Bachelor of Music

The Bachelor of Music degree is given upon completion of a minimum of 133 semester hours (s.h.), as outlined below.

Students must fulfill a minimum three-year residency, pass all required courses, and have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 in musical studies and liberal arts courses.

General Requirements

Performance

51 s.h.
Major Lesson 32 s.h.
Elements of Conducting 3 s.h.
Additional departmental requirements (listed below) 16 s.h.

Musical Studies

49 s.h.
Core Studies I, II, III, IV 12 s.h.
Post-Tonal Harmony 3 s.h.
Form 2 s.h.
Keyboard Studies I, II, III, IV 4 s.h.
Supplementary Piano 2 s.h.
Solfege I, II 8 s.h.
Advanced Dictation 2 s.h.
Music History I, II 8 s.h.
Music History Elective 2 s.h.
Additional Musical Studies Electives 6 s.h.
(Some majors require additional performance and musical studies courses:
See Additional Departmental Requirements below.)

Career Studies

1 s.h.
Social Entrepreneur 1 s.h.

Liberal Arts

30 s.h.
Foundations in Reading, Writing, and Speaking 6 s.h.
Artist in the World 3 s.h.
Ethics, Citizenship, and the Creative Life 3 s.h.
Curricular Pathways Electives 18 s.h.
(Some majors require additional liberal arts courses: See Additional Departmental Requirements below.)

Additional Departmental Requirements

  • Performance

    14 s.h.
    Composition Seminar 8 s.h.
    Supplementary Piano 8 s.h.
    Graduation Recital – Required

    Musical Studies

    8 s.h.
    Applied Orchestration 4 s.h.
    Counterpoint III 2 s.h.
    Score-Reading 2 s.h.

    Private Instruction

    All composition students study with a different composition faculty member each year of enrollment at Curtis, in rotation. Undergraduate composition majors will study with all composition faculty, including two years with one teacher, over the course of their study at Curtis.

  • (Major Requirements: P=Piano, O=Organ)

    Performance

    16–22 s.h.
    Chamber Music 8 s.h. (P, O)
    Piano Repertoire Seminar 8 s.h. (P)
    Supplementary Piano 6 s.h. (O)
    Graduation Recital – Required (P, O)
    Organ Class 8 s.h. (O)
    Early Music Performance 8 s.h.

    Musical Studies

    8 s.h.
    Keyboard Studies I, II 4 s.h.
    Keyboard Studies III 2 s.h.
    Counterpoint III 2 s.h.

    Career Studies

    4 s.h.
    Sacred Music Seminar 4 s.h. (O)

  • Performance

    18 s.h.
    Chamber Music 8 s.h.
    Guitar Seminar 8 s.h.
    Graduation Recital – Required

  • (Major Requirements: T=Timpani/Percussion, Va.=Viola, Clo.=Cello, Vn.=Violin)

    Performance

    40 s.h.
    Chamber Music 8 s.h.
    Orchestra 24 s.h. (age sixteen and older)
    Orchestral Repertoire Class/Sectionals 8 s.h. (string, woodwind, brass, or percussion)
    Performance – Required (T)
    Graduation Recital – Required Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Harp, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, Trumpet, Trombone, Tuba, Timpani/Percussion

  • Performance

    56 s.h.
    Opera Stagings 24 s.h.
    Diction Coachings 8 s.h.
    Vocal Performance Seminar 8 s.h.
    Vocal Repertoire Coaching 16 s.h.

    Musical Studies

    8 s.h.
    History of Singing 8 s.h.