Master of Music (MM) in Performance

Our degree programs permit concentration in chamber music, collaborative piano (vocal or instrumental), guitar, instrumental, keyboard and voice.

• Chamber Music Performance
• Collaborative Piano (Instrumental)
• Collaborative Piano (Vocal)
• Guitar
• Keyboard
• Percussion
• Strings
• Voice
• Woodwinds, Brass & Percussion

Multiple Concentrations

Students have increasingly opted to add a second concentration to the MM degree. In most cases this has been a concentration in chamber music in addition to a performance degree, but some students have also opted to add a concentration in Music History and Literature, and string players have also opted to add a concentration in string pedagogy to their performance degree. Students with two concentrations take the core graduate music curriculum and complete the remaining degree requirements for both concentrations. Generally, dual concentration students take three years (6 semesters) to complete the degree.

Performer’s Certificate

This 14-18-credit performer’s certificate is designed for advanced study in any area of performance desired by the student. It can be completed as a post-baccalaureate certificate, or after completion of the MM degree. It includes study with studio faculty as well as participation in large ensembles but could also include intensive work on chamber music performance, preparation for auditions, or further study to prepare for graduate-level study.

Performer’s Certificate

MM in Conducting

This concentration is designed primarily for the student with an undergraduate degree in music education or performance who wishes to pursue advanced training in choral, orchestral or wind-band conducting. Students may also elect related studies in music performance or other allied areas.

Choral Emphasis Instrumental Emphasis

MM in Music Education

This concentration is designed for practicing music educators who wish to advance their knowledge and skills in both music and music pedagogy. An undergraduate degree in music education is required with two years teaching experience in a school setting. The program is intended to build on the student’s understanding of teaching pedagogy in any area of music education (general, choral or instrumental), strengthen the philosophical underpinnings of that teaching, bring to light opportunities for action research within a school setting, and provide additional areas of exploration including applied instrumental or vocal study, conducting technique, music theory and music history.

Core music education courses are offered both in the summer and evenings, some provided in online format. Other courses are offered during the academic year in late afternoon and evening hours.

Music Education

MM in Music History & Literature

This concentration is designed primarily for students who wish to do advanced study in music history and literature. For some students, the degree is a terminal degree (for example, music teachers who may wish to pursue graduate work in music history rather than in music education), while for others it serves as preparation for the study of musicology at the doctoral level.

Music History & Literature

MM in String Pedagogy

This concentration is designed to prepare students to enter the teaching profession with a private studio or to prepare for a terminal degree (doctorate) and ultimately a career in higher education. What makes our pedagogy program unique is the combination of performance and hands-on teaching opportunities with students of all levels provided by a partnership with the String Academy of Wisconsin at UWM. Curriculum focuses on current methods such as Suzuki and Rolland, and organization teaching of instrumental technique and repertoire.

String Pedagogy

MM in Theory and Composition

This concentration is designed for the person possessing creative talent in acquiring and utilizing the techniques and craft of musical composition. We foster development in instrumental, vocal, and electroacoustic composition, with an emphasis on contemporary and experimental techniques. Interested students should preferably have experience in computer notation, midi applications, theory, literature, and analysis pedagogic areas.

Theory & Composition

MM/MLIS Coordinated Degree Program

In cooperation with the School of Information Studies, the Department of Music offers a M.M./MLIS coordinated degree program to prepare students for positions as music librarians. Students in the program will concurrently pursue a Master of Music degree program (with a concentration in Music History and Literature) and a Master of Library and Information Science degree program. Prerequisite to the award of either degree in this program is the simultaneous award of its counterpart degree.

Graduating students have a 97% job placement rate

Library & Information Science, MLIS