Departments

The Setnor School of Music is organized into the following departments that oversee the school’s degree programs, lessons, and other offerings.

Applied Music and Performance

The Department of Applied Music and Performance provides degrees in performance, conducting, and voice pedogogy, and offers all of the private lessons and ensembles for all music majors.

Lessons and ensembles are also available to all Syracuse University students. The department is comprised of areas based on instrument families and ensembles and offers minors in jazz studies, performance, and private music study.

Contact

José (Peppie) Calvar
Associate Professor and Department Chair

Keyboard

In addition to lessons and classes designed for undergraduate and graduate piano and organ performance majors, the keyboard area offers piano classes for beginners and private lessons in piano, jazz piano, organ, and harpsichord for intermediate and advanced students from all majors across campus.

As an undergraduate keyboard student in Setnor, you have a bachelor of music (B.Mus.) degree in performance as one of your options. Our other undergraduate degree programs—B.Mus. degrees in composition, music education, music industry, sound recording technology, and a bachelor of arts degree in music—also offer you the chance to combine serious music studies with a myriad of academic interests. For graduate keyboard students, we offer a master of music degree in performance with emphases in solo performance or collaborative arts. Your studies are complemented by numerous performing opportunities and the prominent artists who come to campus to give master classes and recitals.

Contact

Ida Tili-Trebicka
Professor of Practice and Area Coordinator

Strings

In addition to lessons and classes designed for undergraduate and graduate string performance majors, the strings area offers guitar classes for beginners and private lessons on guitar, harp, and all orchestral string instruments for intermediate and advanced students from all majors across campus.

There is also a thriving chamber music program for string ensembles to have coachings with a faculty member on string chamber music. Each semester offers a chamber music concert with quartets and quintets from all periods in music history. Other performance opportunities include the SU Symphony Orchestra, which offers students from across the University the chance to perform in a large ensemble.

The strings area hosts master classes and guest artists as frequently as is possible, including during the monthly String Area Convocation, in which all Setnor students are enrolled each semester.

Contact

William Knuth
Assistant Teaching Professor and Area Coordinator

Voice

In addition to lessons and classes designed for undergraduate and graduate voice performance majors, the voice area offers private lessons for music majors and musical theater majors, a voice class for non-majors, and elective private lessons when studio space is available, supplemented by master classes with guest artists, classes in diction and vocal pedagogy, voice area convocations, degree recitals, coaching with Setnor faculty, and numerous performance opportunities on and off campus.

What distinguishes vocal study at the Setnor School is its supportive, inclusive environment within the context of a great university. If you are an undergraduate who is interested in pursuing a career in performance, ours is an ideal learning environment that nurtures and challenges individual singers to grow as total musicians, preparing them for competitive graduate programs and beyond. Although they constitute a small minority of the student population, the Setnor School greatly values its graduate voice students and looks to them for leadership in a variety of its activities.

Contact

Janet Brown
Professor of Practice and Area Coordinator

Woodwinds, Brass, and Percussion

In addition to lessons and classes designed for woodwind, brass, and percussion majors, the woodwinds, brass, and percussion area offers lessons on all band instruments for intermediate and advanced students from all majors across campus.

The area offers applied music lessons in bassoon, flute, clarinet, oboe, saxophone, trombone, trumpet, euphonium, horn, tuba, and percussion. There are also opportunities for students to perform in various ensembles, including chamber music groups and one of the university bands (Wind Ensemble or Concert Band).

The area also meets regularly for a convocation to provide faculty and guest artist master classes.

Contact

Bradley Ethington
Professor and Area Coordinator

Music Composition, Theory, and History

The Department of Music Composition, Theory, and History emphasizes contemporary art music, ranging from traditional approaches to electronic music composition and experimental directions.

The department offers professional degree programs in composition at both the undergraduate and graduate level as well as courses in music theory, composition, computer music, and music history courses for music majors and Syracuse University students.

Undergraduate composers are eligible to receive a number of opportunities in financial aid, including full scholarships from the Setnor School. Graduate composers may apply for teaching assistantships or the Heaton Fellowship in Composition. All of these may include full tuition plus a stipend.

Contact

Nicolas Scherzinger
Associate Professor and Department Chair

Music Education

The Department of Music Education oversees undergraduate and graduate programs in music education in conjunction with Syracuse University’s School of Education.

Students who complete our undergraduate program have the option to continue their education in our fifth-year master’s program in music education.

A number of graduate assistantships are available to graduate music education students. These range from graduate teaching assistantships to graduate office work in the facilities or orchestra offices.

Contact

John Coggiola
Associate Professor and Department Chair

Music Industry & Technologies

The Department of Music Industry & Technologies provides both music and non-music degree programs in music industry and offers courses and minors in music industry for all music majors and other qualified Syracuse University students.

Academics

The department’s academic offerings include:

The bachelor of music (B.M.) degree program in music industry for those students interested in careers that require highly developed musicianship skills;
The bachelor of music (B.M.) degree program in sound recording technology for technologically inclined musicians;
Two minors in music industry for music majors and non-music majors who wish to learn about the creative, business, and legal aspects of the music industry; and
A master of arts (M.A.) degree in audio arts, a cross-disciplinary program with SU’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications that offers students the opportunity to learn about and gain skills in the music industry and audio arts fields.

Student Record Label

Syracuse University Recordings (SUR) is a student-operated music company.

This hands-on learning environment is the operational component of our Music Enterprise Laboratory, a credit-bearing class. Students record and release music, promote live events, and market merchandise. They have negotiated, recorded, manufactured, and marketed 25 CD releases as well as numerous digital-only projects. In 2012, they marketed, promoted, and helped produce a sold-out concert with Ra Ra Riot in Setnor Auditorium.

SUR is financially self-sustaining. Students use revenue from their activities to launch and fund new projects. They maintain standards of high quality performances, production values, and decency while being ever-mindful of the bottom line.

Contact

James Abbott
Professor of Practice and Department Chair