Music Performance

Currently, this program is not accepting applications.

Students who choose a bachelor's degree in music performance thrive on the dedication it takes to prepare advanced music and dream of the joys of performing. You’ll find a diverse experience that encourages personal creativity, individual discovery, unlimited opportunity and vibrant collaboration. Your program will include the highest levels of musicianship, history, theory, conducting and performance in addition to a heavy course load of private instruction and recital performance. Working alongside highly experienced professors, whose talent is recognized locally, nationally and globally, you’ll be prepared for graduate school or for creating your own direction in the world of music.

Program Highlights

  • Bachelor of Music degrees offered in:
  • Performance opportunities include Wind Ensemble, Husky Sports Band, Jazz Ensemble, Concert Choir, Chamber Singers and Contemporary Music Ensemble.
  • Additional performing experiences possible through community partnerships with St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra, Great River Chorale, Minnesota Center Chorale, St. Cloud Municipal Band, Great River Jazz Collective, GREAT Theatre and Pioneer Place Theater.
  • Music technology courses prepare students for a future in teaching, creating and performing music.
  • Annual department festivals attract hundreds of high school band, choir and percussion students to campus.
  • Department conferences attract hundreds of professional composers and electro-acoustic musicians to campus and have included the 2014 MN Made musical robotics festival, 2012 Kyma International Sound Symposium and the 2010 Society for Electro-Acoustic Music international conference.

Program Distinctions

  • SCSU is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music.
  • Music graduates have been accepted into nationally recognized graduate programs including the University of Minnesota, Manhattan School of Music, Cleveland State, Oberlin Conservatory, Indiana University, University of Illinois, University of Oregon and SUNY New York.
  • Music graduates have won positions in prestigious performing groups including the Toledo Symphony, Eastman Opera Theater, San Francisco Opera, Utah Opera, United States Army Field Band, Walt Disney World, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra.
  • Trio Lorca, a university ensemble of voice, flute and percussion, performed as part of the Distinguished Concerts Artists Series at Carnegie Hall in March 2012.
  • Bruce Pearson, SCSU Distinguished Alumni and Honorary Doctorate, is the author of the award-winning Standards of Excellence Comprehensive Band Method, a series of books used in band programs around the world.

Popular Careers

  • Instrumental Musician
  • Professional Singer
  • Private Studio Teacher
  • College or University Professor
  • Professional Conductor
  • Church Musician

University Facts & Stats

  • $50,000 in music scholarships awarded annually
  • Nationally recognized alcohol diversion program

  • 39 Education Abroad programs offered

  • 1 of 17 schools in the Centre for Medieval & Renaissance Studies Consortium, Oxford, England

  • Commitment to carbon neutrality by 2035

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