2022-2023
Fall 2022 Undergraduate Courses
MUSI 1310 Basic Musical Skills
Ben Rous
3.0 credits
MWF / 10:00-10:50 am / OCH 107
Class Number: 10691
Study of the rudiments of music and training in the ability to read music. Prerequisite: No previous knowledge of music required.
MUSI 2110 Listening to Everyday Life: Community, Improvisation, Play(ing)
Michelle Kisliuk
3.0 credits
MW / 2:00-3:15 / Maury 115
Class Number: 19594
This course starts with the idea that engaging interactively -- honing our ability to listen (as most broadly defined) sets us up to be involved fully in the life around us. Listening and reflecting on daily experience, then applying that refined sensibility, leads us into interactive communities that can create things together. We will explore listening in daily life from many angles that include everyday field research, reading, writing, and discussion. We will experiment with group performance exploring ideas about improvisation and uniting the aesthetic sphere with the broader sphere of social life and collective engagement.
MUSI 2302 Keyboard Skills (Beginning)
2.0 credits, instructor permission
Section 1 (John Mayhood): TR / 11:00 am - 12:15 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 10693
Section 2 (Hannah Young): TR / 12:30-1:45 pm/ OCH 113
Class Number: 11674
Introductory keyboard skills; includes sight-reading, improvisation, and accompaniment at the keyboard in a variety of styles. No previous knowledge of music required. Satisfies the performance requirement for music majors.
MUSI 2307 Play Guitar! 1
Mike Rosensky
2.0 credits
MW / 1:00-1:50 pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 13624
Fundamentals of playing guitar, with an emphasis on rhythmic training along with some music theory. This class will start from scratch and is meant for beginners. Experienced guitarists are encouraged to enroll in Level 2 which will be offered in the spring.
MUSI 2308 Voice Class
Pamela Beasley
2.0 credits
MW / 4:00-4:50 pm / OCH 107
Class Number: 13627
An introductory course to basic vocal technique; discussion to include those elements essential for healthy singing in a variety of styles. Will involve group and solo singing to apply these elements. No previous voice training or musical background required.
MUSI 2340 Learn to Groove
Robert Jospe
2.0 credits
Section 1: MW / 10:00-10:50 am / Hunter Smith Band Building
Class Number: 12959
Section 2: MW / 11:00-11:50 am / Hunter Smith Band Building
Class Number: 12960
"Learn to Groove" hand drumming and rhythmic fluency with Robert Jospe. This is a hands on drumming/percussion class using congas, djembes, claves, shakers, etc. This class is designed to enhance ones knowledge of syncopated patterns associated with jazz, rock, African and Latin American music and to improve ones facility in playing these patterns. This course will follow my book "Learn To Groove" and can include music students, non music students and is open to students of all skill levels. The course requires that students have or purchase a hand drum of their own. Congas, bongos, djembes, doumbeks or any other hand drums are appropriate.
MUSI 2342 Learn to Groove Intermediate
Robert Jospe
2.0 credits
MW / 1:00-1:50 pm / Hunter Smith Band Building
Class Number: 12961
"Learn to Groove" hand drumming and rhythmic fluency with Robert Jospe. This is the intermediate level of the class. It is a hands on drumming/percussion class using congas, djembes, claves, shakers, etc. This class is designed to enhance ones knowledge of syncopated patterns associated with jazz, rock, African and Latin American music and to improve ones facility in playing these patterns.
MUSI 2350 Technosonics: Digital Music and Sound Art Composition
Luke Dahl
3.0 credits
Section 100: MW / 11:00-11:50 am
Class Number: 13465
Discussion Sections:
Section 101 (Katie King): M / 9:00-9:50 am / CAB 268
Class Number: 13466
Section 102 (Katie King): M / 10:00-10:50 am / CAB 268
Class Number: 13467
Section 103 (Katie King): M / 1:00-1:50 pm / CAB 268
Class Number: 13468
Section 104 (Becky Brown): T / 11:00-11:50 am / CAB 268
Class Number: 13469
Section 105 (Becky Brown): T / 12:00-12:50 pm / CAB 268
Class Number: 13470
Section 106 (Varun Kishore): T / 1:00-1:50 pm / CAB 268
Class Number: 13471
Section 107 (Becky Brown): W / 9:00-9:50 am / CAB 268
Class Number: 13472
Section 108 (Becky Brown): W / 10:00-10:50 am / CAB 268
Class Number: 13473
Section 109 (Becky Brown): W / 1:00-1:50 pm / CAB 268
Class Number: 13474
Section 113 (Siavash Mohebbi): F / 10:00-10:50 am / MEC 215
Class Number: 18659
Section 114 (Siavash Mohebbi): F / 11:00-11:50 am/ MEC 215
Class Number: 18660
Section 115 (Siavash Mohebbi): F / 12:00-12:50 pm/ MEC 215
Class Number: 18661
This class (www.technosonics.info) explores the history, theory and practice of digital music and sound art. Students learn tools and techniques of music technology that inform many genres and traditions. In addition to historical and theoretical concerns, students will experiment with digital tools for musical creation.
MUSI 2559 New Course in Music
Topic: Motown vs Everybody: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
JoVia Armstrong
3.0 credits
MW / 11:00-11:50 / CAB 485
Class Number: 21247
Discussion Sections:
Section 101 (Carlehr Swanson): R / 9:30-10:20 am / OCH S008
Class Number: 21248
Section 102 (Carlehr Swanson): R / 10:30-11:20 am / OCH S008
Class Number: 21249
Section 103 (Carlehr Swanson): R / 11:30 am - 12:20 pm / OCH S008
Class Number: 21250
This course reviews the history of Motown Recording Company beginning with the Great Migration and examines how Motown helped shape today’s record industry. We will explore topics around artist social responsibility, law, mental health, and technology. Students will also compare how black social movements influenced and reflected the music of Motown, Stax Records, and Philadelphia International Records.
MUSI 2600 Jazz Improvisation
John D'earth
3.0 credits
TR / 3:30-5:00 pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 11474
The Jazz Improvisation Workshop explores the basic techniques and procedures for improvising in jazz and other musical contexts. No previous jazz or improvising experience is required but students must demonstrate a degree of fluency on their main instrument, an ability to read music and some familiarity with the basics of music theory. An individual interview/audition with the instructor is required before registering for this class.
MUSI 2993: Independent Study
1.0 - 3.0 credits
Instructor permission and instructor number required to enroll.
MUSI 3020 Studies in 17th- & 18th-Century Music
Richard Will
3.0 credits
TR / 11:00 am - 12:15 pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 14325
This class imparts essential tools for understanding music from the years 1680-1800. We will study numerous musical examples, ranging from symphony and opera to folk song and free improv for keyboard, by composers including but not limited to Handel, Haydn, Vivaldi, De la Guerre, Mozart, Gluck, and J.S. Bach (and his kids). We will examine composition, improvisation, text-setting, dramatic staging, the religious expression, and performance, and we will also read what writers of the time said about music. The goal is to help you form your own opinions and interpretations of 18th-century music—not just the examples on the syllabus, but the many others you may encounter as a performer, composer, or listener.
MUSI 3050 Music and Discourse
3.0 credits
Section 1: Scott DeVeaux / MWF / 1:00-1:50pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 13049
Section 2: Karl Miller / MWF / 10:00-10:50am / OCH B012
Class Number: 18323
Studies the range of music that has flourished since the end of the 19th century including modernist and post-modern art music, popular music, and world music, through historical, critical, and ethnographic approaches.
MUSI 3310 Theory I
3.0 credits
Section 1 (Scott DeVeaux): MWF / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH B012
Class Number: 13478
Section 2 (Sam Golter): MWF / 10:00-10:50 am / OCH 113
Class Number: 13676
Studies the pitch and rhythmic aspects of several musical styles, including European art music, blues, African drumming, and popular music. Focuses on concepts and notation related to scales and modes, harmony, meter, form, counterpoint, and style.
MUSI 3332 and 3334 Musicianship I and II
2.0 credit
These lab courses give practical experience with many aspects of musical perception, performance, and creation. These will include sight-reading and sight-singing; dictation of melody, rhythm, and harmony; aural identification of intervals, chords, and rhythmic patterns; and exercises in musical memory and improvisation. Lectures, dictations, exercises, and quizzes will be in person on Mondays and Wednesdays. Singing and rhythm practice will be online on Fridays, and most homework assignments will also be completed online. Please contact Prof. Adam Carter with questions or concerns.
MUSI 3332 Musicianship I
Adam Carter
MWF / 12:00-12:50 pm / OCH 107
Class Number: 10694
MUSI 3334 Musicianship II
Dilshan Weerasinghe
MWF / 12:00-12:50 pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 12011
MUSI 3350 Deep Listening
Fred Maus
1.0 credit
W / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH 113
Class Number: 13518
Exploration of collective activities that involve listening and making sound together, and other interactions, at the intersection of music-making and contemplative practices, drawing on the work of Pauline Oliveros, the Fluxus artists, and other musicians and thinkers. Weekly reading assignments for conceptualization in relation to the experiential component; weekly email responses to readings along with several brief reflective papers.
MUSI 3370 Songwriting
Corey Harris
3.0 credits
TR / 2:00-3:15 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 13479
The goal of this course is to delve into songwriting; to develop your aural, analytic and creative abilities and to join them together in understanding and composing songs. You will learn about rhythm, melodic design, harmonic progression, lyrics and song forms. You will also work on eartraining, so that concepts you learn will be sonically meaningful. We will consider examples from a broad musical spectrum: blues, folk, tin pan alley, musicals, R & B, rock & roll, hip hop. We will also discuss the issues that songwriters encounter. You will have the opportunity to suggest songs for study, and some assignments will be done in groups. In these situations, we will organize groups that have complementary abilities for in-class performances.
MUSI 3372 Writing Rap
A.D. Carson
3.0 credits
TR / 8:00-9:15 am / New Cabell 398
Class Number: 13623
This course focuses on the craft of writing raps. It is not necessary that students have previous experience writing raps to take this course. Students will listen to, attempt to deconstruct, and evaluate a broad range of rap music while learning the basics of composing lyrics. Along with writing raps, students will learn songwriting techniques and some theoretical approaches to composing larger works such as a “mixtape” or “album” through examinations of music, criticism, and literature.
MUSI 3380 Introduction to Composition
Michele Zaccagnini
3.0 credits
Lecture: TR / 9:30-10:45 am / OCH 107
Class Number: 18675
Discussion Sections:
Lab 101 (Brian Lindgren): W / 9:00-9:50 am / OCH B011
Class Number: 20078
Lab 102 (Brian Lindgren): W / 10:00-10:50 am / OCH B011
Class Number: 20079
Lab 103 (Brian Lindgren): W / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH B011
Class Number: 20080
This course explores compositional techniques in Western concert music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Students will explore and experiment with innovative approaches to harmony, rhythm, timbre, texture, and compositional form. We will improvise, listen to, analyze, and discuss new music and compositional techniques. The goal of this course is to expose you to multiple compositional techniques and let you experiment! Coursework will primarily focus on creative and composition exercises, as well as readings, listening, analyses, and short writing assignments. Students will learn to compose in varying styles and will apply their knowledge towards a final composition project.
Prerequisite: MUSI 3310. The course can be repeated for credit with approval of instructor.
MUSI 3390 Introduction to Computers and Music
Michele Zaccagnini
3.0 credits
TR / 11:00-12:15 am / OCH 107
Class Number: 18676
Discussion Sections:
Lab 101 (Matias Vilaplana): M / 9:00-9:50 am / OCH B011
Class Number: 14329
Lab 102 (Matias Vilaplana): M / 10:00-10:50 am / OCH B011
Class Number: 14330
Lab 103 (Matias Vilaplana): M / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH B011
Class Number: 14331
Introduction to Music and Computers in an upper-level introductory course in music technology. Students gain theoretical, historical and practical knowledge of electronic and computer music. An emphasis is placed on creative hands-on experience composing computer music. Theoretical topics include acoustics, recording, digital audio, MIDI, sound synthesis, and audio DSP. Students learn skills in sound-file editing, multitrack sound mixing, sound synthesis, and sound processing. This is a composition class and key assignments are creative in nature.
Prerequisite: MUSI 3310. The course can be repeated for credit with approval of instructor.
MUSI 3410 Orchestration I: Anatomy of the Orchestra
Ben Rous
3.0 credits
MWF / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH 107
Class Number: 18669
This course will examine the symphony orchestra in detail, equipping students with all necessary skills to arrange or compose for any ensemble. We will learn the capabilities of every orchestral instrument, and study how they are combined by master composers. Students will create arrangements for string quartet, woodwind quintet, and full orchestra. The majority of these projects will receive readings by ensembles.
Projects may be completed with notation software or may be handwritten. No previous composition or arranging experience is necessary, but fluency in musical notation and familiarity with the basics of music theory are required.
MUSI 3510 Music and Community Engagement
Topic: Sound Justice as Community Engagement
Bonnie Gordon and Nomi Dave
3.0 credits
TR / 9:30-10:45 am / Wilson 117
Class Number: 18674
This yearlong community engagement class explores connections between sound, listening, and the law. How do legal proceedings play out in sound? What does the law hear – and what does it not? How do artists and ordinary people use voice to respond to legal failures? In exploring these and other questions, student will directly engage with the Sound Justice Lab and its ongoing projects, relating to issues such as reproductive justice, defamation lawsuits against journalists, gender equity and refugees, and the use of rap lyrics as criminal evidence. Students will meet with lawyers, artists, and social justice practitioners in Charlottesville and beyond, and will have the opportunity to produce research and creative work. Course materials will include court cases and transcripts, music, film, novels, and academic articles. The class can be used to fulfill the music major requirements but musical experience is not necessary.
This is a year-long course through the College’s Civic & Community Engagement Program. Students are not permitted to enroll for just one semester.
MUSI 3559 New Course in Music
Topic: History of US Popular Music
Karl Miller
3.0 credits
MW / 2:00-3:15 pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 18671
MUSI 3570 Music Cultures
Topic: Curating Sound: Art, Ethnography, and Community Practice
Noel Lobley
3.0 credits
MW / 2:00-3:15 pm / Bond 106
Class Number: 14253
This practical and discovery-driven design course explores the intersections of curatorial practice, sound studies, ethnography, composition, sound art, and community arts practice, through a series of engagements linking archival collections, local and international artists and art and community spaces, and the method and philosophies of embodied and experiential deep listening. Drawing from both the histories and potential affordances of sound curation we engage with practical examples ranging from sub-Saharan Africa to Australia, from Europe to New York, and right back here to the Charlottesville and UVA communities, asking what it means to curate local sound within globalized arts circuits. We will explore multiple and diverse case studies where artists, curators, communities, industries and institutions have both collaborated and clashed, as we ask whether it is desirable or even possible to curate the elusive, invasive and ephemeral object, medium and experience of sound.
Throughout the entire course we will be working closely with professional artists and curators most notably Around HipHop Live Café and the Black Power Station based in Makhanda, South Africa, the Kluge Ruhe Museum of Aboriginal Art, and the UVA Scholars Lab.
Less a lecture format, and more of an interactive workshop, critical and creative content will be explored in an open-pedagogical model where students apprentice as curators and eventually take an active role in curating the class itself. Expect a mix of group project work, individual reflection and portfolio curation, and real-world collaborative work with professional partners.
MUSI 3993 Independent Study
1.0-3.0 credits
Instructor permission and instructor number required to enroll.
MUSI 4065 The "Black Voice"
A.D. Carson
3.0 credits
TR / 9:30-10:45 am / New Cabell 398
Class Number: 13643
This course focuses on critical analyses of and questions concerning “The Black Voice” as it pertains to hip-hop culture, particularly rap and related popular musics. Students will read, analyze, discuss a wide range of thinkers [artists included] to explore many conceptions and definitions of “Blackness” while examining popular artists and the statements they make in [and about] their art.
MUSI 4509 Cultural & Historical Studies
Topic: Music in Relation to Sexuality and Disability
Fred Maus
3.0 credits
W / 2:00-4:30 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 13480
MUSI 4533 Advanced Musicianship
Topic: Advanced Musical Skills: Hearing and Understanding
Michael Slon
2.0 credits
MW / 2:00-2:50 pm / OCH 107
Class Number: 18666
The class provides excellent training in practical musical methods and skills, with a small faculty-student ratio, and will focus on further developing:
- the ear for harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic dictation from played excerpts and recordings
- audiation skills (listening mentally - see this website for more info: http://giml.org/mlt/audiation/), and aural error detection
- score reading ability on several lines and in multiple clefs
- advanced rhythmic security and sight-reading
- understanding of form and musical analysis
- basic improvisation/composition skills
Prerequisite: Completion or placement out of Musicianship I or II
MUSI 4545 Computer Applications in Music
Topic: Designing Audio Effect Plugins
Luke Dahl
3.0 credits
MW / 3:00-4:15 pm
Class Number: 12931
Audio effects are common and useful tools used in the recording, mixing, and mastering of music and sound, as well as in sound design.
This course focuses on understanding, designing and implementing audio effects, and using them for musical projects. We will cover the signal processing involved in effects such as EQ, delay, chorus, flanger, reverb, distortion, and compression, and we will implement these effects as VST or AudioUnit plug-ins by programming in C/C++ and using the JUCE framework. We will emphasize the musical application of our designs, and as a final project students will create a unique new effect that addresses their own musical goals.
Enrollment is by instructor permission. Students are expected to have experience using digital audio tools, and to have a music-making or sound-based practice. Previous programming experience is _very_ helpful, but not required if you are enthusiastic and able to learn quickly!
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MUSI 4620 Audio Visual Environments
Michele Zaccagnini
3.0 credits
M / 2:00-4:30 / OCH 113
Class Number: 21362
The course provides a comprehensive understanding of audiovisual composition, its current standards, its present and foreseeable ramifications in the online multimedia culture. Students will create several audiovisual pieces using different techniques that will be explained and demonstrated in class.
Techniques that will explored include but are not limited to: audio-reactive techniques, texture building and mapping, video manipulation, interactive audio-visuals, shaders (graphic programming and code), 3D sound mapping, CPU vs GPU programming.
MUSI 4993 Independent Study
1.0-3.0 credits
Instructor permission and instructor number required to enroll.
Fall 2022 Graduate Courses
MUSI 7519 Current Studies in Research and Criticism
Topic: Audio Justice: Sound, Listening, & the Law
Nomi Dave
3.0 credits
R / 2:00-4:30 pm / OCH S008
Class Number: 18681
What happens when we listen closely to the law? How do justice proceedings rely on hearings? What are the limits of possibilities of audio in the courtroom? This seminar explores the role of sound and listening in legal discourse and practice. Bringing together materials and ideas from legal studies, music & sound studies, anthropology, philosophy, and history, we will consider how formal and informal justice claims are made through sound. We will listen to and consider a range of debates, cases, issues, and creative works. The seminar is connected to the new Sound Justice Lab.
MUSI 7526 Topics in Ethnomusicology
Topic: Composing Ethnographic Stories
Noel Lobley
3.0 credits
T / 2:00-4:30 pm / Wilson 142
Class Number: 12503
MUSI 7547 Materials of Contemporary Music
Topic: Composing Composition Machines
Ted Coffey
3.0 credits
T / 5:00-7:30 pm / OCH S008
Class Number: 18684
MUSI 7559 New Course in Music
Topic: Composing for Improvisers
Nicole Mitchell Gantt
3.0 credits
M / 2:00-4:30 / OCH S008
Class Number: 21187
Students will study, create, and perform new compositional works of their own that incorporate improvisation for a diversity of music instruments and/or electronics. The class will function as a lab to explore and extend one’s sonic aesthetics. Students will practice in the constructive critique of each other’s work.
Fall 2022 Curricular Ensembles
MUBD 2610, 2620, 2630 and 2640 Marching Band I-IV
Elliott Tackitt and Andrew Koch
2.0 credits
Lecture: TRF / 6:00-8:15 pm / Hunter Smith Band Building
MUBD 2610
Class Number: 10641
MUBD 2620
Class Number: 10642
MUBD 2630
Class Number: 10643
MUBD 2640
Class Number: 10644
The Cavalier Marching Band is open to all students at the University of Virginia by audition. The band is comprised of members from nearly every major at UVA. A normal practice schedule is twice a week, with additional Friday practices on home game weeks. Attendance is mandatory at our band camp in August. There are no fees to be in the Cavalier marching Band. IF you are interested please contact the bands office at 434.982.5347 or email Elliott Tackitt.
MUEN 3600 Jazz Ensemble
John D'earth
2.0 credits
MR / 7:30-9:30 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 10645
Led by internationally recognized jazz trumpeter/composer John D'earth, the Jazz Ensemble is a full-sized jazz big band, whose focus includes “head arrangements” group improvisation, world music and original compositions from within the band, along with music ranging from swing to bop to fusion. You'll gain valuable experience in ensemble playing and in the art of solo improvisation, and may take private instruction in jazz improvisation, perform in small combos and participate in jazz workshops held by such major figures as Michael Brecker, John Abercrombi, Dave Leibman, Bob Moses, Clark Terry, and Joe Henderson. Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3610 Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia
Ben Rous, Conductor
2.0 credits
Strings
Lecture / Section 100: W / 7:30-10:00 pm / OCH 101
Class Number: 10646
Sectionals: M / 5:30-7:00 pm
Section 101: Pete Spaar (Double Bass) / OCH B012
Class Number: 10648
Section 102: Adam Carter (Cello) / OCH Studio D
Class Number: 10649
Section 103: Ayn Balija (Viola) / OCH 113
Class Number: 10650
Section 104: Daniel Sender (Violin) / OCH 107
Class Number: 10651
Section 105: David Sariti (Violin) / OCH B018
Class Number: 10652
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
Brass / Woodwinds / Percussion
Lecture / Section 200: W / 7:30-10:00 pm / OCH 101
Class Number: 10647
Sectionals:
Section 201: Elizabeth Roberts (Bassoon) / W / 5:15-6:15 pm / OCH B020
Class Number: 13041
Section 202: Cody Halquist (Horn) / W / 6:00-7:00 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 13042
Section 203: Kelly Peral (Oboe) / W / 5:15-6:15 pm / OCH B019
Class Number: 10654
Section 204: Jiyeon Choi (Clarinet) / W / 5:15-6:15 pm / OCH S004
Class Number: 13043
Section 205: Kelly Sulick (Flute) / W / 5:15-6:15 pm / OCH Studio C
Class Number: 10653
Section 206: Nate Lee (Trombone) / W / 6:00-7:00 pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 10657
Section 207: Max McNutt (Trumpet) / OCH 107
Class Number: 10656
Section 208: I-Jen Fang (Percussion) / W / 6:00-7:00 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 10655
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3620 Wind Ensemble
Elliott Tackitt
2.0 credits
M / 6:45-9:00 pm / Hunter Smith Band Building
Class Number: 10898
The University of Virginia Wind Ensemble is open to all students at UVA by audition, and is conducted by the Director of Bands, Dr. Elliott Tackitt. This 45-member ensemble features the most outstanding brass, woodwind, and percussion players at the University, and rehearses in the Fall and Spring Semesters.
The focus of this ensemble is for students to explore their artistic potential in a collaborative environment. Wind Ensemble members enjoy the opportunity to practice and perform more challenging chamber music and wind band works encompassing a variety of composers, styles, and musical time periods.
The Wind Ensemble has a history of including performing artists from UVA’s Department of Music as soloists, as well as guests from abroad. Musically-inclined students from every College and School are encouraged to participate in auditions, which are held the first week of the semester.
Students interested in auditioning for Spring 2022 are encouraged to visit the Audition Information webpage.
MUEN 3630 Chamber Music Ensembles
1.0 credit, Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3630 Brass Quintet
TBA
1.0 credit
Section 6: TBA
Class Number: 13065
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3630 Double Reed Ensemble
Kelly Peral
1.0 credit
Section 16: TBA
Class Number: 12369
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3630 Flute Ensemble
Kelly Sulick
1.0 credit
Section 3: TBA
Class Number: 10658
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3630 Horn Ensemble
Cody Halquist
1.0 credit
Section 8: TBA
Class Number: 10660
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3630 Jazz Chamber
1.0 credit, Instructor permission by audition.
Section 7: Pete Spaar / R / 5:30-7:00 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 10663
Section 12: Pete Spaar / F / 12:30-2:00 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 10664
Section 21: Calvin Brown / T / 5:30-7:00 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 11006
Section 22: Mike Rosensky / F / 2:00-3:30 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 11007
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3630 Percussion Ensemble
I-Jen Fang
1.0 credit
Section 10: T / 9:30-10:50 am / OCH B018
Class Number: 10662
Restricted to Instructor permission by audition on first day of class.
Re-established in spring 2005 by I-Jen Fang, principal timpanist and percussionist with Charlottesville Symphony, the Percussion Ensemble is a chamber group that performs literature ranging from classical transcriptions to contemporary music. The ensemble draws upon a large family of pitched and non-pitched percussion instruments, and the number of players and amount of equipment varies greatly from piece to piece. Music reading skills and basic percussion technique on all percussion instruments is required. Previous percussion ensemble experience is highly recommended. If you are interested in joining please contact I-Jen Fang.
MUEN 3630 String Chamber Ensembles
Section 9: Daniel Sender / TBA
Class Number: 13629
Section 17: Ayn Balija / TBA
Class Number: 10665
Section 18: David Sariti / TBA
Class Number: 10666
Section 20: Adam Carter / TBA
Class Number: 10667
Section 25: John Mayhood / TBA
Class Number: 12717
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3630 Trombone Ensemble
Nate Lee
1.0 credit
Section 5: TBA
Class Number: 10661
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition. Contact Nathaniel Lee to schedule an audition.
MUEN 3630 Woodwind Ensemble
Elizabeth Roberts
1.0 credit
Section 4: TBA
Class Number: 10659
Explore, rehearse and perform woodwind chamber music, including both standard and more obscure works. Focus on developing chamber music playing skills, learning the tendencies of the woodwind instruments, developing musicianship, and enjoying making and sharing music! Instructor permission and audition required.
MUEN 3630 Woodwind Quintet
Jiyeon Choi
1.0 credit
Section 2: TBA
Class Number: 13064
MUEN 3645 Bluegrass Workshop
Richard Will
1.0 credit, Instructor permission
Lecture: T / 7:00-8:00 pm / OCH 107
Class Number: 12173
This course seeks to develop the playing, singing, and improvising skills necessary for the idomatic performance of bluegrass music, while also providing an opportunity for discussion of its origins and development. Appropriate for experienced players working to improve their knowledge or for players versed in other genres to learn new styles.
MUEN 3646 Bluegrass Band
Richard Will
1.0 credit, Instructor permission
Lecture: T / 6:00-7:00 pm / OCH 107
Class Number: 12497
This course seeks to develop the advanced playing, singing, improvising, and collaborating skills necessary to perform in a traditional bluegrass band, along with knowledge of bluegrass history and repertoire.
Prerequisite: MUEN 3645
MUEN 3650 University Singers
Michael Slon
2.0 credits
MW / 3:30-5:30 pm / OCH 101
Class Number: 10669
The University Singers is the University's premier SATB ensemble, performing a cappella and accompanied choral literature ranging from chant to the works of contemporary composers. Past repertoire has included Bach's Mass in B minor, Orff's Carmina Burana, the Duruflé Requiem, and Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, as well as shorter a cappella works. Recent trips have taken the group to Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, and the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., as well as the campuses of other American universities for collaborative concerts. The group has also been heard on European tours in England, Italy, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. Recent highlights have included performances with the Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia, a concert and workshop with Bobby McFerrin, and a concert tour of the Southeastern U.S.
Students in the University Singers come from all six of UVA's undergraduate schools, including Arts and Sciences, Education, and Engineering, as well as several of the University's graduate and professional schools. Together, they enjoy an esprit de corps that arises from the pursuit of musical excellence and the camaraderie the singers develop offstage.
All singers at the University - undergraduates, graduate students, staff, and faculty are encouraged to audition. University Singers is offered for two hours academic credit. Michael Slon, who has conducted choruses at the Oberlin Conservatory and Indiana University School of Music, is the conductor. For more information on the University Singers, please visit our webpage.
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3651 Chamber Singers
Michael Slon
2.0 credits
F / 1:00-3:15 pm / OCH 107
Class Number: 10668
Chamber Singers is a select ensemble drawn from the University Singers. The ensemble meets once a week and focuses on music for chamber choir ranging from the Renaissance to contemporary pieces. Recent performances have included the Monteverdi Mass for 4 voices (1651), Britten'sHymn to St. Cecilia, and Bach's Cantata 150, as well as contemporary works by Meredith Monk and Eric Whitacre, and arrangements of classic jazz standards by Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern, and the King's Singers. Interested singers will be considered for the chamber ensemble as part of their University Singers audition. For more information, please visit our webpage.
Restricted to: Instructor permission
MUEN 3660 Ensemble Music with Piano
John Mayhood
2.0 credits
TBA
Class Number: 13044
Studies in the preparation and performance of ensemble music with piano. Focus is on the development of collaborative skills and a practical understanding of cultural and theoretical context. Repertoire to be studied varies from semester to semester.
MUEN 3670 Early Music Ensemble: Baroque Orchestra
David Sariti
2.0 credits
R / 7:00-9:00 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 10944
The Baroque Orchestra, directed by David Sariti, offers students the rare opportunity to perform music of the 17th and 18th centuries on the instruments for which it was written, at low pitch. Students use period instruments from the University's extensive collection, receiving personal instruction on the special techniques necessary, and must be accomplished on their modern counterparts. Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
Spring 2023 Undergraduate Courses
MUSI 1310 Basic Musical Skills
3.0 credits
Section 1 (Carlehr Swanson): MWF / 9:00-9:50 am / OCH 107
Class Number: 13487
Section 2 (Ben Rous): MWF / 10:00-10:50 am / OCH 107
Class Number: 13488
Study of the rudiments of music and training in the ability to read music. Prerequisite: No previous knowledge of music required.
MUSI 1410 Symphonic Listening
Ben Rous
3.0 credits
MW / 11:00-11:50 / OCH 107
Class Number: 13543
Discussion Sections:
Section 101 (Molly Joyce): R / 9:30-10:20 am / OCH S008
Class Number: 13544
Section 102 (Molly Joyce): R / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH S008
Class Number: 13545
Section 103 (Molly Joyce): R / 12:30-1:20 pm / OCH S008
Class Number: 13546
Symphonic Listening focuses on the sounds and forms of symphonic music. Listening skills are emphasized, with no prior musical knowledge required. We will learn to recognize orchestral instruments by their timbre, discern levels of consonance and dissonance, identify types of textures, and think critically about how musical content expresses cultural context. Students will gain a framework for understanding symphonic music of any genre.
MUSI 1620 History of the Wind Band
Drew Koch
2.0 credits
TR / 12:30-1:20 pm / Hunter Smith Band Building
Class Number: 13798
MUSI 2021 Creative Discovery
Elliott Tackitt
2.0 credits
TR / 2:00-2:50 pm / Hunter Smith Band Building
Class Number: 20565
Discover your creative potential! We often wonder about an artist’s immense creativity, seemingly harnessed with ease. Each of us has tremendous resources of creativity, often under-explored. In this course, students learn to unlock their own potential.
No previous artistic experience is required. Class activities include readings and discussions; weekly responses collected via a Google Form; two reflective papers; a presentation on a “found” resource; and one creative project in a medium of the student’s choice.
MUSI 2070 Popular Musics
Karl Hagstrom Miller
3.0 credits
MW / 2:00-2:50 pm / WNR 209
Class Number: 18961
Discussion Sections:
Section 101 (Siavash Mohebbi): T / 9:30-10:20 am / OCH 107
Class Number: 18962
Section 102 (Siavash Mohebbi): T / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH 107
Class Number: 18963
Section 103 (Siavash Mohebbi): T / 12:30-1:20 pm / OCH 107
Class Number: 18964
Section 104 (Katie King): R / 9:30-10:20 am / OCH 107
Class Number: 18965
Section 105 (Katie King): R / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH 107
Class Number: 18966
Section 106 (Katie King): R / 12:30-1:20 pm / OCH 107
Class Number: 18967
Section 107 (Corey Harris): T / 9:30-10:20 am / OCH S008
Class Number: 18968
Section 108 (Corey Harris): T / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH S008
Class Number: 18969
Section 109 (Corey Harris): T / 12:30-1:20 am / OCH S008
Class Number: 18970
MUSI 2090 Sound Studies: The Art and Experience of Listening
Noel Lobley
3.0 credits
MW / 2:00-3:15 pm / Wilson 142
Class Number: 12571
When we think about knowing the world through the senses, we are likely to think first of the visible world. But sound, hearing and listening are crucial too and often take precedence in many communities. Recently scholars in history, anthropology, geography, literary studies, acoustics, music, ecology, environmental science, and art have come together in the field of Sound Studies, reflecting on the role of sounds as forces that flow in and beyond human life. How do sound art, technology, and design create the world we inhabit and our everyday social and political experience? How can vibrations both heal and destroy? What does it mean to experience immersive and embodied sound? We will ponder these and other questions, moving between theoretical, experiential, and creative explorations.
Please note: this course is an introduction to Sound Studies, there is no pre-requisite, and students from all backgrounds, levels and experiences are welcome to come and explore myriad ways to engage with sound.
MUSI 2302 Keyboard Skills (Beginning)
2.0 credits, instructor permission
Section 1 (Hannah Young): TR / 11:00 am - 12:15 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 10558
Section 2 (Hannah Young): TR / 12:30-1:45 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 18955
Introductory keyboard skills; includes sight-reading, improvisation, and accompaniment at the keyboard in a variety of styles. No previous knowledge of music required. Satisfies the performance requirement for music majors.
MUSI 2304 Keyboard Skills (Intermediate)
John Mayhood
2.0 credits, instructor permission
TR / 9:30-10:45 am / OCH 113
Class Number: 10559
Intermediate keyboard skills for students with some previous musical experience. Satisfies the performance requirement for music majors. Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUSI 2307 Play Guitar! 1
Mike Rosensky
2.0 credits
MW / 1:00-1:50 pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 13483
Fundamentals of playing guitar, with an emphasis on rhythmic training along with some music theory. This class will start from scratch and is meant for beginners.
MUSI 2340 Learn to Groove
Robert Jospe
2.0 credits
MW / 10:00-10:50 am / Hunter Smith Band Building
Class Number: 11132
"Learn to Groove" hand drumming and rhythmic fluency with Robert Jospe. This is a hands on drumming/percussion class using congas, djembes, claves, shakers, etc. This class is designed to enhance ones knowledge of syncopated patterns associated with jazz, rock, African and Latin American music and to improve ones facility in playing these patterns. This course will follow my book "Learn To Groove" and can include music students, non music students and is open to students of all skill levels. The course requires that students have or purchase a hand drum of their own. Congas, bongos, djembes, doumbeks or any other hand drums are appropriate.
MUSI 2342 Learn to Groove Intermediate
Robert Jospe
2.0 credits
MW / 11:00-11:50 am / Hunter Smith Band Building
Class Number: 11461
"Learn to Groove" hand drumming and rhythmic fluency with Robert Jospe. This is the intermediate level of the class. It is a hands on drumming/percussion class using congas, djembes, claves, shakers, etc. This class is designed to enhance ones knowledge of syncopated patterns associated with jazz, rock, African and Latin American music and to improve ones facility in playing these patterns.
MUSI 2559 New Course in Music
Topic: Popular Music Group Voice Class
Stephanie Nakasian
2.0 credits
TR / 11:00-11:50 / OCH B012
Class Number: 19806
A fun, no pressure singing experience in popular music (pop, rock, jazz, theater, r&b, gospel, singer-songwriter, folk...). Exercises to help you improve tone, intonation, range, breath, power, and flexibility. Ways to develop your repertoire – the right keys, tempos, and arrangements for songs of your choosing. Tips on phrasing, rhythm and improvisation; easy basics of sight reading, piano and theory; tips on performance and marketing.
MUSI 2600 Jazz Improvisation
John D'earth
3.0 credits
TR / 3:30-5:00 pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 10880
The Jazz Improvisation Workshop explores the basic techniques and procedures for improvising in jazz and other musical contexts. No previous jazz or improvising experience is required but students must demonstrate a degree of fluency on their main instrument, an ability to read music and some familiarity with the basics of music theory. An individual interview/audition with the instructor is required before registering for this class.
MUSI 2993: Independent Study
1.0 - 3.0 credits
Instructor permission and instructor number required to enroll.
MUSI 3030 Studies in 19th-Century Music
Elizabeth Ozment
3.0 credits
TR / 3:30-4:45 / WNR 110
Class Number: 12572
How does one define 19thCE music? Can you imagine attending the premiere of a Beethoven symphony or Rossini opera? Why were so many people taking piano lessons? How did music intensify feelings of community and difference? What is the purpose of music?
In this seminar, we will begin to answer the above questions by overviewing the creative, cultural, social, intellectual, musical history of Europe during the long nineteenth century, the period in-between the French Revolution and the outbreak of the First World War. This era saw the dissolution of previous ways of understanding the world and the development of new ideologies and artistic movements. Nineteenth-century music intersected with the rise of historicism, nationalism, romanticism, liberalism, socialism, feminism, industrialization, and secularization; reflecting and informing European experiences and worldviews.
In this seminar we will strengthen our critical listening skills, place compositions in historical context, and relate these sounds to broader cultural trends. Our study of historical documents will highlight some common themes that distinguish this period of European music from eighteenth- and twentieth-century trends. We will also acknowledge that this music frequently articulated contradictory aesthetics, thereby illuminating period struggles over the purpose and value of artistic expression.
MUSI 3050 Music and Discourse
Brian Lindgren
3.0 credits
MWF / 1:00-1:50pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 12573
Studies the range of music that has flourished since the end of the 19th century including modernist and post-modern art music, popular music, and world music, through historical, critical, and ethnographic approaches.
MUSI 3307 Play Guitar! 2
2.0 credits
Mike Rosensky
MW / 2:00-2:50 pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 13865
The course will have flexibility from semester to semester depending on the makeup of the class. Topics may include: Bar Chord/Power Chord Refresher, (Advanced) Syncopated Strumming, Blues Form, Three-Note Major and Minor Triads up and down the fretboard, Pentatonic Scale Positions, Major Scale Positions, Scale Patterns, Song Analysis, Composition, Improvisation, Seventh Chords, Chords of Higher Tension, Funk Grooves, Introduction to Jazz Guitar.
MUSI 3310 Theory I
3.0 credits
Section 1 (Sam Golter): MWF / 10:00-10:50 am / OCH B012
Class Number: 11465
Section 2 (Kristin Hauge): MWF / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH B012
Class Number: 19810
Studies the pitch and rhythmic aspects of several musical styles, including European art music, blues, African drumming, and popular music. Focuses on concepts and notation related to scales and modes, harmony, meter, form, counterpoint, and style.
MUSI 3320 Theory II
Fred Maus
3.0 credits
MWF / 12:00-12:50 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 11746
Studies pitch and formal organization in European concert music of the 18th and 19th centuries. Includes four-part vocal writing, 18th-century style keyboard accompaniment, key relations, and form. Students compose numerous short passages of music and study significan compositions by period composers.
MUSI 3332 and 3334 Musicianship I and II
2.0 credit
These lab courses give practical experience with many aspects of musical perception, performance, and creation. These will include sight-reading and sight-singing; dictation of melody, rhythm, and harmony; aural identification of intervals, chords, and rhythmic patterns; and exercises in musical memory and improvisation. Lectures, dictations, exercises, and quizzes will be in person on Mondays and Wednesdays. Singing and rhythm practice will be online on Fridays, and most homework assignments will also be completed online. Please contact Prof. Adam Carter with questions or concerns.
MUSI 3332 Musicianship I
Section 1 (Adam Carter): MWF / 12:00-12:50 pm / OCH 107
Class Number: 10292
Section 2 (Dilshan Weerasinghe): MWF / 12:00-12:50 pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 18957
MUSI 3334 Musicianship II
Matias VilaplanaStark
MWF / 12:00-12:50 pm / OCH S008
Class Number: 10293
MUSI 3342 Learn to Groove Advanced
Robert Jospe
2.0 credits
MW / 1:00-1:50 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 12810
Advanced- Learn To Groove is offered to students who are majoring in music and/or currently playing in percussion ensembles, the orchestra, the marching band and/or have taken and done well in Learn To Groove MUSI 2342. This course is designed for students to gain a broad understanding and facility through hand drumming of the rhythmic language associated with West and Central African, Caribbean, Brazilian, and contemporary styles of jazz, rock and funk from the United States. Students who take this course will be able articulate rhythmic patterns that form the foundation of dance music played throughout the Americas as well as how West and Central African rhythms have influenced the dance music and rhythms of the Americas.
This course builds on the material from Learn To Groove 2340 and 2342 and will focus on six alternative hand patterns in 4/4 and 6/8 for the clave rhythms in the Learn To Groove course book as well as extended polyrhythms, soloing and playing in odd meters. Indian rhythms and a piece written for the Mridangam from India will also be included in the live performance. Drum circle leadership skills will also be included. This class includes a recital performance of "Groove Passage-LTG" an original composition written for the class. The performance will feature the full ensemble as well as individual solos.
The course requires that students have a hand drum of their own as well as the course book Learn To Groove. 8"-12" Djembes are recommended.
MUSI 3350 Deep Listening
Fred Maus
1.0 credit
Online Asyncronous
Class Number: 12753
Exploration of collective activities that involve listening and making sound together, and other interactions, at the intersection of music-making and contemplative practices, drawing on the work of Pauline Oliveros, the Fluxus artists, and other musicians and thinkers. Weekly reading assignments for conceptualization in relation to the experiential component; weekly email responses to readings along with several brief reflective papers.
MUSI 3374 Composing Mixtapes
A.D. Carson
3.0 credit
TR / 9:30-10:45 am / NCH 398
Class Number: 12574
Discussion Sections:
Lab 101 (Basile Koechlin): M / 9:00-9:50 am / NCH 398
Class Number: 12310
Lab 102 (Basile Koechlin): M / 10:00-10:50 am / NCH 398
Class Number: 12575
Lab 103 (Basile Koechlin): M / 11:00-11:50 am / NCH 398
Class Number: 12576
This course focuses on the craft of writing rap songs as well as the collection, selection, and integration of other media to collaborate toward the composition of a class mixtape. Experience writing raps or producing beats will be helpful, but it is not necessary that students have previous experience to take this course. Students will listen to, attempt to deconstruct, create, and evaluate a broad range of music and literature while collaborating on the mixtape. Along with composing the mixtape, students will learn songwriting techniques and some alternate theoretical approaches to composing other hip-hop works.
MUSI 3380 Introduction to Composition
Michele Zaccagnini
3.0 credits
Lecture: TR / 9:30-10:45 am / OCH B012
Class Number: 20637
Discussion Sections:
Lab 101 (Becky Brown): W / 9:00-9:50 am / OCH B011
Class Number: 20638
Lab 102 (Becky Brown): W / 10:00-10:50 am / OCH B011
Class Number: 20639
Lab 103 (Becky Brown): W / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH B011
Class Number: 20640
This course explores compositional techniques in Western concert music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Students will explore and experiment with innovative approaches to harmony, rhythm, timbre, texture, and compositional form. We will improvise, listen to, analyze, and discuss new music and compositional techniques. The goal of this course is to expose you to multiple compositional techniques and let you experiment! Coursework will primarily focus on creative and composition exercises, as well as readings, listening, analyses, and short writing assignments. Students will learn to compose in varying styles and will apply their knowledge towards a final composition project.
Prerequisite: MUSI 3310. The course can be repeated for credit with approval of instructor.
MUSI 3390 Introduction to Computers and Music
Michele Zaccagnini
3.0 credits, instructor permission
TR / 12:30-1:45 pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 13768
Discussion Sections:
Lab 101 (Varun Kapoor Kishore): M / 9:00-9:50 am / OCH B011
Class Number: 13769
Lab 102 (Varun Kapoor Kishore): M / 10:00-10:50 am / OCH B011
Class Number: 13770
Lab 103 (Varun Kapoor Kishore): M / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH B011
Class Number: 13771
Introduction to Music and Computers in an upper-level introductory course in music technology. Students gain theoretical, historical and practical knowledge of electronic and computer music. An emphasis is placed on creative hands-on experience composing computer music. Theoretical topics include acoustics, recording, digital audio, MIDI, sound synthesis, and audio DSP. Students learn skills in sound-file editing, multitrack sound mixing, sound synthesis, and sound processing. This is a composition class and key assignments are creative in nature.
Prerequisite: MUSI 3310. The course can be repeated for credit with approval of instructor.
MUSI 3510 Music and Community Engagement
Topic: Sound Justice as Community Engagement
Bonnie Gordon and Nomi Dave
3.0 credits
TR / 9:30-10:45 am / Wilson 117
Class Number: 13773
This class explores connections between sound, listening, and the law. How do legal proceedings play out in sound? What does the law hear – and what does it not? What happens when legal systems fail? In exploring these and other questions and engaging in creative advocacy, student will directly engage with the Sound Justice Lab and its ongoing projects, relating to issues such as reproductive justice, defamation lawsuits against journalists, gender equity and refugees, and the use of rap lyrics as criminal evidence. Course materials include court cases and transcripts, music, film, novels, and academic articles. The class has a civic engagement component that offers students opportunities to work with lawyers, artists, and social justice practitioners in Charlottesville and beyond to produce research and creative work. It also provides a space to respond to and engage current events through individual and collective art making. The class can be used to fulfill the music major requirements, but musical or other artistic experience is not necessary.
MUSI 3993 Independent Study
1.0-3.0 credits
Instructor permission required to enroll.
MUSI 4090 Concepts of Performance in Africa
Michelle Kisliuk
3.0 credits
TR / 5:10-5:40 / OCH 107
Class Number: 20751
Lab: TR / 5:45-7:05 / OCH 107
Class Number: 20752
A once-a-week seminar-style class (open to Music majors as well as others interested in the topic).
This course explores the ethnographic, stylistic, political, and personal issues associated with the hands-on material we learn in the dependent (lab) which meets together twice a week with the African Music and Dance Ensemble (MUEN 2690/3690 or 4690 -- do not register for both as the "lab" component is automatic). Through discussion, reading, writing, viewing/listening, we explore the area of African performance theory associated especially with Ewe (Ghana) and BaAka (Central African rainforest) music/dance we are learning to perform, experimenting with abstracting concepts and remaking them in the immediate context of the course. No experience is required, but dedication to interactive, interdependent intellectual and creative community expected. African guest artists!
MUSI 4507 Composers
Topic: Lenard Bernstein
Michael Slon
3.0 credits
T / 4:00-6:30 pm / OCH S008
Class Number: 18971
Leonard Bernstein is one of the most influential and extraordinary figures to emerge in 20th century American music, and his impact extended – and remains – around the musical world. This class will focus on the man and musician from a number of angles, offering multiple perspectives on Bernstein's life and career. Music covered will include theatre music such as Candide, West Side Story, and Mass, and concert works including the Symphonies and Chichester Psalms. We'll review his interpretive and creative impact as a conductor, influence as a nationally televised teacher, and religious and political interests. And as Bernstein was also a prolific writer, class readings will consider several of his published works including The Joy of Music, The Unanswered Question: Six Talks at Harvard, and Findings. The semester will also likely include Zoom sessions with several people closely connected to the Bernstein legacy.
4523 Issues in Ethnomusicology
Topic: Electronic Music in Africa
Noel Lobley
3.0 credits
MW / 9:30-10:45 am / Wilson 142
Class Number: 11869
In 2018, the renowned British music journal Fact boldly claimed that “the world’s best electronic music festival is in Uganda.” Indeed, African cities have long been places for some of the most futuristic music, sounds that reverberate between local identities and international avant-garde scenes. Explosive, hypnotic and ultra-modern electronic sounds meld stunning dance forms with musical theatre and fashion, articulating the urban youth experience in cities as diverse and vibrant as Johannesburg, Nairobi, Kinshasa, Lagos, Dar es Salaam, and Kampala.
In this course, we will engage multiplex genres of electronic music from the African continent, including Congolese congotronics, Ugandan acholitronix, Tanzanian singeli, and South African shangaan electro and gqom apocalyptic bass music, paying close attention to innovations in artistic practice, remix culture and Afrofuturism. Blending critical and contextual work with exciting opportunities for real world outputs, we will be engaging with professional artists from different electronic scenes, such as the boiling Nyege Nyege collective and The Black Power Station, alongside other professional partners in music production, radio and written journalism, as well as exhibition and museum curation. As a way to open professional avenues for students, coursework will be driven towards the organization of an end of the semester multi-modal event representing in Charlottesville the electronic music bursting from the African continent. Building on each other’s interests and skills, students will all be working to imagine, design and curate this event.
No prior musical experience is required
4543 Sound Studio
Ted Coffey
3.0 credits
T / 5:00-7:30 / OCH B011
Class Number: 20677
MUSI 4559 New Course in Music
Topic: TBA
Karl Hagstrom Miller
3.0 credits
W / 2:00-4:30 pm / OCH 107
Class Number: 20675
4610 Sound Synthesis and Control: Designing New Musical Instruments
Luke Dahl
3.0 credits
MW / 11:00 am - 12:15 pm / Wilson Hall Makers Space
Class Number: 19807
New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) is a field that explores new ways of performing music with technology. NIME is interdisciplinary, incorporating perspectives from music, sculpture, engineering, human-computer interaction (HCI), and design. In this class we will learn the basic skills needed to design and build new musical instruments. We will implement real-time digital sound synthesis algorithms using the PureData visual programming language, which will run on the Bela embedded audio system. And we will use electronics sensors to measure user’s gestures as input data. The class is primarily project based, and we will prototype a number of new musical instruments and interactions. Students are expected to have experience using computers for music-making, such as MUSI 3390 or MUSI 2350, and experience with PureData or Max is highly desirable.
MUSI 4620 Audio Visual Environments
Michele Zaccagnini
3.0 credits
M / 2:00-4:30 / OCH B011
Class Number: 20651
The course provides a comprehensive understanding of audiovisual composition, its current standards, its present and foreseeable ramifications in the online multimedia culture. Students will create several audiovisual pieces using different techniques that will be explained and demonstrated in class.
Techniques that will explored include but are not limited to: audio-reactive techniques, texture building and mapping, video manipulation, interactive audio-visuals, shaders (graphic programming and code), 3D sound mapping, CPU vs GPU programming.
MUSI 4993 Independent Study
1.0-3.0 credits
Instructor permission required to enroll.
Spring 2023 Graduate Courses
MUSI 7509 Cultural and Historical Studies of Music
Topic: Syncopated Histories
Bonnie Gordon
3.0 credits
R / 2:00-4:30 pm / OCH S008
Class Number: 20691
This interdisciplinary graduate seminar in the Music Department considers history as a practice of entangled temporalities, inviting students from across departments to excavate the debris of the past and listen to the resonances between pre-modern and contemporary moments. What is the historical relationship between fiction and dis-information? How do scholars and artists create and transform originary myths? How do emotional and sensory responses effect the doing of history? How do we sound the past in our lives and work? How do different fields like legal history, cultural history, music history tell stories. The class begins by asking what it meant when the United States Supreme court overturned Roe v. Wade based in part on medical knowledge from a time when it was thought, for example, that listening to a string instrument made of the wrong animal products might cause miscarriage. We then will investigate the case study of the Italian castrato phenomenon that prefigures questions around gender, identity and body that are increasingly urgent today. We will look at ancient and medieval roots of the setter colonialism of Jamestown from the perspective of sound. Theoretical readings include Sylvia Wynter’s Unsettling, Kara Keiling’s Queer time/Black Temporalities, Jacques Derrida’s Archive Fever, and Elizabeth Freeman’s Time Binds. Students need not be in the Music Department or read music for this class. There will be ample time for students to pursue their own interests. Coursework centers on reading, writing, archival work in Special Collections, and listening. Students can create final projects that are relevant to their research or can explore other media.
MUSI 7519 Current Studies in Research and Criticism
Topic: The "Black" Voice
A.D. Carson
3.0 credits
T / 2:00-4:30 pm / NCH 398
Class Number: 12900
MUSI 7540 Computer Sound Generation
Topic: Composing for Music & Movement
Luke Dahl
3.0 credits
W / 2:00-4:30 pm / OCH B011
Class Number: 19819
There are many interesting connections between music and movement. Music and dance occur together in every human culture. When we listen to music we experience an abstract sense of movement, and we use movement metaphors to describe music and its movement. Musical instruments can be thought of as devices for transducing human movement into sound.
In this class we will examine these relationships, we will study various technologies for measuring movement, and we will use these technologies to make music from movement and movement-based data. In particular we will explore how motion sensors and motion-capture can be used to generate musical sound in real-time, and we will work with ourselves, dancers, and other movers and performers to develop new artistic works.
This class is a seminar for graduate composers in the CCT program of the music department. However advanced undergraduates or other interested students may contact the instructor to discuss joining the class.
MUSI 7559 New Course in Music
Topic: Scoring Human Existence
JoVia Armstrong
3.0 credits
T / 2:00-4:30 / OCH B011
Class Number: 20698
Scoring Human Existence is an ensemble course for composers and improvisers. This course explores the question, "What does it mean to feel music?" Composers and improvisers will create compositions based on various themes and imagery (film, photography, dance, architecture, corporate identity, politics, war, etc.), human emotions, nature, current events, and narratives. Students will create through-composed music as well as improvise live scores to these various mediums which will also be conducted by students. There will be a small concert at the conclusion of the course as well as 360° videos of our favorite musical explorations. All vocalists and instrumentalists (including computer musicians) are welcomed to enroll. Students may submit their works on Bandcamp and YouTube if they choose.
Spring 2023 Curricular Ensembles
MUBD 2601 Basketball Band
Andrew Koch
1.0 credit
F / 1:00-1:50 pm / Hunter Smith Band Building
Class Number: 10990
The Basketball Band performs at every home men's and women's basketball game at the John Paul Jones Arena and all post season tournament games. Much of the music must be performed memorized. New music is introduced on a weekly basis. Students enrolling in Basketball Band must be a member of the current year's marching band course (MUBD 2610, 2620, 2630, or 2640).
MUEN 2600 Concert Band
Andrew Koch
1.0 credit
R / 4:00-6:15 pm / Hunter Smith Band Building
Class Number: 10266
The University of Virginia Concert Band is a large wind ensemble, conducted by Michael Idzior & Andrew Koch in the Spring Semester. Its membership is composed of dedicated students from every division and department within the University. Music selections have included standard band literature, pop music, and concertos with special guest artists. Concert Band members stay involved in making music in an ensemble setting while exploring both new literature and old favorites. For more information on the Concert Band, please contact the directors via email at bands@virginia.edu.
MUEN 2690 / 3690 / 4690 African Music and Dance Ensemble: Roots and Shoots
Michelle Kisliuk
2.0 credit
TR / 5:45-7:05 pm / OCH 107
Class Number (MUEN 2690): 13818
Class Number (MUEN 3690): 13820
Class Number (MUEN 4690): 20753
A compact version of this ensemble course, with some new ideas embedded. Focus on Ewe (Ghana/Togo), BaAka (Central African Republic) and Baganda (Ugandan) traditions, with some forays into African electronic music in independent cooperation with MUSI 4523).
Those with previous experience should register for MUEN 3690, those new to the material for MUEN 2690 (sections meet at the same time).
MUEN 3600 Jazz Ensemble
John D'earth
2.0 credits
MR / 7:30-9:30 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 10267
Led by internationally recognized jazz trumpeter/composer John D'earth, the Jazz Ensemble is a full-sized jazz big band, whose focus includes “head arrangements” group improvisation, world music and original compositions from within the band, along with music ranging from swing to bop to fusion. You'll gain valuable experience in ensemble playing and in the art of solo improvisation, and may take private instruction in jazz improvisation, perform in small combos and participate in jazz workshops held by such major figures as Michael Brecker, John Abercrombi, Dave Leibman, Bob Moses, Clark Terry, and Joe Henderson. Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3610 Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia
Ben Rous, Conductor
2.0 credits
Strings
Lecture / Section 100: W / 7:30-10:00 pm / OCH 101
Class Number: 10268
Sectionals: M / 5:30-7:00 pm
Section 101: Pete Spaar (Double Bass) / OCH B012
Class Number: 10270
Section 102: Ayn Balija (Viola) / OCH 113
Class Number: 10271
Section 103: Dan Sender (Violin) / OCH 107
Class Number: 13454
Section 104: David Sariti (Violin) / OCH B018
Class Number: 13453
ection 105: Adam Carter (Cello) / OCH Studio D
Class Number: 11044
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
Brass / Woodwinds / Percussion
Lecture / Section 200: W / 7:30-10:00 pm / OCH 101
Class Number: 10269
Sectionals:
Section 201: Cody Halquist (Horn) / W / 6:00-7:00 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 12823
Section 202: Kelly Sulick (Flute) / W / 5:15-6:15 pm / OCH Studio C
Class Number: 10272
Section 203: Kelly Peral (Oboe) / W / 5:15-6:15 pm / OCH B019
Class Number: 10273
Section 204: I-Jen Fang (Percussion) / W / 6:00-7:00 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 10274
Section 205: Max McNutt (Trumpet) / OCH 107
Class Number: 10275
Section 206: Elizabeth Roberts (Bassoon) / W / 5:15-6:15 pm / OCH B020
Class Number: 13018
Section 207: Jiyeon Choi (Clarinet) / W / 5:15-6:15 pm / OCH S004
Class Number: 12111
Section 208: Nate Lee (Trombone) / W / 6:00-7:00 pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 13867
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3620 Wind Ensemble
Elliott Tackitt
2.0 credits
T / 4:00-6:15 pm / Hunter Smith Band Building
Class Number:
The University of Virginia Wind Ensemble is open to all students at UVA by audition, and is conducted by the Director of Bands, Dr. Elliott Tackitt. This 45-member ensemble features the most outstanding brass, woodwind, and percussion players at the University, and rehearses in the Fall and Spring Semesters.
The focus of this ensemble is for students to explore their artistic potential in a collaborative environment. Wind Ensemble members enjoy the opportunity to practice and perform more challenging chamber music and wind band works encompassing a variety of composers, styles, and musical time periods.
The Wind Ensemble has a history of including performing artists from UVA’s Department of Music as soloists, as well as guests from abroad. Musically-inclined students from every College and School are encouraged to participate in auditions, which are held the first week of the semester.
Students interested in auditioning for Spring 2022 are encouraged to visit the Audition Information webpage.
MUEN 3630 Chamber Music Ensembles
1.0 credit, Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3630 Double Reed Ensemble
Kelly Peral
1.0 credit
Section 4: TBA
Class Number: 12027
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3630 Flute Ensemble
Kelly Sulick
1.0 credit
Section 5: TBA
Class Number: 10279
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3630 Horn Ensemble
Cody Halquist
1.0 credit
Section 3: TBA
Class Number: 10278
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3630 Jazz Chamber
1.0 credit, Instructor permission by audition.
Section 8: Pete Spaar / R / 5:30-7:00 pm / OCH B018
Class Number:
Section 11: Pete Spaar / F / 12:30-2:00 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 10284
Section 9: Calvin Brown / T / 5:30-7:00 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 10282
Section 10: Mike Rosensky / F / 2:00-3:30 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 10283
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3630 Percussion Ensemble
I-Jen Fang
1.0 credit
Section 1: T / 7:30-10:00 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 10276
Restricted to Instructor permission by audition on first day of class.
Re-established in spring 2005 by I-Jen Fang, principal timpanist and percussionist with Charlottesville Symphony, the Percussion Ensemble is a chamber group that performs literature ranging from classical transcriptions to contemporary music. The ensemble draws upon a large family of pitched and non-pitched percussion instruments, and the number of players and amount of equipment varies greatly from piece to piece. Music reading skills and basic percussion technique on all percussion instruments is required. Previous percussion ensemble experience is highly recommended. If you are interested in joining please contact I-Jen Fang.
MUEN 3630 String Chamber Ensembles
Section 12: Daniel Sender / TBA
Class Number: 10285
Section 13: David Sariti / TBA
Class Number: 10286
Section 14: Ayn Balija / TBA
Class Number: 10287
Section 15: Adam Carter / TBA
Class Number: 10288
Section 17: John Mayhood / TBA
Class Number: 12407
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3630 Trombone Ensemble
Nate Lee
1.0 credit
Section 16: TBA
Class Number: 11133
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition. Contact Nathaniel Lee to schedule an audition.
MUEN 3630 Trumpet Ensemble
Max McNutt
1.0 credit
Section 6: TBA
Class Number: 19844
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3630 Woodwind Ensemble
Elizabeth Roberts
1.0 credit
Section 2: TBA
Class Number: 10277
Explore, rehearse and perform woodwind chamber music, including both standard and more obscure works. Focus on developing chamber music playing skills, learning the tendencies of the woodwind instruments, developing musicianship, and enjoying making and sharing music! Instructor permission and audition required.
MUEN 3630 Woodwind Quintet
Jiyeon Choi
1.0 credit
Section 7: TBA
Class Number: 10280
MUEN 3645 Bluegrass Workshop
Richard Will
1.0 credit, Instructor permission
Lecture: T / 7:00-8:00 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 20700
This course seeks to develop the playing, singing, and improvising skills necessary for the idomatic performance of bluegrass music, while also providing an opportunity for discussion of its origins and development. Appropriate for experienced players working to improve their knowledge or for players versed in other genres to learn new styles.
MUEN 3646 Bluegrass Band
Richard Will
1.0 credit, Instructor permission
Lecture: T / 6:00-7:00 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 20701
This course seeks to develop the advanced playing, singing, improvising, and collaborating skills necessary to perform in a traditional bluegrass band, along with knowledge of bluegrass history and repertoire.
Prerequisite: MUEN 3645
MUEN 3650 University Singers
Michael Slon
2.0 credits
MW / 3:30-5:30 pm / OCH 101
Class Number: 10290
The University Singers is the University's premier SATB ensemble, performing a cappella and accompanied choral literature ranging from chant to the works of contemporary composers. Past repertoire has included Bach's Mass in B minor, Orff's Carmina Burana, the Duruflé Requiem, and Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, as well as shorter a cappella works. Recent trips have taken the group to Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, and the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., as well as the campuses of other American universities for collaborative concerts. The group has also been heard on European tours in England, Italy, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. Recent highlights have included performances with the Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia, a concert and workshop with Bobby McFerrin, and a concert tour of the Southeastern U.S.
Students in the University Singers come from all six of UVA's undergraduate schools, including Arts and Sciences, Education, and Engineering, as well as several of the University's graduate and professional schools. Together, they enjoy an esprit de corps that arises from the pursuit of musical excellence and the camaraderie the singers develop offstage.
All singers at the University - undergraduates, graduate students, staff, and faculty are encouraged to audition. University Singers is offered for two hours academic credit. Michael Slon, who has conducted choruses at the Oberlin Conservatory and Indiana University School of Music, is the conductor. For more information on the University Singers, please visit our webpage.
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3651 Chamber Singers
Michael Slon
2.0 credits
F / 1:00-3:15 pm / OCH 107
Class Number: 10289
Chamber Singers is a select ensemble drawn from the University Singers. The ensemble meets once a week and focuses on music for chamber choir ranging from the Renaissance to contemporary pieces. Recent performances have included the Monteverdi Mass for 4 voices (1651), Britten'sHymn to St. Cecilia, and Bach's Cantata 150, as well as contemporary works by Meredith Monk and Eric Whitacre, and arrangements of classic jazz standards by Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern, and the King's Singers. Interested singers will be considered for the chamber ensemble as part of their University Singers audition. For more information, please visit our webpage.
Restricted to: Instructor permission
MUEN 3660 Ensemble Music with Piano
John Mayhood
2.0 credits
TBA
Class Number: 12032
Studies in the preparation and performance of ensemble music with piano. Focus is on the development of collaborative skills and a practical understanding of cultural and theoretical context. Repertoire to be studied varies from semester to semester.
MUEN 3670 Early Music Ensemble: Baroque Orchestra
David Sariti
2.0 credits
R / 7:00-9:00 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 10557
The Baroque Orchestra, directed by David Sariti, offers students the rare opportunity to perform music of the 17th and 18th centuries on the instruments for which it was written, at low pitch. Students use period instruments from the University's extensive collection, receiving personal instruction on the special techniques necessary, and must be accomplished on their modern counterparts. Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
Summer 2022 Courses
Session I (May 23-June 17)
MUSI 3310 Theory 1
Fred Maus
3.0 credits
Lecture: MTWRF / 1:00-3:15pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 11432
Studies the pitch and rhythmic aspects of several musical styles, including European art music, blues, African drumming, and popular music. Focuses on concepts and notation related to scales and modes, harmony, meter, form, counterpoint, and style. Prerequisite: Ability to read music, and familiarity with basic concepts of pitch intervals and scales.
Session II (June 21-July 15)
MUSI 2120 History of Jazz Music
MUSI 3120 Jazz Studies (Combined Sections)
Topic: Hearing as Jazz Musicians Hear
John D'earth
3.0 credits
Lecture: MTWRF / 10:30am - 12:45pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 11323 / 11340
An in-depth look at the way jazz musicians listen to music. What do they listen for? How do they use recordings of great jazz performances to grow as musicians and improvising artists? What skills are required to develop timing, phrasing, and musical creativity? The course will examine the recorded work of major jazz artists, exploring the “inner hearing” of musicians with participatory exercises in rhythm, melody and movement. It will demonstrate the processes by which jazz musicians master theory, musical structure, their instruments, and the jazz language itself. For musicians and non-musicians; no previous jazz experience necessary.
MUSI 2307 Play Guitar! Level 1
Michael Rosensky
2.0 credits
Lecture: MTWRF / 1:00-2:30pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 11331
Fundamentals of playing guitar, along with rhythmic training, music theory, song forms, and more. Suitable for beginning, intermediate, and experienced performers.
Students must provide their own guitar.
MUSI 2559 / 3559 Sonification for Musicians, Designers and Scientists (Combined Sections)
Matthew Burtner
3.0 credits
Lecture: MTWRF / 1:00-3:15pm / OCH B011 (VCCM)
Class Number: 11325 / 11341
Sonification for Musicians, Designers and Scientists is an introductory course that teaches the techniques, tools and aesthetics for converting data into sound. Sonification is widely used in music for composition and production, in design to create impactful and communicative media, and in the sciences to help analyze and interpret data such as in the social, environmental or computer sciences. This class is intended for students interested in any of these areas and participants will be able to apply the skills and tools learned to an individual project. The class will work on a collaborative study using data from the Virginia Coast Reserve (VCR) on the Virginia Eastern shore. In addition to studio-based lab work, the class will take a field trip (expenses paid by the Coastal Futures Conservatory) to learn the nuances of field-based data collection strategies which are often quite creative. We will travel to the Virginia shores and engage with researchers at the Virginia Coast Reserve (VCR). This trip will take several days and it is entirely optional. Students unable to make the trip for whatever reason will still meet with the class on-line and can do an alternate field-based activity.
Session III (July 18-August 11)
MUSI 2090 / 4559 Sound Studies: Listening and Creation (Combined Sections)
Omar Fraire
3.0 credits
Lecture: MTWRF / 1:00-3:15pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 11330 / 11344
This course investigates key questions in sound studies, an interdisciplinary field of inquiry. Discussion and practical exercises will focus on careful listening to acoustic documents and artworks, critical engagement with short assigned readings, and artistic creation. Participants will reflect on the nature of hearing, noise and soundscape, the relation of sound to cultural and personal meaning, and acoustic media and sound technology.
Summer 2023 Courses
Session I (May 22-June 16)
MUSI 2390 Introduction to Music and Computers
MUSI 3390 Music and Computers
MUSI 4545 Advanced Projects in Computers and Music (Combined Sections)
Matthew Burtner
3.0 credits
Lecture: MTWRF / 1:00-3:15pm / Online
Class Number: 12072 / 12074 / 12075
MUSI 2390/3390 will introduce you to the dynamic field of computer music. You will learn about topics including acoustics; digital sound, editing, and processing; recording and multi-track mixing; and MIDI. You will also learn about the historical evolution of electronic and computer music, and will study selected examples of both. We will cover elements of compositional design and hear them applied in a range of styles. You will have ample hands-on experience, and the opportunity to create original music. This course counts for the composition component of the Music Major. Programs to be used include Bias Peak, Frequency, Digital performer and Sound Hack. We will be working on the Mac platform, though the concepts you learn will be broadly applicable.
Session II (June 20-July 14)
MUSI 2120 History of Jazz Music
MUSI 3120 Jazz Studies (Combined Sections)
Topic: Hearing as Jazz Musicians Hear
John D'earth
3.0 credits
Lecture: MTWRF / 10:30am - 12:45pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 10523 / 10526
An in-depth look at the way jazz musicians listen to music. What do they listen for? How do they use recordings of great jazz performances to grow as musicians and improvising artists? What skills are required to develop timing, phrasing, and musical creativity? The course will examine the recorded work of major jazz artists, exploring the “inner hearing” of musicians with participatory exercises in rhythm, melody and movement. It will demonstrate the processes by which jazz musicians master theory, musical structure, their instruments, and the jazz language itself. For musicians and non-musicians; no previous jazz experience necessary.
MUSI 2509 Music in Relation to Sexuality and Disability
MUSI 3509 Sexuality, Disability, and Music (Combined Sections)
Fred Maus
3.0 credits
Lecture: MTWRF / 1:00-3:15pm / Online
Class Number: 12076 / 12077
Session III (July 17-August 11)
MUSI 2307 Play Guitar! Level 1
Michael Rosensky
2.0 credits
Lecture: MTWRF / 1:00-2:30pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 10525
Fundamentals of playing guitar, along with rhythmic training, music theory, song forms, and more. Suitable for beginning, intermediate, and experienced performers.
Students must provide their own guitar.
MUSI 2350 Technosonics: Digital Music
MUSI 4545 Advanced Projects in Computers and Music (Combined Sections)
Matias Vilaplana Stark
3.0 credits
Lecture: MTWRF / 1:00-3:15pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 12080 / 12081
MUSI 2509 Music, Markets and Music Loving
MUSI 3509 Topics in Music Studies (Combined Sections)
Sam Golter
3.0 credits
Lecture: MTWRF / 10:30am - 12:45pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 12078 / 12079