPA and ACT composite scores in the University.

We are international
Students in the School of Music are primarily from Michigan. Last year students also came from 12 countries and 25 states. Performances were given in Great Britain, Germany, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Latvia, Estonia etc., as well as throughout the United States.

The Gold Company Sextet performed at the International Association for Jazz Education Convention in New York City in January and appeared in Latvia and Estonia in December.

We are productive
This past year the School of Music, its students, faculty, and staff, presented 365 on-campus events with an attendance of 47,400. There were 295 off-campus events presented, attended by 98,600 people. The Bronco Marching Band and sports bands performed for spectator audiences of over 120,000 (not including television).

We are partners
The School of Music has a long record of ongoing partnerships with numerous organizations, schools, foundations, churches, and companies. These include the Yamaha Corporation, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Fetzer Foundation, Gilmore Foundation, Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association, Michigan School Vocal Music Association, Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, Liberace Foundation, and Presser Foundation.

We are in demand
The regular year graduate program has grown 72% over five years and 146% over ten years. The 4-summer program has increased 54% over ten years.

We are enriching
The School of Music hosted over 60 guest artists who worked with our students this past academic year.

Of particular note are two visiting alumnae. Susan B. Anthony was a distinguished alumna in residence for week in the fall working with voice and opera workshop students. Susan graduated from Western in 1975 and is currently a highly successful opera performer around the world. She joined the University Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Strauss’s Salome (“Final Scene”). Both critics from the Kalamazoo Gazette selected the program as the best classical music concert in Kalamazoo for 2003.

Audrey Lipsey was a distinguished alumna faculty member of the day for 2003. She graduated from Western in 1978 and is currently director of the Crescendo Academy and performs with the Kalamazoo Symphony orchestra. The folk ensemble of the Hunan Art Vocational School gave a two-week residency in February introducing students, faculty, and guests to the culture and sounds of the People’s Republic of China.

Among the 60 guest artists in 2003–04 were NEXUS, percussion, and the New Century Saxophone Quartet presented in collaboration with the Fontana Chamber Arts Society; Michael Sachs, Principal Trumpet of the Cleveland Symphony; Randy Brecker, jazz trumpet; Michael Mulcahy, trombone; Slide Hampton, jazz trombone; Manhattan Transfer and Toxic Audio, vocal jazz; Eric Whitacre, composor/ conductor; Malcolm Bilson, fortepiano; Kit Taylor, piano; Fred Hersch, jazz; and Mark Gould, former principal trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

Special Note
A double-disc CD saluting the University’s Centennial was released by the School of Music in early September 2004. It features a disc of faculty soloists and ensembles and a second disc featuring student ensembles and a new, stunning choral arrangement of the alma mater performed by the University Chorale. The CD is available from the University Bookstore.