Areas of Study
Composition
Students take private lessons and studio classes in composition as well as supporting courses in music theory and history. Composers such as George Crumb, John Corigliano, Don Freund, Jay Chattaway, Phillip Glass, and Joan Tower have visited the campus to hear their compositions performed and to work with students in masterclasses. Opportunities for performances of student works are plentiful with the large and small ensembles, faculty performers, and fellow students.
Strings
The string area in the Division of Music offers an outstanding education for the serious string student. Our string faculty, bring years of teaching and professional performing experiences to this program.
Our string students receive valuable performing experience in a variety of different ensemble settings including the University Symphony Orchestra; the Collegium Musicum, a Baroque period ensemble, and in string and piano chamber music ensembles. Additional ensembles in residence include the graduate string quartet and two guitar ensembles. The string faculty ensemble-in-residence is the West Virginia Piano Quartet, which presents numerous local and regional performances throughout the year. Students are also encouraged to present solo recitals on campus and off-campus as well as to participate in public master classes presented by visiting artists.
Percussion
Over the past twenty five years, the Percussion Department at WVU has developed into one of the most respected in the nation. Because of its commitment to excellence, its reputation has also spread worldwide. Besides emphasis on the primary instruments, WVU percussion students also experience a wide spectrum of opportunities through the World Music Center that are unparalleled anywhere in the world.
The WVU Percussion Department offers three levels of percussion ensembles, with the best known being "Percussion '90." These ensembles have performed hundreds of universities, colleges, and public schools around the country, as well as several television performances and numerous concerts at national conferences. It was under the direction of past director Phil Faini that "Percussion '70" was selected to be the first percussion ensemble to tour South America. "Percussion '80" represented the US at three international expositions in Japan, and several years ago, under the direction of Tim Peterman, "Percussion '90," released its first compact disc recording, Rhapsody in Gold and Blue.
Brass/Woodwind
For the brass and woodwind instrument performer, there are a variety of ensembles in which to gain experience. Besides the large ensembles, band and orchestra, students may elect to study chamber music in a variety of faculty-coached groups. The award winning Trombone Ensemble presents both traditional and jazz arrangements. The WVU Horn Ensembles perform at regional and international horn workshops, supported by the WVU Horn Club, an official student organization. Woodwind and brass quintets find many performance opportunities in the community and region.
Music Education
The Music Education curriculum is unusually comprehensive, and prepares graduates for a wide variety of teaching settings. Upon completion of the program, graduates receive a bachelor's degree in music and WV K-12 teaching certification. This degree allows graduates to pursue various career opportunities on both the elementary and secondary levels.
Keyboard
At WVU, keyboard students can expand their musical horizons as well as meet new challenges in a stimulating and supportive environment. Each member of our keyboard faculty is an active performer and specialist in his or her field. They are vitally interested in helping each student reach his or her potential. As keyboard majors, students receive the personal attention and encouragement they need through weekly private lessons and master-classes. Significant performance opportunities are also an important experience for keyboard majors.
All music classes are taught in WVU's multimillion dollar Center for Creative Arts, which houses several performance halls with Steinway concert pianos, a concert organ, a fortepiano, and two concert harpsichords. Each keyboard faculty studio contains two Steinway grands.
The Division of Music recently acquired a state-of-the-art electronic-keyboard and computer lab for students to utilize. Practice facilities are provided, with grand pianos reserved specifically for piano majors. Rehearsal instruments are also available for organ and harpsichord students.
Vocal, Opera, and Choir Programs
WVU offers a competitve and comprehensive curriculum of voice study. The program focuses on the development of the "complete singer," prepared to meet the challenges of today's professional world, both as a performing musician and within the teaching profession. Students receive intensive, sequential individual instruction presented by an internationally recognized voice faculty of currently performing artists. Opportunities for all types of performance are plentiful for the motivated and dedicated student, both within the regular activity of the University and in the musical community at-large. Graduates of the WVU Vocal Performance programs have enjoyed success in the most prestigious graduate school, apprentice programs summer stock theatre companies, Broadway and Off-Broadway, regional, national, and international opera houses and as members of voice faculties around the nation.
West Virginia University Jazz Studies Program
The Jazz Studies Program at WVU is especially designed for students wishing to develop comprehensive capabilities in various jazz and pop idioms. All aspects of jazz are studied, from the early music to the most recent developments in creative improvised music. The program's flexibility can be adapted to a rapidly changing market and unique areas of interest.
The program provides excellent preparation for graduate study in music. Students work as performers and composers/arrangers with a variety of jazz and studio music idioms in various settings and with various sizes and types of ensembles. Many performance opportunities are available for students. The many small jazz ensembles perform jazz styles ranging from Bebop, Fusion, Salsa, and vocal jazz, to the Avant Garde. The large ensembles perform original student compositions, and the music of contemporary composers, in addition to traditional big band literature.
The Jazz Faculty consists of artist-teachers who are nationally recognized, perform regularly, and are frequently asked to serve as clinicians, conductors, and adjudicators.
