Department of Music
Valparaiso University College of Arts & Sciences
Department Chair: Linda Ferguson, D.M.A.
VUCA1107 | 219-464-5454
Linda.Ferguson@valpo.edu
Majors offered:
Music, B.A. (three additional options
with B.A. major: church music, music enterprise, musical theatre)
Music,B.M.
(three options within B.M.: performance, church music, composition)
Music Education,
B.M.E.
Links to Web sites:
Catalog: Department of
Music
Department of Music
(department maintained)
Valpo Music rings throughout the nation. From the halls of Chicago’s Symphony Center and Cleveland’s Severance Hall to Valpo’s Center for the Arts, our Music majors make their virtuosity known. The many tracks in Valpo’s Music Department ensure that music students cultivate their own talents and interests.
What Is Distinctive About Valpo's Program?
Valparaiso
University Center for the Arts:
The VUCA, dedicated in 1995,
functions as a working laboratory for performance, production, presentation,
and management for concerts on campus, special events off campus, tours,
and recordings. Offering a wide range of opportunities for students in
performance and technical support for music and theatre, the Center for
the Arts serves as a crossroads of artistic expression.
Performance
Opportunities:
An active concert and recital life exists at Valpo,
serving the entire region with performances by students, faculty and guest
artists. There is a place for every student musician at Valparaiso University.
Whether in highly selective highprofile situations or in more "recreational"
or "learning" ones, all Valpo ensembles stress development of skills and
musicality. Performance opportunities include bands, choirs, orchestras,
chamber music ensembles, music theatre productions, gospel choir, music
ministry, concerto appearances, solo recitals, and community musical activities.
In the last five years alone, Valpo students and faculty have performed
across the nation at places like Symphony Center in Chicago, Severance
Hall in Cleveland, Carnegie Hall, the Oregon Bach Festival, the Peabody
Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, the University of Hartford,
the University of Central Oklahoma, the University of Iowa, and many others.
Also, in the last five years faculty and students have performed in Canada
and overseas in China, England, Germany, and Italy.
Faculty:
Valpo has a dedicated faculty of distinguished artist-teachers,
committed to helping students develop as musicians and as people; studio
faculty and coaches are drawn from Chicago circles.
Balanced
Curriculum:
With accreditation by the National Association of Schools of Music,
all Valpo Music major programs balance practical training and experiences
in music with academic foundations in music and in general education.
Chapel
of the Resurrection:
At the center of campus,Valpo’s stunning Chapel is home
to a wide range of worship programs and to the state-of-the-art Reddel
Memorial Organ, the Chapel resounds constantly with sounds of student
musicians, practicing, praising, and performing.
Music
Network:
A strong network of professional associates in the fields
of church music, music education, and music related businesses is in place
at Valpo, providing field experiences and potential employment opportunities.
At Valparaiso University, you can select music majors to match a wide range of career aspirations:
1) Some students know for sure that they will seek careers as musicians. For students preparing for careers as music educators, as full-time church musicians, or as professional performer-teachers, Valpo offers intensive professional training. Students in the professional tracks have Music as their only major, and their curriculum is designed to prepare them for professional work or for graduate school in this field.
2) Other students expect to make their careers in music-related fields (including in business, arts administration, church work, and theatre). For these students, Valpo offers a liberal arts music major with specific concentrations in related fields.
3) Many students do not expect that music will be how they will make their living, but they know for sure that music will be an important part of their lives. For students who seek a full music curriculum while planning for a profession in another field, Valpo offers a standard Liberal Arts Music Major with full performance opportunities and plenty of flexibility for an additional major or minor.
What Can You Do with this Major?
Degree, Skills or Experience Needed for
Beginning a Job in This Field:
Mastery
of performance, verbal, and critical thinking
skills is expected in most music-related professions.
Some fields, such as music education, church
music and music business, require hands-on training
through internship experiences. Skill in use
of electronic technology is increasingly important
in many fields. Ability to improvise, compose,
arrange, and conduct increases the musician’s
chances for success. The Music curriculum is
designed to prepare you in these ways.
Kinds of Work Available to Graduates in this
Major:
Teaching
of music in elementary and secondary schools and in private studios; professional
music leadership in churches; careers in arts-related businesses. The
Music curriculum is also especially well designed to prepare students
for graduate study in music, leading to professions in higher education,
performance, and studio teaching.
Potential Hiring Institutions:
School
districts (public and private), churches, art organizations, arts-related
businesses and retail operations, institutions of higher education.
Graduate
Schools:
Valpo music graduates pursue post-graduate studies at such schools as
Indiana University, the University of Illinois, the Julliard School, the
University of Minnesota, the Universty of Texas at Austin, and the University
of Notre Dame.
What Beyond-the-Classroom Opportunities Does Valpo Offer You
in Music?
Extracurricular
Activities:
As
a Music student, you can take part in Madrigal Dinners, Handbell Choir,Matins
Choir, and Crusader Pep band as well as participate in professional organizations
and projects with campus chapters of Pi Kappa Lambda (national honorary
fraternity), Sigma Alpha Iota, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, American Guild of
Organists, Music Enterprises Student Association, and the Music Educators
National Conference.
Off-Campus Opportunities
Chicago Arts Program: The Chicago
Arts Program is a 15-week semester of immersion in the Chicago artworld.
The Program is designed for college students with a strong interest in
the language, visual, performing, media and commercial arts, as well as
arts education and community outreach.
Students live and study in Chicago, and work at a part-time internship
. Participants attend events in a variety of artistic media, meet
and interview guest artists and arts professionals, and write about and
discuss practical and theoretical issues. Click
here for more information.
Internships and professional semesters are arranged for students in "Music Enterprises" (Music major with Business Option), in Church Music, and in Music Education.
Study Abroad: You can participate in any of Valpo’s 14 overseas study programs in England, France, Germany, Spain, Greece, China, Japan, Namibia, and Mexico.
Touring: Regional and national touring by the VU Chorale, The Kantorei, The VU Symphony Orchestra, and the VU Concert Band; local and regional appearances off-campus by the Jazz Lab Band, and select chamber ensembles.
Chicago
Arts Program: The Chicago
Arts Program is a 15-week semester of immersion in the Chicago artworld.
The Program is designed for college students with a strong interest in
the language, visual, performing, media and commercial arts, as well as
arts education and community outreach.
Students live and study in Chicago, and work at a part-time internship.
Participants attend events in a variety of artistic media, meet and interview
guest artists and arts professionals, and write about and discuss practical
and theoretical issues. Click
here for more information.
Notable Alumni:
Georgia Thomas Luekens (VU ‘89), independent recording engineer, San Francisco, California
Ben Nichols (VU ‘99), Fulbright Fellowship for foreign study in East German Lutheran Church Music under Communism from 1949 to 1989, Dresden, Germany
Jonathan Oblander (VU ‘98), Masters degree in organ performance at the Julliard School; Director of Music at Grace Lutheran Church, River Forest, Illinois
Dr. Theresa Shelton (VU ‘87), Assistant Professor of Music at University of Tulsa in Oklahoma; author of The Holy Profane: Religion in Black Popular Music, published by the University of Kentucky Press
Kimiko Crestetto (VU ‘01), Artistic Administrator for the San Diego Symphony
Dr. Sangeetha Rayapathi (VU ‘97), Assistant Professor of Voice, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois
Mark Duray (VU ‘94), Choral and Instrumental Director, Speedway High School, Indianapolis, Indiana
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