Department of Music
Mission
The mission of the music department is to develop within students excellence in creating, performing, and appreciating music. The program serves the total student body by providing ensembles, lessons, and courses, which are open to all students. Also, the program makes available to the student body concerts and recitals throughout the year in the Swayne Auditorium and other auditoriums on campus.
Faculty
Philip Miller (Department Chair), John Dally, Julia Ganske, Judy Marlett, Krista Jo Miller, Luis Palacios
Student Learning Outcomes
- Students will demonstrate excellence in performing music at a level appropriate for the particular music concentration.
- Students will demonstrate the ability to gain meaningful employment in the field of music.
- Students will demonstrate the ability to work on musical problems through an understanding of the common elements, history, and organizational patterns of music.
- Students will demonstrate the ability to create original or derivative music.
- Students will demonstrate an ability to invest (empathetically and) redemptively into the areas of their particular music concentration.
Degrees and Certificates
-
Commercial Music, Bachelor of Arts -
Music: Applied Concentration, Bachelor of Arts -
Music: General, Bachelor of Arts -
Music Education, Bachelor of Arts -
Musical Theatre, Bachelor of Arts -
Worship Arts, Bachelor of Arts -
Acting, Minor -
Commercial Music, Minor -
Music, Minor -
Worship Arts, Minor
Courses
MUSC0250: Concert/Recital Attendance
Credits 0Music majors are required to attend a minimum of 10 concerts and recitals each semester, providing exposure to a wide variety of performances and repertoire.
MUSC0900: Fundamentals of Music
Credits 2Topics include music reading and conceptualizing, treble and bass clef notation, simple and compound time signatures, rhythmic notation, melodic notation, Solfège singing and Finale music notation software use. This class is required for those scoring below 75% on the Basics of Music pre-test. Offered Quad 1 Fall Semester. Credit for courses numbered below 1000 is not transferable.
MUSC1010: A Survey of Art and Music
Credits 3MUSC1200: Beginning Music Theory I
Credits 2MUSC1210: Beginning Music Theory I Laboratory
Credits 1MUSC1220: Beginning Music Theory II
Credits 3MUSC1230: Beginning Music Theory II Laboratory
Credits 1MUSC1310: Digital Music and Technology
Credits 3MUSC2020: Survey of Performing Arts
Credits 3MUSC2094: Special Topics
Credits 1 3MUSC2096: Field Experience in Worship Arts
Credits 1MUSC2110: Introduction to Worship Arts and Leadership
Credits 3MUSC2200: Intermediate Music Theory I
Credits 3MUSC2210: Intermediate Music Theory I Lab
Credits 1MUSC2220: Intermediate Music Theory II
Credits 3MUSC2230: Intermediate Music Theory II Lab
Credits 1MUSC2250: Private Music Instruction in Instrument or Voice
Credits 1 2Private instruction in piano, voice, organ, strings, percussion, woodwind or brass instruments. May be repeated for credit. Fee: Additional fee required.
MUSC2251: Private Music Instruction in Instrument or Voice for the Music Major
Credits 1 2Private instruction in piano, voice, organ, strings, percussion, woodwind or brass instruments. Weekly 30- or 60-minute lesson, weekly Master Class and jury examination required. May be repeated for credit. Fee: Additional fee required.
MUSC2270: Music and Creativity
Credits 2Students will engage in traditional and innovative approaches to music-making. Students will explore diverse music and cultures, including world music, popular music, and jazz, and develop skills in music creation, improvisation, and facilitation.
MUSC2350B: Brass Methods
Credits 1Private or group instruction on one high and one low brass instrument, emphasizing the requisite skills to direct school instrumental programs. Fee: Additional fee required.
MUSC2350P: Percussion Methods
Credits 1Private or group percussion instruction emphasizing the requisite skills to direct school instrumental programs. Fee: Additional fee required.
MUSC2350S: String Methods
Credits 1Private or group instruction on two string instruments emphasizing the requisite skills to direct school string programs. Fee: Additional fee required.
MUSC2350W: Woodwind Methods
Credits 1Private or group instruction on two woodwind instruments emphasizing the requisite skills to direct school instrumental programs. Fee: Additional fee required.
MUSC2370: Bella Voce
Credits 0 1Women's choir whose membership is open to non-majors as well as majors. Personnel chosen by audition. May be repeated for credit. Fee: Additional fee required.
MUSC2371: University Men's Choir
Credits 0 1Audition for placement in the appropriate section. Choir sings in music department concerts, chapels, and selected churches and community events. May be repeated for credit. Fee: Additional fee required.
MUSC2420: Musical Theatre Production/Opera Workshop
Credits 0 1MUSC2430: Jazz Combos
Credits 0 1A jazz ensemble with vocalists and instrumentalists chosen by audition, with a broad repertoire of jazz and popular music. Membership open to non-majors as well as majors. Fee: Additional fee required.
MUSC2440: Orchestra
Credits 0 1An ensemble that performs varied works for both full and string orchestra. Repertoire includes works from the Baroque era to the 21st Century. Additionally, string players perform and tour with the University Choir and Orchestra. The group is open to all NNU students and may be repeated.
MUSC2450: Chamber Ensemble
Credits 0 1MUSC2460: Wind Ensemble
Credits 0 1An ensemble that performs a wide variety of wind band literature, including traditional and contemporary works. The group is open to all NNU students and may be repeated. Fee: Additional fee required.
MUSC2490: University Choir and Orchestra
Credits 0 1An ensemble of select personnel chosen by audition. Ensemble's aims are to perform a variety of choral/orchestral literature from classical to contemporary. Membership open to majors and non-majors. May be repeated for credit. Fee: Additional fee required.
MUSC2620: Stagecraft
Credits 2MUSC2630: Stagecraft Lab
Credits 1MUSC2660: Dance Technique
Credits 1MUSC2950: Field Experience in Music Management
Credits 1MUSC2960: Field Experience in Audio Production
Credits 1MUSC3096: Field Experience in Worship Arts
Credits 1MUSC3099: Independent Study - Methods
Credits 3A study of repertoire and pedagogy relevant to applied individual instrumental instruction
MUSC3200: Practicum in Worship Planning and Leadership
Credits 3MUSC3210: Orchestration
Credits 3MUSC3220: Counterpoint
Credits 3MUSC3230: Composition
Credits 3MUSC3260: Music History: Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque
Credits 3MUSC3270: Music History: Classic, Romantic and Modern
Credits 3MUSC3430: Performance Practices
Credits 1MUSC3440: Diction
Credits 3A study of Italian, German, French, and English diction employing the International Phonetic Alphabet.
MUSC3450: Teaching Music in the Elementary Schools I
Credits 2This class focuses on the major approaches to music education including Kodaly, Orff, Gordon's Music Learning Theory, Dalcroze, and Suzuki. This course includes a field experience.
MUSC3460: Teaching Music in the Elementary Schools II
Credits 2This class focuses on the application of the learning theories presented in MUSC3450, procedures, and objectives in school music in the primary and intermediate grades. This course includes a classroom field experience and technology-intensive lesson component.
MUSC3470: Teaching Music in the Secondary Schools I
Credits 2This class focuses on strategies for instrumental/choral rehearsals and classrooms, materials, tools, and curricular structure common to the subject in the secondary schools.
MUSC3480: Teaching Music in the Secondary Schools II
Credits 2This class focuses on assessment and lesson planning in the secondary music rehearsal and classroom, as well as music advocacy, fund-raising, and program development issues. It will include a significant classroom field experience and a technology-intensive lesson component.
MUSC3490: Choral Methods
Credits 3Designed to help prepare students to become effective choral ensemble directors. Students will develop effective ensemble rehearsal strategies, including anticipating, identifying, and addressing intonation, pitches and rhythmic accuracy, balance and blend, technical challenges, and style and interpretation. Students will also focus on vocal production and technique and other vocal-specific topics.
MUSC3500: Northwesterners
Credits 0 1A small vocal ensemble of select personnel chosen by audition. Ensemble will perform vocal jazz, contemporary Christian and a cappella literature. Membership open to majors and non-majors. May be repeated for credit. Fee: Additional fee required.
MUSC3600: Basic Conducting
Credits 2MUSC3610: Advanced Conducting
Credits 2MUSC3630: Advanced Conducting, Instrumental Methods, and Materials
Credits 3Introduction to instrumental conducting, including rehearsal techniques, and band and orchestral score reading. Additional topics include development of instrumental methods and finding instrumental music of various styles, genres, and cultures.
MUSC3640: Musical Theatre Styles Workshop
Credits 2MUSC3650: Studio and Live Sound
Credits 3MUSC3660: Musical Theatre History
Credits 3An overview of the history of theatre and the subsequent development of musical theatre as its own distinct subgenre. Plays and musicals will be studied in detail during the course.
MUSC3750: Symphonic Literature
Credits 1MUSC3910: Solo Recital for Music Education
Credits 0This public performance credit fulfills a music degree requirement for Music Education candidates. This recital consists of at least 30 and no more than 45 minutes of solo repertoire (actual performance time). The program must represent at least three art music periods (three languages for voice recitals), including one work for small ensemble (defined as three or more performers without a conductor). Students must achieve advanced standing in their major performing area before gaining permission to schedule their recital. The student is responsible for registering for the semester of the recital.
MUSC4000: Music Capstone Seminar
Credits 1This course will help students reflect on their undergraduate experience and plan for the future. Designated class sessions will be geared toward discussion, and result in written reflections on University Values.
MUSC4094: Special Topics
Credits 1 3MUSC4100: Forms and Analysis
Credits 3A study of standard musical forms in music from the common practice period to the present.
MUSC4250: Private Instruction in Instrument or Voice
Credits 1 2Private instruction in piano, voice, organ, strings, percussion, woodwind or brass instruments. Available to juniors and seniors who have reached an appropriate level of proficiency. May be repeated for credit. Fee: Additional fee required.
MUSC4251: Private Instruction in Instrument or Voice for the Music Major
Credits 1 2Private instruction in piano, voice, organ, strings, percussion, woodwind or brass instruments. Weekly 30 or 60 minute lesson, weekly Master Class and jury examination required. May be repeated for credit. Fee: Additional fee required.
MUSC4370: Bella Voce
Credits 0 1Women's choir whose membership is open to non-majors as well as majors. Personnel chosen by audition. May be repeated for credit. Fee: Additional fee required.
MUSC4371: University Men's Choir
Credits 0 1Audition for placement in appropriate section. Choir sings in music department concerts, chapels, selected churches and community events. May be repeated for credit. Fee: Additional fee required.
MUSC4390: Piano Methods
Credits 3MUSC4410: Voice Methods
Credits 3A study of voice production, teaching methods and repertoire for the various voice classifications.
MUSC4420: Musical Theatre Production/Opera Workshop
Credits 0 1MUSC4430: Jazz Combos
Credits 0 1A jazz ensemble with vocalists and instrumentalists chosen by audition, with a broad repertoire of jazz and popular music. May be repeated for credit.
MUSC4440: Orchestra
Credits 0 1An ensemble that performs varied works for both full and string orchestra. Repertoire includes works from the Baroque era to the 21st Century. Additionally, string players perform and tour with the University Choir and Orchestra. The group is open to all NNU students and may be repeated. Fees: Additional fee required.
MUSC4450: Chamber Ensemble
Credits 0 1MUSC4460: Wind Ensemble
Credits 0 1The Northwest Nazarene University Wind Ensemble is a course of membership in the largest instrumental ensemble of the Department of Music. Most wind and percussion instruments are represented in the ensemble. Membership is open to proficient non-majors as well as majors. May be repeated for credit. Initial auditions each year are primarily for chair placement.
MUSC4490: University Choir and Orchestra
Credits 0 1An ensemble of select personnel chosen by audition. Ensemble's aims are to perform a variety of choral/orchestral literature from classical to contemporary. Membership open to majors and non-majors. May be repeated for credit.
MUSC4600: Musical Theatre Capstone Seminar
Credits 1MUSC4660: Dance Technique
Credits 1MUSC4950A: Internship in Church Music
Credits 1 2MUSC4980: Seminar: Music Business Management
Credits 3THTR1260: Acting I: Intro to Acting
Credits 3THTR1270: Introduction to Directing
Credits 3THTR2260: Acting II: Acting in Realism
Credits 3A continuation of Acting I: Intro to Acting, this course is designed to further explore the actor's art, and continue to develop the individual's technique.
THTR2470: Troupe
Credits 0 2Auditioned ensemble which will form the core of NNU’s theatre production. Members commit to a twice-weekly meeting time designed to foster ensemble and to build, staff and act in the production season. Production responsibilities will be assigned through consultation between the student and instructor. Intended for the student who wants a more intense and immersive experience in theater production than participation in a play or musical can provide. May be repeated for credit.
THTR2480: Theatre Production
Credits 0 1Hands-on involvement in the performing of a theatrical production, including acting, costuming, stage lighting, set construction and theatre management. May be repeated for credit.
THTR3260: Acting III: Shakespeare
Credits 3THTR4260: Acting IV: Departures from Realism
Credits 3THTR4470: Troupe
Credits 0 2Auditioned ensemble which will form the core of NNU’s theatre production. Members commit to a twice-weekly meeting time designed to foster ensemble and to build, staff and act in the production season. Production responsibilities will be assigned through consultation between the student and instructor. Intended for the student who wants a more intense and immersive experience in theater production than participation in a play or musical can provide. May be repeated for credit.
THTR4480: Theatre Production
Credits 0 1Hands-on involvement in the performing of a theatrical production, including acting, costuming, stage lighting, set construction and theatre management. May be repeated for credit.