The
center of musical life at UMF, as well as for the surrounding community, is
Nordica Auditorium, a beautiful 400-seat concert hall that was the site,
nearly one hundred years ago, of a gala performance by Lillian Nordica,
world-renowned opera singer born in a farmhouse a couple miles outside of
town, who had returned home to share her gifts with her old friends and
neighbors. A large oil portrait of her hangs on the wall, as if
listening (with pleasure, one hopes!) to the hall's many years of amateur and
professional music-making. On Monday through Thursday nights during the
school year, UMF's large ensembles--chorus, chamber choir, orchestra, and
band--use the auditorium for rehearsals. Besides the serious work of
preparing for concerts, the rehearsals are also social occasions, bringing
students, faculty, and local community people together in a common purpose.
This participation of people with a wide range of ages, abilities, and
experiences is an important aspect of the UMF music program. A UMF student
might find herself singing a Schubert mass with one of her professors on one
side and a fellow dorm resident on the other. A clarinetist majoring in
psychology might sit in the orchestra next to a local doctor.
Of course, the ensembles are only one part of music at
UMF. Students can take private lessons in guitar, voice, piano, violin,
saxophone, and other instruments, or enroll in the piano class and learn
keyboard skills at one of the ten electronic keyboards in our piano lab.
There are courses in theory and composition, ear training and sight-singing.
Music
history offerings range from survey courses such as "Music from
Beethoven to the Present" and "History of Jazz" to more specialized or
interdisciplinary subjects such as "Men, Women, and Pianos," or "Nietzsche and
Wagner."
There are several options for students wishing to pursue a degree in music at UMF. The B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies with a Music/Arts Concentration combines a 30-credit music core with courses in art, dance, and theater. A similar degree is the one in Music/Arts Administration, with a mix of business and music courses that could prepare the student for any number of careers in music management or business. More individualized majors can also be created: students in the past have combined music with such areas as psychology, creative writing, and philosophy. There is an 18-credit music minor, and Elementary Education majors may elect music as their liberal arts concentration. Follow the links below for more information about the UMF music program.