Master of Music

The University of Idaho Lionel Hampton School of Music, accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, offers a Master of Music (M.M.) degree for performers, composers, music educators and studio teachers. Intensive study in your area of specialization, coupled with personal mentoring from leading music faculty, will give you the finely-polished skills and advanced expertise you need to elevate your professional musical career. The degree also provides a solid foundation for doctoral studies and equips you with the minimum credentials required to teach at the university or college level.

As a student in the graduate degree program, you’ll undergo rigorous training in your area of concentration with personal guidance from first-class music professors who are recognized worldwide as accomplished soloists, chamber and orchestral musicians, conductors, composers and teachers. Seminars in music history and theory will enhance your understanding of musical styles and techniques of all eras, including contemporary music.

You’ll also present recitals, chamber performances or performances of your own compositions. Music education students will complete a thesis or practicum. You will also be encouraged to participate in at least one of the school’s outstanding ensembles and performance groups.

Additionally, the annual University of Idaho Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival and performances by other guest artists give you the opportunity to rub shoulders with, and perhaps perform alongside, some of the greatest professional musicians in the world.

Prepare for Success

The intensive Master of Music graduate program at the University of Idaho Lionel Hampton School of Music is designed to meet the needs of professional performers, composers, music educators and studio teachers. A baccalaureate degree in music (or equivalent) from an accredited institution is required for admission. If you lack this prerequisite, you may take courses that will fulfill this deficiency.

Admission Requirements: Performance and accompanying majors must audition. Composition majors will submit a portfolio of pieces. Music education majors will take an additional entrance exam. Entering students also will complete two diagnostic examinations – one in music theory and one in music history and literature – to test their undergraduate competence level. Review the Graduate Handbook for additional application and admission information for your specific area of concentration.

Your First Year

The master’s degree program requires completion of 30 semester hours of graduate credit, of which at least 18 must be taken in 500-level courses. You will also complete a seminar in either music history or music theory.

Following admission into the program, you and your major professor will nominate a supervisory committee to help guide you through the program. During your first semester, you will develop a study plan, which will be reviewed and approved by your selected committee.

Depending on your area of concentration, you may be required to complete recital performances and/or a thesis or practicum. Oral examinations are required for all master’s candidates.

Degree plans

Current Students

What You Can Do

A Master of Music gives you the high-level training and knowledge to help you advance your career as a:

• Professional musician
• Composer
• Arranger
• Conductor
• Soloist
• Opera singer
• Orchestra member
• Band member
• Vocal teacher
• Instrument instructor
• Recording artist
• Studio musician
• Music teacher

Opportunities

A Master of Music from the renowned Lionel Hampton School of Music at the University of Idaho will greatly enhance your professional career opportunities in music. The music industry is a competitive business. The finely-honed skills and level of expertise you develop through the master’s program will give you an edge over your competition.

The Master of Music also allows you to further your career as a music educator or scholar. Many high-level teaching positions require at least a master’s degree. The program also provides a foundation for doctoral studies in music if you are interested in pursuing a career in academia as a professor of music.

Current Research

University of Idaho faculty members in the Lionel Hampton School of Music are recognized worldwide as accomplished soloists, chamber and orchestral musicians, conductors, composers and teachers. They are leading experts in education, piano, voice, guitar, and orchestra and band instruments, with extensive experience performing professionally in classical, jazz, operatic and popular ensembles. Current faculty research interests and areas of expertise include:

• Pedagogy, 19th century chamber music and the music of Francis Poulenc
• Compositions and arrangements for symphonic bands, wind ensembles, orchestral winds, choirs, jazz bands, symphony orchestras and marching bands
• Composition of music for video documentaries and interactive CD ROM educational software and chamber music
• 19th and 20th century American music, including historiography, criticism and the community band movement in the West
• Performances with Lyric Opera San Diego, Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre and other regional theaters
• Effects of instrumental music participation on middle and high school students and on senior adults
• Jazz performance and education
• Theory, history and criticism of film music
• Theory pedagogy and analysis
• Pedagogical works of Godowsky, the transcriptions of Franz Liszt
• Piano teaching and performance
• Stages of growth of new teachers, music education in one-room schools, vocal physiology and Byzantine music notation
• Neurological and physical bases for human finger independence
• Music of Abel Carlevaro, Maximo Diego Pujol and Bryan Johanson
• Music of the 19th century virtuoso-composer Johann Kaspar Mertz
• Mental skills and techniques for training and presentation 
• Music entrepreneurship

Activities

Sigma Alpha Iota (SAI): Sigma Zeta Chapter, the international fraternity for women in music
Phi Mu Alpha: A music fraternity for men
Collegiate Music Educators' National Conference (CMENC), University of Idaho Chapter
Pi Kappa Lambda: Honorary music society
Student Advisory Board: Acts as liaison between students and music administration

Hands-On Experience

• Final Project (Thesis/Practicum): Some emphases of the Master of Music degree require a written thesis in which you will explore a unique subject resulting in new contributions to knowledge in a specific area. Others require a written document, 25-30 pages long, which supports the final degree project, whether recital or composition. Or, your final project may be in the form of a practicum, the development of an educational theory resulting in teaching materials.
• Assistantships: You may have opportunities to teach applied studio lessons (all instruments and voice), classes (such as assisting with music history, music theory and pedagogy classes), assisting major ensemble directors and performing in public.
• Performance Opportunities:
• Recitals: Master’s students perform solo and chamber recitals or accompanying recitals and composition majors present recitals of their own compositions.
• Ensembles : We have musical organizations to fit the interests of almost everyone, including the University Chorus, Vandaleers Concert Choir, Opera/Musical Theatre Studio, Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Vandal Marching Band, Concert Band, jazz ensembles, and many other performing groups.
• Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival : This widely popular, four-day event draws hundreds of top jazz artists and spectators from around the world to the University of Idaho each year. Visiting professionals and students in the Lionel Hampton School of Music give evening concert performances and conduct clinics for elementary, junior high and high school students. Lionel Hampton School of Music students perform throughout the event.
• Auditorium Chamber Music Series : The series presents some of the world's finest chamber ensembles in concert and places these extraordinary musicians in university and public school classrooms and community centers in our region.
• Dancers, Drummers and Dreamers: This spring performance is presented in collaboration with the University of Idaho Department of Dance. All dances are performed to original, live music composed by faculty and students in the Lionel Hampton School of Music.
• Community Performances: The region’s active arts community creates many opportunities for students to perform in a variety of venues.

Facilities

The Music Building houses the Schuldt Music Library, faculty studios, ensemble rehearsal areas, classrooms, an electronic music lab, a music education materials center, a listening center and a recital hall. Individual practice rooms are available in nearby Ridenbaugh Hall. Recording, radio-television, a language listening lab, and computer facilities on the campus are also available to music students.

In addition to organ, harpsichord, harp and piano practice instruments, the school maintains two performance pipe organs, three concert grand pianos and a concert harpsichord.