Spring 2011 Courses
Undergraduate Academic Courses
MUSI 1310: Basic Musical Skills
3.0 credits
Lecture / Section 1 (Julia Cook): MWF / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH 107
Class Number: 13546
Lecture / Section 2 (Kevin Davis): MWF / 9:00-9:50 am / OCH 107
Class Number: 13549
Lecture / Section 3 (Jay Zolle): MWF / 10:00-10:50 am / OCH 107
Class Number: 13552
Not open to students already qualified to elect MUSI 3310 or 3320. Study of the rudiments of music and training in the ability to read music.
MUSI 1620: History of the Wind Band
William Pease
2.0 credits
Lecture: TR / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH B012
Class Number: 36588
MUSI 2020: Opera
Heather Wiebe
3.0 credits
Lecture: TR / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH 107
Class Number: 36602
Discussion Sections:
Section 101 (Stephanie Doktor): F / 9:00-9:50 am / OCH S008
Class Number: 36603Section 102 (Stephanie Doktor): F / 10:00-10:50 am / OCH S008
Class Number: 36604Section 103 (Stephanie Doktor): F / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH S008
Class Number: 36605
This course will explore the history of opera primarily through a set of representative works, including Don Giovanni, The Barber of Seville, Carmen, La Traviata, and Wagner’s Ring Cycle. We will address the changing conventions of operatic music and dramaturgy, as well as the ways particular operas engaged with the societies that produced them, but we will also be concerned with the contemporary life of these operas, exploring issues raised by their staging for modern audiences and their mediation by film, recordings, digital media, and simulcast. No previous musical knowledge is required.
MUSI 2080: American Music
Joel Rubin
3.0 credits
Lecture: MW / 1:00-1:50 pm / TBA
Class Number: 18433
Discussion Sections:
Section 101 (Liza Sapir): R / 9:30-10:20 am / OCH 113
Class Number: 18436Section 102 (Liza Sapir): R / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH 113
Class Number: 18439Section 103 (Liza Sapir): R / 12:30-1:20 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 18442
This course will look at American vernacular (i.e. traditional and popular) musics from a cross-cultural, multi-ethnic perspective in an attempt to arrive at new understandings of American-ness and American music at the close of the first decade of the 21st century. We will start by examining the older paradigm of ³American roots music,² which in its classic definition comprises various African-American and white Anglo-Saxon Protestant rural traditions particularly those such as blues and old-time string band music that influenced the development of modern popular music traditions such as rock and roll and country and western. Over the course of the semester we will broaden our view of American vernacular musics and consequently of American-ness to include various other ethnic musical traditions, from Native American pow wows and Cajun to eastern European Jewish klezmer and Balkan-Gypsy-punk, in order reflect some of the developments in popular music making of the past 15 to 20 years in the wake of the emergence of such trends as multiculturalism, world music, indie rock and neo-cabaret. Along the way we will treat a complex and shifting web of concepts and factors such as folk, authenticity, revival, insider/outsider issues, appropriation, mediation and commercialization, agency, as well as ethnicity, race, gender, class, religion, regionalism, politics and nationalism, and popular tastes, looking at how they have influenced and interacted with the development of traditional and popular musical styles over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries. At the end, we will ask whether these trends represent signs of America¹s transforming itself into a post-ethnic, post-racial socity. This course is designed for non-music majors. There are no prerequisites, and musical literacy is not assumed.
MUSI 2120: History of Jazz Music
Scott DeVeaux
4.0 credits
Lecture: TR / 11:00-12:15 pm / Wilson 402
Class Number: 13555
Discussion Sections:
Section 101 (Erik DeLuca): W / 9:00-9:50 am / OCH 113
Class Number: 13558Section 102 (Erik DeLuca): W / 10:00-10:50 am / OCH 113
Class Number: 13561Section 103 (Erik DeLuca): W / 11:00-11:50 pm / OCH 008
Class Number: 13564Section 104 (Sara O'Halloran): W / 9:00-9:50 am / OCH S008
Class Number: 13567Section 105 (Sara O'Halloran): W / 10:00-10:50 am / OCH S008
Class Number: 13570Section 106 (Sara O'Halloran): T / 12:30-1:20 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 13573Section 107 (Paul Turowski): T / 9:30-10:20 am / OCH 113
Class Number: 13576Section 108 (Chris Peck): F / 9:00-9:50 am / OCH 113
Class Number: 13579Section 109 (Chris Peck): T / 12:30-1:20 pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 13582Section 110 (Braxton Sherouse): F / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH 113
Class Number: 13606Section 111 (Braxton Sherouse): F / 1:00-1:50 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 13607Section 112 (Braxton Sherouse): F / 12:00-12:50 pm / OCH S008
Class Number: 13608Section 113 (Paul Turowski): F / 1:00-1:50 pm, OCH S008
Class Number: 13609Section 114 (Paul Turowski): F / 2:00-2:50 pm / OCH S008
Class Number: 13610Section 115 (Chris Peck): F / 10:00-10:50 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 13611
Survey of jazz music from before 1900 through the stylistic changes and trends of the twentieth century; important instrumental performers, composers, arrangers, and vocalists.
MUSI 2302: Keyboard Skills (Beginning)
Peter D'Elia
2.0 credits, Instructor Permission
Lecture: MW / 1:00-1:50 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 18415
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)
Peter D'Elia
2.0 credits, Instructor Permission
Lecture: MW / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH 113
Class Number: 18418
Intermediate keyboard skills for students with some previous musical experience. Satisfies the performance requirement for music majors. Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUSI 2306: Fretboard Harmony
Mike Rosensky
2.0 credits, Instructor Permission
Lecture: MWF / 1:00-1:50 / OCH B012
The level of this course will vary, anywhere from beginning to advanced, each semester depending on the guitar experience of students who enroll. Students should contact Mike Rosensky (createEmail('mlr5q');) during pre-registration letting him know of their interest in the course and of their intent to show up for the first class of the semester when the level and the make-up of the class will be ultimately determined - please save questions for the first day of class because I won't have any specifics about the course until I see who shows up.
In Fretboard Harmony a theory-based approach will be taken to understanding how musical materials (scales, arpeggios, chord voicings) "fit" on the guitar. The majority of class meeting time is spent with guitars in hand "drilling" new material. Practice methods will be explored, with an emphasis on learning how to practice effectively and efficiently.
MUSI 2340: Learn to Groove
Robert Jospe
2.0 credits
Lecture / Section 1: MW / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH B018
Class Number: 18427
Lecture / Section 2: MW / 10:00-10:50 am / OCH B018
Class Number: 36612
"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 2350: Technosonics: Digital Music and Sound Art Composition
Ted Coffey
3.0 credits
Lecture: MW / 12:00-12:50 / Wilson 301
Class Number: 18391
Discussion Sections:
Section 101 (Yuri Spitsyn): M / 9:00-9:50 am / Wilson 306
Class Number: 20278Section 102 (Yuri Spitsyn): M / 10:00-10:50 am / Wilson 306
Class Number: 20281Section 103 (Jonathan Zorn): M / 11:00-11:50 am / Wilson 306
Class Number: 20284Section 104 (Yuri Spitsyn): R / 1:00-1:50 pm / Wilson 306
Class Number: 20287Section 105 (Jonathan Zorn): T / 10:00-10:50 am / Wilson 306
Class Number: 20290Section 106 (Jonathan Zorn): M / 1:00-1:50 pm / Wilson 306
Class Number: 20293
This class (www.technosonics.net) 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 2600: Jazz Improvisation
John D'earth
3.0 credits
Lecture: TR / 2:00-3:30 pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 23601
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 3040: Studies in Twentieth Century Music
Heather Wiebe
3.0 credits
Lecture: TR / 2:00-3:15 pm / OCH 107
Class Number: 18409
An exploration of European and American art music from WW1 to 2000. This course is organized around a set of debates that have occupied composers, critics, and listeners throughout the 20th century. How should musical art relate to popular music, film music, and cultural commodification? How should new music situate itself in relation to the weighty tradition of the 19th century, and how should it connect with the musical traditions of distant times and places? How could the limits of music be pushed, and how could its basic cultural and social function be re-imagined, especially through new technology? What kind of political efficacy could and should musical art have? For each of these questions, we will look at a set of musical works and criticism from across the century, while thinking simultaneously about the specific historical concerns that shape each response.
Fulfills part of the "Critical and comparative studies in music" requirement for majors.
Prerequisite: MUSI 3310
MUSI 3050: Music and Discourse Since 1900
Fred Maus
3.0 credits
Lecture: MWF / 12:00-12:50 pm / OCH 107
Class Number: 13585
Studies the range of music that has flourished in the twentieth century, including modernist and post-modern art music, popular music, and world music, through historical, critical, and ethnographic approaches.
Required of all majors; fulfills the "Introductory course" requirement for majors.
Prerequisite: The ability to read music, or any three-credit course in music, or instructor permission.
MUSI 3080: American Musics
Jason Kirby
3.0 credits
Lecturer: TR / 12:30-1:45 pm /OCH 107
Class Number: 37769
Popular Music as “Alternative” Culture, 1964 to the present
Punks. Hippies. Rude boys. B-Boys. Where do they all come from?
This course is an historical overview of popular musicians who present themselves as “outside of society”. Although “alternative” music as a genre category did not break through commercially until 1991, the concept dates back at least to the rock counterculture of the 1960s, which is where this course begins. Investigating musical genres ranging from hardcore punk to bluegrass to classic rock to house, and performers ranging from Prince to Public Enemy to Bob Dylan to Lady Gaga, this course considers questions such as: How can popular music, created and consumed in a capitalist marketplace, consider itself rebellious? Are fans of this rebel music autonomous free-thinkers, commercial trend-hoppers, both, or neither? In what ways is the history of “alternative” popular music also the history of movements toward political and social change, from the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s to the Riot Grrrl feminist movement of the 1990s? How has the development of new musical technologies, from the cassette tape to the mp3, continuously changed our understanding of “alternative” popular music?
MUSI 3090: Performance in Africa
Michelle Kisliuk
4.0 credits
Lecturer: TR / 4:00-4:50 pm /OCH 107
Class Number: 13588
This course explores performance in Africa through reading, discussion, audio and video examples, hands-on practice, and – new this semester – teaching and performing with local school children. The course meets together with MUSI 3690 (African Drumming and Dance Ensemble), but is a full academic course. Students in Music 3090 are automatically part of the UVA African Music and Dance Ensemble. Your role in the Ensemble as learner and performer is crucial to your overall work in the course. This semester, the Community Engagement initiative will involve students participating once a week in an after-school club, teaching and mentoring children from two area schools.
We will explore African music/dance styles – focusing on Ewe music from Ghana and Togo and BaAka music from the Central African Republic, but branching to other forms and genres – their sociomusical circumstances and processes, as well as performed resistances and responses to the colonial and post/neo-colonial encounter. In addition, we will address the politics and processes involved in translating performance practices from one cultural context to another. Each students’ personal relationship to the material/experience will be integrated into study. Readings, discussions, and written work will focus heavily on topics and issues related to the main music/dance traditions that we are learning to perform this semester, though we may venture beyond those areas from time to time. The course will explore both "traditional" and "popular" styles, leading us to question those categories.
There is an informal audition for this course. No experience is expected, just come to the first evening class meeting (5:15) ready to sing and dance (in groups).
Co-Prerequisite: MUSI 3690
Prerequisite: Instructor permission.
MUSI 3320: Theory II
3.0 credits
Lecture / Section 1: Peter Tschirhart / MWF / 10:00-10:50 am / OCH B012
Class Number: 13591
Lecture / Section 2: Victor Szabo / MWF / 9:00-9:50 am / OCH B012
Class Number: 13594
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 significant compositions by period composers.
MUSI 3332, 3334 and 3336: Musicianship I, II and III
1.0 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. Students entering the sequence take a test to determine the appropriate level of their first course. At the end of each course, students take a placement test to determine whether they may enter a higher level course. Courses may be repeated for credit, but each course may be counted toward the major only once. MUSI 333A, B, and C are co-requisites for MUSI 331, 332, and 431. This means that students pre-registering in the latter courses must also pre-register in MUSI 333A, B, or C unless they have already taken the highest level course and have been passed out of further co-requisite requirements. Students interested in taking Musicianship but not Theory are encouraged to register for MUSI 333A, B, or C as space permits. Such students may not pre-register. They should plan to register by adding in Fall after taking a placement exam.
MUSI 3332: Musicianship I
Matt Jones
Lecture: MW / 12:00-12:50 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 13597
MUSI 3334: Musicianship II
Emily Gale
Lecture: WF / 12:00-12:50 pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 13600
MUSI 3336: Musicianship III
Courtney Kleftis
Lecture: M / 12:00-12:50 pm / OCH B012 and F / 12:00-12:50 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 13603
MUSI 3370 Songwriting
Steve Kemper
3.0 credits
Lecture: TR / 9:30-10:45 am / OCH 107
Class Number: 37300
The goal of this course is to delve into songwriting; to develop aural, analytic and creative abilities and to join them together in understanding and composing songs. Students will learn about rhythm, melodic design, harmonic progression, lyrics and song forms. We will consider examples from a broad musical spectrum: blues, folk, art song, musicals, R & B, rock & roll, hip hop. Students will also perform songs they have composed during the semester.
MUSI 3380: Introduction to Post-Tonal Composition
Judith Shatin
3.0 credits
Lecture: MW / 2:00-3:15 pm / OCH B012
Class Number: 36613
This course is an introduction to post-tonal compositional techniques in Western concert music of the 20th and 21st centuries. The course will survey a multiplicity of innovative approaches to harmony, rhythm, timbre, texture, and compositional form. Topics will include atonal, serial, chance, experimental, spectral, electronic, minimal, and improvised music. Coursework will focus on instrumental composition and creative assignments, as well as analytic listening and writing assignments. We will perform pieces in class ourselves, and will also have some visiting performers.
Proficiency on an instrument or voice is required, as is the ability to read scores.
MUSI 4510: Cultural and Historical Studies: Music and Sexuality
Fred Maus
3.0 credits
Lecture: MW / 2:00-3:15 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 18412
Drawing on queer and feminist studies, we will examine a range of topics in popular music and classical music. We will consider relationships between classical composers’ sexualities and their music; queer fandom of opera and musical theater; women’s relations to popular music; “women’s music” and riot grrrl; disco and dance club cultures; queer participation in punk subcultures; and more.
MUSI 4520: Critical Studies of Music: Musical Avant-gardes
Liz Lindau
3.0 credits
Lecture: TR / 11:00-12:15 pm / OCH S008
Class Number: 36614
What does it mean to describe music as “avant-garde”? Since the 1910s, this term has been used to praise (or deride) music and art that is new, irreverent, innovative, or challenging. Journalists have described popular as well as “classical” music as “avant-garde” since the 1960s. This course will explore avant-gardism within a variety of different musical genres. We’ll look at experimental composers John Cage and Edgard Varèse, as well as seminal “out” jazz recordings like John Coltrane’s Ascension and Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz. We’ll discuss rock ’n’ roll’s relationship with the avant-garde, exemplified by songs like the Beatles’ “Revolution No. 9,” and the Velvet Underground’s “Sister Ray.” We’ll investigate folk music’s unlikely alliance with the avant-garde through satirical 1960s band the Fugs and more recent “freak folk” acts. Throughout the course, we will contextualize musical examples with related developments and techniques in film, literature, and visual art. No previous musical training required.
MUSI 4524: Field Research and Ethnography of Performance
Michelle Kisliuk
3.0 credits
Lecture: M / 2:00-4:30 pm / OCH S008
Class Number: 37771
Writing ethnography is writing life. A redoubled attention to field experience is reshaping the nature of ethnographic inquiry, arising in particular ways within performance studies and ethnomusicology. This course serves as a graduate introduction to field research and to ethnographic writing, via ethnomusicology and performance studies/theory. Working with and critiquing ideas such as those presented by Stoller, Rice, Clifford, Kirshenblatt-Gimblett and Schechner, we will spend the semester exploring epistemological, ethical, and aesthetic issues as they relate to field research, pushing the envelope of "creative non-fiction" in the ethnographic realm, including the idea of addressing ethnography within performance. As a group we will discuss ethnographic texts such as those by Hahn, Bithel, Slkar, and Hagedorn. This is a highly interactive seminar in which we develop a trusting, challenging, and dynamic intellectual community.
MUSI 4533: Advanced Musicianship
Michael Slon
2.0 credits
Lecture: MWF / 11:00-11:50 am / OCH B012
Class Number: 36616
This class is intended to extend students' musicianship skills beyond the parameters of the 333x Musicianship classes. (Students should have already completed these classes to enroll in Advanced Musicianship.) The class will include practical experience in the following areas: score reading at the piano with attention to multiple clefs; harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic dictation from played excerpts and recordings; advanced sight-singing (including excerpts from Modus Novus); aural error detection in comparing printed scores with played examples; and exercises in improvisation and musical memory.Depending on enrollment, regular individual meetings with the instructor may be set up in lieu of some group class time.
MUSI 4540: Computer Sound Generation
Judith Shatin
3.0 credits
Lecture: W / 3:30-5:45 am / OCH B011
Class Number: 36618
Discussion Sections:
Section 101 (Lanier Sammons): TBA / OCH B011
Class Number: TBASection 102 (Lanier Sammons): TBA / OCH B011
Class Number: TBASection 103 (Lanier Sammons): TBA / OCH B011
Class Number: TBA
This course is designed to teach you about music perception, computer music composition and spatialization mainly using the tools of a flexible, open-source program called RT-Cmix, as well as some other applications. You will have listening and reading assignments that are linked to classwork in the study of music perception, computer music composition and orchestration, as well as assignments that will give plenty of hands-on experience in understanding how we hear and offering the opportunity to ccompose. For this class, you need to sign up both for the regular class meeting and one of the labs. Music that you create in the class will be considered for performance on our spring Digitalis concert. We will determine lab times in relation to student schedules. YourPrerequisite: MUSI 3390 or equivalent.
MUSI 4720: Instrumental Conducting II
Kate Tamarkin
3.0 credits
Lecture: TR / 2:00-3:15 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 36617
Graduate Courses
MUSI 7510: Studies in Music and Memory
Michael Puri
3.0 credits
Lecture: T / 2:00-4:30 pm / OCH S008
Class Number: 36620
Memory and music are kindred phenomena that touch equally upon issues of selfhood, language, narrative, ethics, history, ecology, temporality, truth, and representation. Despite their evident entanglement, research into one has hardly begun to benefit from study of the other. In this course, we address this gap by immersing ourselves in memory studies and putting these discoveries and insights into fresh dialogue with current musical research.
Readings include texts by Aristotle, Augustine, Freud, Foucault, Halbwachs, Nietzsche, Nora, and Proust, among many others.
MUSI 7512: Studies in Jazz Literature
Scott DeVeaux
3.0 credits
Lecture: W / 2:00-4:30 pm / OCH S008
Class Number: 36621
MUSI 7524: Field Research and Ethnography of Performance
Michelle Kisliuk
3.0 credits
Lecture: M / 2:00-4:30 pm / OCH S008
Class Number: 23598
Writing ethnography is writing life. A redoubled attention to field experience is reshaping the nature of ethnographic inquiry, arising in particular ways within performance studies and ethnomusicology. This course serves as a graduate introduction to field research and to ethnographic writing, via ethnomusicology and performance studies/theory. Working with and critiquing ideas such as those presented by Stoller, Rice, Clifford, Kirshenblatt-Gimblett and Schechner, we will spend the semester exploring epistemological, ethical, and aesthetic issues as they relate to field research, pushing the envelope of "creative non-fiction" in the ethnographic realm, including the idea of addressing ethnography within performance. As a group we will discuss ethnographic texts such as those by Hahn, Bithel, Slkar, and Hagedorn. This is a highly interactive seminar in which we develop a trusting, challenging, and dynamic intellectual community.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing or instructor permission
MUSI 7532: Musical Analysis
Ted Coffey
3.0 credits
Lecture: T / 5:30-8:00 pm / OCH S008
Class Number: 36622
MUSI 7581: Composition
Judith Shatin
3.0 credits
Lecture: W / 3:30-5:45 pm / OCH B011
Class Number: 36619
In this seminar we will consider the concept of counterpoint and its evolution and application in Renaissance polyphony, Baroque and Contemporary music. We will examine changing concepts of dissonance and its relation to temporal design, the changes in theoretical presentations, and the continued role of counterpoint in non-tonal frameworks. Coursework will include compositional exercises, analysis, and performance.
Prerequisite: MUSI 3390 or equivalent.
MUSI 8820: Advanced Composition
3.0 credits
MUSI 8840: Advanced Computer Music Composition
3.0 credits
MUSI 8910: Supervised Research
3.0 credits
Reading and/or other work in particular fields under supervision of an instructor. Normally taken by first-year graduate students.
MUSI 8920: Supervised Research
3.0 credits
Reading and/or other work in particular fields under supervision of an instructor. Normally taken by first-year graduate students.
MUSI 8960: Thesis
3.0 credits
MUSI 8993: Independent Study
1.0-3.0 credits
MUSI 8998: Non-topical Research
3.0-12.0 credits
MUSI 8999: Non-topical Research
3.0-12.0 credits
MUSI 9010: Directed Readings
3.0 credits
MUSI 9020: Directed Readings
3.0 credits
MUSI 9910: Supervised Research
3.0 credits
MUSI 9920: Supervised Research
3.0 credits
MUSI 9940: Independent Research
3.0 credits
MUSI 9998: Non-topical Research
3.0-12.0 credits
For doctoral dissertation, taken under the supervision of a dissertation director.
MUSI 9999: Non-topical Research
3.0-12.0 credits
For doctoral dissertation, taken under the supervision of a dissertation director.
Music Ensembles and Performance Instruction
For information on auditions, please visit our auditions website.
MUBD 2601: Basketball Band
Bill Pease
1.0 credits
Lecture: TW / 6:00-8:00 pm / TBA
Class Number: 25597
MUEN 2600: Concert Band
Andrew Koch
1.0 credits
Lecture: M / 6:00-7:45 pm, OCH 101
Class Number: 13255
MUEN 2690, 3690 and 4690: African Music and Dance Ensemble
(registration number depends on student seniority in the ensemble)
Michelle Kisliuk
2.0 credits
Lecture: TR / 5:00-7:15 pm / OCH 107
MUEN 2690 / Level I
Class Number: 36635MUEN 3690 / Level II
Class Number: 13329MUEN 4690 / Level III
Class Number: 36636
The African Music and Dance Ensemble is a practical, hands-on course focusing on several music/dance forms from Western and Central Africa with performances during and at the end of the semester. Though no previous experience with music or dance is required, we will give special attention to developing tight ensemble dynamics, aural musicianship, and a polymetric sensibility. Concentration, practice, and faithful attendance are required of each class member, the goal being to develop an ongoing U.Va. African Music and Dance Ensemble.
MUEN 3600: Jazz Ensemble
John D'earth
2.0 credits
Lecture: MR / 7:30-9:30 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 13228
Led by internationally recognized jazz trumpeter/composer John D'earth, the Jazz Ensemble is a full-sized jazz big band performing the entire range of the jazz tradition (swing, bop, fusion) There is also a focus on “head arrangements,” group improvisation, world music and original compositions from within the band. You'll gain valuable experience in ensemble playing and in the art of solo improvisation. Private instruction in jazz improvisation and the opportunity to perform in small combos are offered in conjunction with this class. The Jazz Ensemble has presented guest artist concerts/residencies with such major figures as Michael Brecker, Joe Henderson, John Abercrombie, David Leibman, Bob Moses, Clark Terry, and Terrence Blanchard, among many others.
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3610: Orchestra
Kate Tamarkin, Conductor
2.0 credits
Strings
Lecture / Section 100: W / 7:30-10:00 pm / OCH 101
Class Number: 13231Sectionals: M / 5:30-7:00 pm
Section 101: Pete Spaar (Double Bass) / OCH B012
Class Number: 13237Section 103: Ayn Balija (Viola) / OCH 113
Class Number: 13240Section 104: David Colwell (Violin) / OCH 107
Class Number: 13243Section 105: David Sariti (Violin) / OCH B018
Class Number: 13246Section 106: Adam Carter (Cello) / OCH S004
Class Number: 26966
Brass / Woodwinds / Percussion
Lecture / Section 200: W / 7:30-10:00 pm / OCH 101
Class Number: 13234Sectionals: W / 5:15-6:15 pm
Section 201: Elizabeth Roberts (Bassoon) / OCH B020
Class Number: 13248Section 202: Tasha Warren (Clarinet) / TBA
Class Number: 13251Section 203: Angela Kelly (Flute) / TBA
Class Number: 13254Section 204: Susan Fritts (Horn) / OCH 113
Class Number: 13256Section 205: Aaron Hill (Oboe) / TBA
Class Number: 13259Section 206: I-Jen Fang (Percussion) / B018
Class Number: 13262Section 207: Nathan Dishman (Trombone) / S004
Class Number: 13265Section 208: Paul Neebe (Trumpet) / OCH 107
Class Number: 13268
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3620: Wind Ensemble
Bill Pease
2.0 credits
Lecture: M / 8:00-10:00 pm / OCH 101
Class Number: 18370
The Wind Ensemble is a 45-member ensemble that features the most outstanding brass, woodwind, and percussion players at the University. The focus of this ensemble is to explore new literature as well as perform the masterworks of the wind band era. The wind ensemble also works with outstanding guest performers and conductors. This group is predominately made up of non-music majors who enjoy the genre of the wind band. Open to all University of Virginia students, auditions are held prior to the start of each semester. For more information on the Wind Ensemble, please visit our webpage at: https://music.virginia.edu/wind-ensemble.
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3630, Section 1: Percussion Chamber Ensemble
I-Jen Fang
1.0 credit
Lecture: T / 7:30-10:00 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 13271
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 CUSO, 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, Section 2: Woodwind Ensemble
Elizabeth Roberts
1.0 credit
Lecture: TBA
Class Number: 13274
MUEN 3630, Section 3: Trombone Ensemble
Nathan Dishman
1.0 credit
Lecture: TBA / OCH S004
Class Number: 13277
Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition. Contact Nathan Dishman (createEmail('nathandishman', 'yahoo.com');) to schedule an audition.
MUEN 3630, Section 4: Klezmer Ensemble
Joel Rubin
1.0 credit
Lecture: MW / 7:30-9:30 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 13280
Klezmer, originally the ritual and celebratory music of the Yiddish-speaking Jews of Eastern Europe, was brought to North America by immigrants around the turn of the last century. Since the 1970s, a dynamic revival of this tradition has been taking place in America and beyond. Klezmer’s recent popularity has brought it far from its roots in medieval minstrelsy and Jewish ritual and into the sphere of mainstream culture. The traditional klezmer style presents the experienced instrumentalist with a range of technical challenges with its characteristic note bends, rubati, Baroque-style embellishments and other micro-improvisational techniques, opening up a world of expressive possibilities not available to them from either classical music or jazz. This music was passed on orally from generation to generation, and many of the ornaments which are so integral to the klezmer sound can only be approximated by Western staff notation – not to mention the patterns of improvised variation which are the cornerstone of the style. There will therefore be an emphasis on learning by ear as much as possible, but we will be using music in the form of lead sheets and other written instructional materials to supplement sound examples.
The class focuses on the study and performance of various traditions, including the klezmer traditions of New York between the two world wars, 19th century Eastern Europe, as well as original contemporary compositions. Emphasis will be on learning by ear, improvisation within a modal context, and learning to develop a cohesive ensemble sound. Concentration, practice, and good attendance are required of each ensemble member. Our planned outside guest artists for 2010-11 are clarinetist-composer Michael Winograd (Fall 2010; residency Nov. 8-11 with concert on Nov. 11, 2010) and violinist-composer Steven Greenman (Spring 2011; residency Apr. 11-14 with concert on Apr. 14, 2011). We will be learning and performing their original klezmer compositions.
Admission is by audition during first class period of semester or prior to that, by appointment with the instructor.
MUEN 3630, Section 5: Flute Ensemble
Angela Kelly
1.0 credit
Lecture: TBA
Class Number: 13283
MUEN 3630: Section 6: Double Reed Ensemble
Aaron Hill
1.0 credit
Lecture: TBA
Class Number: 13286
MUEN 3630: Section 7: Clarinet Ensemble
Tasha Warren
1.0 credit
Lecture: TBA
Class Number: 13289
MUEN 3630, Section 8: Brass Quintet
Paul Neebe
1.0 credit
Lecture: W / 3:30-5:00 pm / OCH 107
Class Number: 13292
MUEN 3630: Jazz Chamber Ensemble
1.0 credit
Lecture / Section 10: Pete Spaar / R / 5:30-7:00 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 13294Lecture / Section 11: Mike Rosensky / T / 5:30-7:00 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 13297Lecture / Section 12: Jeff Decker / F / 2:00-3:30 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 13300Lecture / Section 13: Peter Spaar / F / 12:30-2:00 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 13303
MUEN 3630, Section 14: Chamber Music Ensemble
Mimi Tung
2.0 credits, Instructor permission by audition
Lecture: TBA
Class Number: 13306
MUEN 3630, Section 15: Chamber Music Ensemble
David Colwell
1.0 credit, Instructor permission by audition
Lecture: TBA
Class Number: 13309
MUEN 3630, Section 16: Palladian Chamber Orchestra
David Sariti
1.0 credit, Instructor permission by audition
Lecture: TBA
Class Number: 13311
MUEN 3630, Section 17: Chamber Music Ensemble
Ayn Balija
1.0 credit, Instructor permission by audition
Lecture: TBA
Class Number: 13314
MUEN 3630, Section 18: Chamber Music Ensemble
Adam Carter
1.0 credit, Instructor permission by audition
Lecture: TBA
Class Number: 13317
MUEN 3630, Section 19: Horn Ensemble
Susan Fritts
1.0 credit
Lecture: TBA
Class Number: 36637
MUEN 3650: University Singers
Michael Slon
2.0 credits
Lecture: MW / 3:30-5:30 pm / OCH 101
Class Number: 13323
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 Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, the Brahms Requiem, Handel's Messiah, and Mozart's Mass in C minor, as well as shorter a cappella and accompanied works, including a recent co-commission from Eric Whitacre. Recent trips have taken the group to Atlanta, Charlotte, New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Cincinnati, 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 workshop with Bobby McFerrin, performances of the Bach Mass in B minor, and a concert tour of the Midwest.
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 at: www.virginia.edu/music/usingers/. Restricted to: Instructor permission by audition.
MUEN 3651: Chamber Singers
Michael Slon
2.0 credits
Lecture: F / 1:00-3:15 pm / OCH 107
Class Number: 13320
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 Palestrina Missa Brevis, Britten's Hymn 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.
Restricted to: Instructor permission
MUEN 3670: Early Music Ensemble: Baroque Orchestra
David Sariti
1.0 credit
Lecture: R / 7:30-9:00 pm / OCH 113
Class Number: 18376
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.
MUEN 3680: New Music Ensemble
I-Jen Fang
1.0 credit
Lecture: R / 7:30-9:00 pm / OCH B018
Class Number: 13326
Restricted to Instructor permission by audition on first day of class.
Performance of vocal and instrumental music of the twentieth century.
A one-credit course at the University of Virginia, the New Music Ensemble explores and performs exciting music of our time. The ensemble consists of dedicated instrumentalists, singers and UVa performance faculty. We perform a wide variety of contemporary music suitable to our instrumentation, including new works created by UVa composers.
The New Music Ensemble seeks dedicated instrumentalists and singers to explore and perform a wide variety of contemporary music. To audition, come to the first class with your instrument. If you are interested in joining please contact I-Jen Fang.
Open to UVA students, community musicians and advanced high school students.
Private Performance Instruction
For more information on registration procedures, please visit the lessons website.
Lesson Levels
There are three levels of private performance instruction.
200-level
For students playing at a beginner to intermediate level or with limited time to practice. One hour or one-half hour lessons, CR/NC (pass-fail), ½ or 1 credit. No jury, but optional performance opportunities will be available. Individual instructors may, as they wish, set definite performance requirements for their students. A limited number of scholarships may be possible, as funding permits, but normally students at this level should expect to pay for their lessons.
300-level
Advanced performance, for students working at the level of a music major, though not necessarily majoring in music. Prerequisite: at least one semester of 200-level study and a successful audition. Normally auditions take place during fall or spring juries; if this is not possible, students audition at the beginning of the semester. One hour lessons, graded, 2 credits. Students at this level should make a time-commitment to practicing appropriate for major-level study. We suggest a norm of at least 6 hours/week, though individual performance instructors may set a different (lower or higher) expectation of practice time as appropriate. Students play a jury at the end of the semester. Students at this level are often on scholarship, but scholarship support is always contingent on availability of funds.
400-level
Honors performance, to be taken for two semesters, by fourth year students preparing a senior recital or, in cases of unusual ability, by students preparing a full recital to be given before their fourth year. Prerequisite: 300-level study, successful written application in the semester before enrolling, and a successful audition (to be included in juries) at the end of the semester before applying. One hour lessons, graded, 2 credits. Jury at the end of the first semester, recital near the end of the second semester. Normally on scholarship, but scholarship support is always contingent on availability of funds.
Offerings
Lessons are offered in the following areas (See the Course Catalog for complete listings):
* Voice
* Piano, Organ, and Harpsichord
* Violin, Viola, Cello, Doublebass
* Flute, Piccolo, Oboe, English Horn, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Bassoon, Contra-Bassoon
* Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, French Horn, Saxophone, Jazz Improv
* Percussion, Jazz Drumming, Tabla, Afro-Cuban perucssion
* Guitar, Chapman Stick, Banjo, Harp, Mandolin
* Supervised Performance (For students involved in types of solo or ensemble performance not offered through the department.