Southern's music department serves its students and the broader New Haven community via music instruction, performance, technology, and scholarship. Through in-depth and personalized study, students in the B.A. Music program can build the skills and experience they need to take their musical goals further.
Students take courses in music theory and musicianship, technology, music history, and improvisation. Southern's signature Applied Lessons, offered through the support of the Stutzman Family Foundation, allows students to take private lessons in instrumental or vocal music in private tuition-free. A diverse array of ensembles offer opportunities to perform in a variety of styles. Students also have the opportunity to select from three specializations to complete their coursework: Music Traditions, Music Performance, or Music Technology.
Specializations
All B.A. Music students choose from one of the following 9-credit specializations.
Music Traditions
Students choose from Southern's array of music history courses, offering in-depth coverage of different music, traditions, and genres from around the world.
Performance
Students complete coursework in music entrepreneurship, arranging, and advanced musicianship, culminating in a senior recital.
Music Technology
Students gain experience composing, producing, mixing, and recording music and sound. The Southern Music Technology lab is equipped with up-to-date technology and a recording booth and students get hands-on experience in multiple aspects of contemporary music production.
Learning Outcomes
- Upon graduation, music majors will demonstrate comprehension of the relationships between music and various and disparate traditions, social trends, histories and styles of music, art, and other disciplines.
- Music majors will demonstrate competencies in theoretical and aural skills through sight-singing performance, generating and analyzing harmony, creating and notating self-generated musical ideas, and the graphic dictation of sounds.
- Music majors will demonstrate the ability to extemporaneously compose musical ideas through improvisational performance.
- Students will demonstrate artistry and creative expression in their principal area of applied music-making.
- Members of performing ensembles will demonstrate cooperative learning and creative expression through performance.
Accreditation
SCSU is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music.
Careers
Students graduating with their Bachelor of Arts in Music can think about working in the following areas.
- Music, arts, and media technology, including working in recording studios, radio stations, podcasting studios, and live event venues that host concerts, stadium and arena events, sports, and casinos.
- Producing, composing, performing, and recording music and sound for media organizations, including TV, radio, video games, and streaming platforms.
- Working with arts and arts-adjacent organizations (orchestras, bands, choral groups, opera companies, dance companies, public and private arts schools, museums, faith-based organizations, arts management organizations, legal firms specializing in music, music licensing organizations) and in areas including events planning and management, fundraising, grant-writing, personnel management, concert/tour/venue bookings, event promotion and publicity, and marketing. Students interested in this sector should consider a minor in Arts Administration and Cultural Advocacy as a supplement to their major.
- Performance opportunities as a musician working in classical, jazz, musical theater, and popular styles, providing music for worship services leading sacred music ensembles, and private instruction.
- Students graduating from the B.A. Music program may also choose to pursue further study at the graduate level. Students from the B.A. Music programs have pursued graduate studies in music education, composition, performance, and jazz studies at the master’s and doctoral levels—you can, too!
Scholarships
Music majors are eligible for scholarships up to $6,000/year from the Stutzman Family Foundation. Award amounts vary and are awarded each semester up to a total of eight semesters.