The School of Music at the University of Puget Sound is unique in offering a comprehensive music program within a nationally recognized liberal arts college. Its accomplished faculty is committed to guiding students toward outstanding achievements in performance, scholarship, and teaching. The rigorous curriculum and extensive performance opportunities prepare students for a diverse range of careers and provide all students opportunities to pursue music study. Through a wide variety of colloquia, workshops, performances, and a vibrant Community Music Department, the School of Music enriches the cultural life of both the Puget Sound campus and the surrounding community.

Degrees

  • Bachelor of Arts in Music
  • Bachelor of Music with Elective Studies in Business
  • Bachelor of Music in Music Education
  • Bachelor of Music in Performance
  • Bachelor of Music in Composition
  • Bachelor of Music in Songwriting
  • Master of Arts in Teaching
  • Minor in Music

Ensembles

  • Symphony Orchestra (auditioned)
  • Wind Ensemble (auditioned)
  • Concert Band (non-auditioned)
  • Jazz Orchestra (auditioned)
  • Voci d'Amici (mixed ensemble, selected from Adelphian Concert Choir)
  • Adelphian Concert Choir (mixed ensemble, auditioned)
  • Dorian Singers (female ensemble, auditioned)
  • Chorale (unauditioned)
  • Chamber music groups in strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion

Clubs

  • Curtain Call (music theater review)
  • CWMEA (Collegiate Washington Music Educators' Association)
  • Garden Level (male a cappella)
  • MuSAC (Music Student Advisory Committee)
  • Logger Pep Band
  • Pianist's Guild
  • Sigma Alpha Iota (women's music fraternity)
  • The Timberfolk (a cappella quartet)
  • Underground Sound (a cappella)
  • What She Said (a cappella)

Students

  • General students: 15-17 percent of the student body participates in the School of Music through ensembles, productions, lessons, and classes.
  • Community Music: Over 500 students from the Puget Sound region enrolled weekly through traditional studio instruction, Kindermusik, Suzuki violin and piano, chamber music, musical theater, and harp ensemble.

Faculty and Staff

  • Full-time faculty and their teaching areas: 11
  • Part-time faculty: 26
  • Professional staff: 6

Community Music

  • 52 part-time faculty positions covering piano, organ, strings, voice, woodwinds, brass, percussion, chamber music, Kindermusik, Suzuki, musical theater, and harp ensemble.

Workshops

  • Master Classes & Lectures by Visiting Artists
  • Conductors' Workshop
  • Northwest Honor Choir
  • Clinics for Visiting High Schools and Groups

Facilities: Music Building

  • Classrooms: 3, two of which are "smart" classrooms
  • Rehearsal Halls: 2 (instrumental, choral; the choral rehearsal hall is also a "smart" classroom)
  • Performance Halls: 2 (Schneebeck Concert Hall, seating 500; Kilworth Chapel, seating 330)
  • Teaching studios and offices: 27
  • Keyboard Lab with 14 Kurzweil keyboards, 10 of which are digital audio workstations with Pro Tools and digital audio interfaces
  • Recording spaces and equipment: Schneebeck Concert Hall, Lawrence Ebert Recording Studio, choral rehearsal hall
  • Practice Rooms: 28 including special practice rooms:
    • Rooms reserved for advanced pianists, organists, (in addition to the Bethel Schneebeck organ), and harpsichordists. Pianists have the opportunity to perform on our fortepiano, a modern copy of a Viennese fortepiano from the 1780s.
    • Rooms for chamber group practice
    • Percussion studio
    • "V-Room," a unique room designed by the Wenger Corporation in which the acoustic properties of the room change through a system of microphones, speakers, and sensors.
  • Other spaces: student lounge, green room, kitchen, music score library, music office, community music office

Collins Memorial Library

  • Music Books: 11,383 titles
  • Scores: 5,921 titles
  • Media (Videos, DVDs, CDs): 6,971 titles
  • Music Periodicals: 376 titles (Including electronic full text journals)
  • Primo is the library's search tool for books, videos, journal articles, and more. The default scope includes everything at Collins Library and Summit, a catalog of Northwest academic libraries. Physical resources in Summit may be borrowed via a courier system. Inter-library loan is available for items not available at Collins or Summit. The city of Tacoma also has an excellent public library system, and faculty may arrange for borrowing privileges at the University of Washington (approximately 50 minutes away). The University of Washington's holdings are also available through Primo
  • Among the library’s online music sources are: Naxos Music Library (an online subscription service to more than 90,000 recordings), Oxford Music Online, the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, the Oxford History of Western Music, RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, and Music and the Performing Arts.