The Department of Music

Grand Valley State University is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music. The Music Department offers curricula leading to the B.A., B.M., and B.M.E. degrees. These programs present music in the context of a broad liberal education, provide a course of study for the exceptionally gifted student who is interested in performance, composition, music technology, private studio teaching, or further graduate study, and prepares both vocal and instrumental students for careers in elementary and secondary school teaching. Additionally, the Music Department is committed to providing cultural enrichment to students in all departments and to serving the university community by providing appropriate musical support for all facets of academic life.

The music and dance faculty consists of 24 full-time faculty and 40 adjunct or part-time faculty. Most of the part-time teachers are specialists on one or more instruments.

The Department of Music has approximately 225 majors and minors and is housed in GVSU's Performing Arts Center (PAC). Available facilities include the Louis Armstrong Theatre, which seats 500, the 100-seat Sherman Van Solkema Recital Hall was added in 1997, along with fourteen new teaching studios for individual performance instruction, and a doubling of practice rooms, to make a total of 26 well-equipped rooms. Four large ensemble rehearsal rooms now occupy the south wing of the PAC, one for instrumental ensembles, another for choral ensembles, one for percussion teaching and rehearsals, and one for jazz, sectionals, and chamber music. In additon, a new dance wing was added in 2001 and includes two spacious studios with Spring marley floors, a quadraphonic sound system, large locker/dressing rooms, and four faculty offices. A third concert auditorium, which seats 250 in the neighboring Cook-DeWitt Center, is also much used for student and faculty performances. This hall houses the Jay and Betty Van Andel 28-rank Reuter pipe organ, used for lessons and organ recitals. The Cook Carillon Tower houses the 48-bell Cook Carillon, cast by Royal Eijsbouts Bell Foundry in the Netherlands.

The GVSU Digital Music and Video Lab consists of 23 specialized DSP/MIDI workstations running on G4 Macintosh computers with 12 stations setup as video editing workstations  with dual monitors.

For audio and video recording/editing and processing, computers have installed on them ProTools, Reason, Waves, Apple's Final Cut Pro HD Production Suite including Soundtrack and Motion.

For composition and music theory and training, Finale and Digital Peformer are available for student use.

Entering freshmen and transfer students will be required to take a theory placement and keyboard musicianship placement exams.

In addition to completing a successful audition before admission, a second screening is conducted before admission to upper-division courses. This evaluation includes performance, faculty recommendations, a profile of teaching competencies, a brief essay, and an interview with department faculty.

Scholarships

In addition to scholarship and aid packages based upon need, Music Honors Scholarships and other talent-based scholarships ranging up to $4000 per year are awarded from the Gierst-Egler Band, Fine Arts, Chamber Orchestra, and jazz scholarship funds. For information about the general aid packages, contact the Director of Financial Aid. For information about music talent awards, contact the Department of Music.