• Start Early if You Want to Study Music
• The Music Curriculum for Majors and Non-Majors
• Degree Requirements
• Teacher Certification / Masters in Teaching
• International and Summer Study
• St. Mary’s Project Procedural Guidelines

• Private Lessons
• Concert Attendance
• Friday Recitals
• Graduation, Junior, and Sophomore Recitals
• Juries
• Accompanists for Juries and Recitals
• Online Databases and Using the Library

Introduction

Welcome to St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and welcome to the St. Mary’s College music program! Your interest in lessons, ensemble performance, or in becoming a music major is of great importance to us, the music faculty. We are here to help you further your life in music, and this handbook is meant as a guide. Along with the College Catalog, it will provide you with important information about your music activities while you are here.

The music concentration of the Performing Arts major at St. Mary’s College of Maryland is demanding, and it requires that you get an early start with the core curriculum (Theory, History, Lessons, Ensemble). Please read this handbook carefully, and keep it. You will find it useful throughout your years here. It contains important information on the day-to-day running of the department, including policies about recitals, juries, and class requirements. Don’t forget, though, that the most important and most reliable sources of information on your courses and requirements are the college catalog, your teachers, and your advisor. Another important source of information is the Performing Arts department’s website.

Our goal for students who choose to major in the Performing Arts with a concentration in music is to provide a broad foundation of musical knowledge, coupled with a high level of academic and performance skills. The concentration offers a balance of music theory, history, ethnomusicology, literature, and performance. Courses include private and class instruction as well as a variety of performance ensembles. Graduates of the Performing Arts department have found success not only in graduate school, but also in careers as performers, teachers, instrumental technicians, archivists, and in concert organization and management.

An important advantage in the study of music in this liberal arts setting is that it allows you the flexibility to pursue varied interests and to expand, rather than limit, career options. A student considering the possibility of a career in arts management, for example, might study Economics as part of their General Education program, and then pursue electives in the Economics department dealing with marketing or management. Similarly, a student interested in computer music might find electives in programming and computer science. College faculty members can recommend elective courses for such fields as music therapy, music law, and others.