Do you have a good teacher for the instrument I play? What about composing? What else do you have?
May I play in an ensemble or take private lessons even if I am not majoring in music?
What ensembles do you have at St. Mary’s College of Maryland?
There are also student-run groups (gospel choir, a cappella vocal groups). And there are a number of student rock bands.
How do I get into an instrumental ensemble?
If you are interested in student-run groups, ask around, or check with the SGA (student government association) for music groups that are incorporated as clubs.
How do I get into any of the choirs? What about private voice lessons?
How do I get private instrumental lessons?
How do I find out about the place and time for auditions for getting into ensembles or for private lessons?
As noted above, the auditions for chamber singers, choir, and private vocal lessons occur as a single audition, and the time for these auditions (usually two times during the first week of classes) is posted on bulletin boards along the music hallway and in the glass case outside of MH Room 25.
If information is missing or unclear, you can check with the Music Office (MH 23). The person in there will be able to help you.
I am trying to choose between a conservatory and a liberal arts college. Will I find enough high-level performance activity at St. Mary’s College of Maryland to prepare me for a career as a performer?
Two of the most exciting parts of our program, though, are in the summer – and these set us apart dramatically from other small colleges. We begin each summer in Italy. Our performance program moves to Alba, in Northern Italy, to participate in the International Alba Music Festival. Concerts are given in the town’s 400-seat performing arts center, numerous small and large churches, and in the auditorium of the Ferrero chocolate factory. Typically, we will give something like twenty concerts in eleven days. The music festival is organized as a joint venture between the St. Mary’s College and the Piemonte town of Alba, with students and faculty from St. Mary’s College, plus featured artists and musicians from the United States and throughout Europe and Asia. Please contact Jeffrey Silberschlag if you have questions about that.
The rest of the summer features our River Concert Series. At the center is a six-concert series by the Chesapeake Orchestra, an excellent professional group with our teachers sitting in the principal chairs. The orchestra is put together based on the model for many festival orchestras, including the Aspen Festival Orchestra, where the players are at a professional or advanced level. Our students, as appropriate, are hired to play in these concerts, giving them the opportunity both for summer employment and for a chance to play music from the heart of the standard repertoire at a high level in a situation where they work in an orchestra together with their private lesson teacher. Throughout the summer, there are other related music activities. Click HERE for more information about the River Concert Series.
Can I get teaching certification in music at St. Mary’s College of Maryland?
I play an instrument and I am thinking about being a music major. I do not want to pursue a performing career, though. What are my options?
What can my major be in the St. Mary’s College of Maryland music department?
How do I get a music scholarship?
Do I have to audition to be admitted?
What do music graduates from St. Mary’s College of Maryland do with their degrees?
I think I would like to earn a minor in music. Is this possible?
I am a jazz musician. Do you have a teacher or a program for me?
St. Mary’s has an eighteen-piece jazz band and jazz combo. Beyond that, there is a lot of opportunity for music study and involvement at St. Mary’s We also offer credit courses in improvisation, and the history of jazz (The Jazz Makers) plus the full range of traditional theory, orchestration, electronic music, music history, conducting, and music education courses. There is also a very active “underground” music scene here consisting of students performing in the small bars, clubs, and in student-generated activities.
I sang and acted in musicals in high school. Do you have this kind of activity at St. Mary’s College of Maryland?
As in most colleges and universities, Music and Dramatic Arts are completely different departments, with different outlooks and philosophies. And yet, every year we put on a Broadway-style cabaret evening, with students performing popular songs accompanied by a jazz combo; and every three or four years, we combine forces to put on a musical. Recent productions have included “Working,” “Hair,” “Three Penny Opera,” and “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum.” Our vocal teachers have techniques based in the traditions of classical music, but they also have ability in and knowledge of Broadway and other popular styles. People interested in musical theater are perhaps best served at St. Mary’s College of Maryland by pursuing a double major (Music and Dramatic Arts). They come away with a solid and thorough training in classical music and traditional theater, and so, find themselves with a rich and varied background that widens horizons and increases post-graduate opportunities.