Music

Program Offerings

Offering type
A.B.

The Department of Music aims to give students a broad foundation for making, performing, studying and writing about music. As part of the major, students pursue work in two loosely defined areas: Culture and Criticism (C&C) and Materials and Making (M&M). M&M encompasses topics usually explored in hands-on, exploratory ways, such as composition, improvisation, theory, analysis and electronic music. The C&C area focuses on the scholarly study of music, from music history and theory to cognitive science and ethnography. Whether our majors ultimately choose to make music, to research and write about it, or do both, they are encouraged to develop independent work that moves across traditional disciplinary or methodological boundaries. In more prosaic terms, we want our majors to discover a passion for what they are doing, while also learning how that passion aligns with developing abilities.

Goals for Student Learning

Irrespective of methodology or approach, music majors may consider the following set of general goals. As music majors, students:

  • Develop technical proficiency. This proficiency can take many forms, but we expect students to develop skills and techniques necessary to carry out a project. Examples range from capacity in orchestration and counterpoint, to knowledge of other languages and facility with computer languages; other examples are familiarity with empirical research processes and archival and ethnographic methods. Note well: “skills” should never be trivialized as “too applied.” Studying counterpoint or audio engineering is, at least in part, about developing and enriching a music practice — one that has concrete intellectual challenges and requires solid knowledge bases.
  • Learn how to apply skills or techniques appropriate to the project at hand. Over the course of junior and senior years, students will hone skills as needed to complete independent work, while simultaneously shaping projects according to existing skill sets.
  • Learn how to position independent work within the history of music. For example, a recent senior thesis on experimental music included an essay on the history of the practice, situating experimentalism within the contexts of improvisation and Black radicalism.
  • Conceive how independent work is situated within a domain of specialists.
  • Cultivate the ability to imagine critical responses to work. Students need to be able to dialogue with critics in an informed manner.
  • Learn to manage the inevitable frustrations and roadblocks that arise while carrying out independent work.
  • Engage closely with the methods learned in coursework and familiarize themselves with relevant music and/or literature.

Advanced Placement

Students may be able to place out of MUS 105 by demonstrating equivalent knowledge in an exam given by the music faculty or showing proof of a score of 5 on the AP Music exam. Students who place out of MUS 105 will be required to take an additional elective to meet the minimum requirement of 11 courses in the major.

Prerequisites

Students interested in the music major are required to gain exposure to coursework in both the Culture and Criticism and Materials and Making areas before entering the department. The prerequisites are satisfied through the completion of MUS 105, one M&M course and one C&C course. Students may be able to place out of MUS 105 by demonstrating equivalent knowledge in an exam given by the music faculty or showing proof of a score of 5 on the AP Music exam. Students who place out of MUS 105 will be required to take an additional elective to meet the minimum requirement of 11 courses in the major.

Program of Study

Students majoring in music take a total of 11 courses in the major:

  • Three prerequisite courses (MUS 105, one M&M course, one C&C course);
  • Two additional courses in Culture and Criticism;
  • Two courses in Materials and Making (one of the three total M&M courses, including the M&M prerequisite, must include a significant musicianship/ear-training component; current eligible courses are MUS 106, MUS 245, MUS 261, MUS 316 and MUS 319, or an alternative approved by the DUS);
  • Three additional electives, two of which should be at the 300 level or higher; and
  • A credit-bearing junior seminar (MUS 300).

Music majors also in the Minor in Music Performance may use one (1) performance course (such as MPP 213, 214, 216, 219, 251, 252, MUS 340) as a departmental.

Majors design their program of study in close consultation with the director of undergraduate studies and are strongly encouraged to meet with the DUS in their first year to plan potential paths through the curriculum, as some upper-level courses have their own prerequisites. In general, we encourage students to lead with their strengths but also to take risks and step out of their comfort zones, principles that should guide their course choices.

Independent Work

Junior Seminar – MUS 300

A fall-term junior seminar introduces students to some of the methodological, technical, creative and disciplinary issues involved in the study and making of music. Assignments may relate to, or inform, their independent work, but will be graded separately from the JIW. Students who are abroad during the fall of junior year can complete the junior seminar during the fall term of senior year.

Junior Independent Work

Junior independent work begins in the fall, usually in the context of the junior seminar, and continues into the spring with a faculty adviser. The nature of this work can vary greatly, but for reference, it might consist of a research paper of approximately 30-40 pages, or an original composition of roughly 6-10 minutes (which would typically include a short paper detailing motivations and context for the composition). These are only guidelines, and the eventual scale of the work will depend on its nature. The specific goals for the project are worked out with a faculty adviser (identified during the fall semester), resulting in a proposal consisting of a summary of the project aims and context, an outline and references to related work (bibliography for research papers, associated repertoire for compositions and other material as appropriate to the project); this proposal should be submitted to the adviser and DUS before the end of fall semester, though the grade for the proposal will be held and included in the final grade for the year-long project.

Senior Independent Work

The senior independent work consists of a year-long project devised by the student and approved by a faculty adviser. Again, for reference, it might consist of a research paper of approximately 60-80 pages, or an original composition of roughly 12-20 minutes (including a short accompanying paper), but the specific topics can vary widely, as described above; as with the JIW, these are only guidelines, and the eventual scale of the work will depend on its nature. Ideally, a faculty adviser will be identified in the spring of junior year to help the student develop an appropriate scope for the project. The JIW and SIW topics need not be related, but often are. The thesis grade is the average of the grades given by the faculty adviser and a second faculty reader.

Senior Departmental Examination

On a date arranged by the department, senior majors must take a final departmental examination in the form of a scheduled senior thesis presentation. The senior thesis presentation includes an overview of the thesis focusing on motivation, methodology and result. The total duration of the presentation should not exceed 30-45 minutes. The presentation is immediately followed by 10-15 minutes of questions from the thesis adviser and others in attendance.

Study Abroad

Music majors are encouraged to explore the many study abroad opportunities offered at Princeton. Among these is the unique collaboration Princeton maintains with the Royal College of Music in London, in which students have the opportunity to participate in a five-year double-degree program (A.B. and M.M.). Students spend the fall semester of their junior year in London. Interested students should email the director of the Program in Music Performance for further details.

Also among these is our collaboration with the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance, also in London, in which students have the opportunity to focus on improvisation, large ensemble performance, and gain from the Conservatoire’s expansive and expanding view of jazz. Interested students should email the Anthony H.P. Lee '79 Director of Jazz for further details. 

Additional Information

Ensembles and Instrumental and Vocal Lessons

Majors are encouraged to take an active part in performing music. All majors have the opportunity to take vocal or instrumental lessons from world-class professionals on the performance faculty. For students majoring in music or pursuing a Minor in Music Performance, the full cost of these lessons is paid for by the University (during  junior and senior years). Note that MPP 298-299, Independent Instruction in Voice or Instrument, can only be taken once and does not fulfill any degree requirements. 

Students can also gain exposure to performance by participating in one of the departmental ensembles. For further information on lessons, ensembles and performance opportunities, please visit the Music Department website or contact the department’s program manager.

Other Academic Preparation

Students planning graduate study in musicology or theory should achieve reading and speaking proficiency in at least one language, depending upon their areas of interest. Students with interests in composition may want preparation in engineering and computer science. Majors should discuss this with the DUS.

Offering type
Minor

The minor in the Department of Music invites students to explore a diverse range of fields of study, from composition and electronic music, to musicology, theory, sound studies, music cognition, jazz studies and more. Students pursue work in two loosely defined areas: Culture and Criticism (C&C) and Materials and Making (M&M). M&M encompasses topics usually explored in hands-on, exploratory ways, such as composition, improvisation, theory, analysis and electronic music. The C&C area focuses on the scholarly study of music, from music history and theory to cognitive science and ethnography. While independent work is not required, there are options for students interested in pursuing private lessons (in composition and electronic music), studies in music cognition (through the Music Cognition Lab), research projects with faculty or the Music Mentorship program that pairs music undergraduates with graduate students.

Goals for Student Learning

Through an open-ended set of course requirements, the minor will introduce students to the wide range of possible fields of study within music and give them the flexibility to forge paths inspired by their own imaginations.

It is our goal that the resulting teaching and research afforded by this open-ended minor will continue to expand our core identity beyond the borders of western cultural traditions and provide a vibrant pathway to/through EDI work. Further, we anticipate that this minor will foster more of the interdisciplinary opportunities that are so fundamental and unique to the Princeton experience; by inviting students to bring what they are studying in their majors to bear on our music practices and, in turn, offering new lenses through which they can metabolize their studies in other areas, the potential of music to suggest new modes of thinking, making and learning can be more fully realized.

While independent work is not required, there are ample opportunities for students in the music minor to further their classroom work via private lessons in composition and electronic music, studies in music cognition (through the Music Cognition Lab) or research projects with faculty.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for entering the program, though MUS 105 is recommended.

Admission to the Program

Students who wish to pursue the minor in music may declare their intention via this brief form in the spring semester of their sophomore year, fall semester of their junior year or spring semester of their junior year.

 

Program of Study

Students pursuing the minor in music must complete the following course requirements:

  • MUS 105*
  • One (1) Materials and Making (M&M) course
  • One (1) Culture and Criticism (C&C) course
  • Two (2) additional MUS courses.  By petition to the DUS, one of these electives can be outside MUS, though must reflect a coherent plan of study (for instance, a particular psychology course in support of a plan of study focusing on music cognition)

*Students placing out of MUS 105 (at the discretion of the instructor) are required to replace it with another MUS elective.

Up to two (2) courses can be shared in fulfilling requirements for the MUS minor and the student’s major. See the Department of Music website for example pathways through the MUS minor and for lists of C&C and M&M courses.

Up to one (1) course used to fulfill requirements of the MUS Minor may be pass/D/fail. 

 

Faculty

  • Chair

    • Daniel L. Trueman
  • Director of Undergraduate Studies

    • Wendy Heller
  • Director of Graduate Studies

    • Steven Mackey
    • Elizabeth H. Margulis
  • Professor

    • Donnacha M. Dennehy
    • Wendy Heller
    • Steven Mackey
    • Elizabeth H. Margulis
    • Simon A. Morrison
    • Gavin Steingo
    • Daniel L. Trueman
    • Dmitri Tymoczko
    • Barbara A. White
  • Associate Professor

    • Juri Seo
    • Rob C. Wegman
  • Assistant Professor

    • Tyondai A. Braxton
    • Nathalie Joachim
    • Jamie L. Reuland
    • Anna Yu Wang
  • Professor of the Practice

    • Gabriel Crouch
    • Michael J. Pratt
  • Senior Lecturer

    • Eric B. Cha-Beach
    • Rudresh K. Mahanthappa
    • Ruth A. Ochs
    • Joshua Quillen
    • Adam Sliwinski
    • Jeffrey O. Snyder
    • Olivier P. Tarpaga
    • Jason Treuting
  • Lecturer

    • Darcy James Argue
    • Christopher Arneson
    • Brian E. Brown
    • Geoffrey L. Burleson
    • Ronald M. Cappon
    • Ted Chubb
    • Yousun Chung
    • Matthew Clayton
    • Kevin G. Deas
    • Vincent B. Ector
    • Liam D. Elliot
    • Martha Elliott
    • Rochelle K. Ellis
    • Alan Feinberg
    • John J. Ferrari
    • Jack D. Hill
    • Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek
    • Jerome Jennings
    • Margaret A. Kampmeier
    • Francine Kay
    • David S. Kellett
    • Christopher A. Komer
    • Brian Kuszyk
    • Sunghae A. Lim
    • Michelle Lordi
    • Matthew Melore
    • David Miller
    • James E. Moore
    • Clancy Newman
    • Miles Okazaki
    • Laura Oltman
    • Alberto Parrini
    • Matthew Parrish
    • Sarah C. Pelletier
    • Eric D. Plutz
    • Barbara J. Rearick
    • Trineice Robinson-Martin
    • Stacey G. Shames
    • Sarah Shin
    • Jo-Ann Sternberg
    • Arnie Tanimoto
    • Jessica L. Thompson
    • Julius Tolentino
    • Sumi Tonooka
    • Elio Villafranca-West
    • Robert J. Wagner
    • Carolyn J Watts
    • Kendall K. Williams
    • Nancy J. Wilson
    • Eric Wyrick
    • Wendy A. Young
  • Visiting Lecturer

    • Christopher T. Hailey

For a full list of faculty members and fellows please visit the department or program website.

Courses

MPP 213 - Projects in Instrumental Performance Fall/Spring LA

Preparation for performance of instrumental chamber music of the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, both canonic and non-canonic repertoire. Includes weekly coaching with an assigned member of studio faculty and masterclasses with the Ensemble-in-Residence and/or the Program Director of Music Performance. Preparation for performance of ensembles. Each ensemble's repertoire will be determined in consultation with the instructors during the first week of classes. Admission of pre-formed chamber ensembles is by audition. Staff

MPP 214 - Projects in Vocal Performance Fall/Spring LA

Taught by a rotating roster of voice faculty members, this course guides students through a series of curated topics in vocal performance, including vocal and performance techniques, repertoire, and interpretation. Typically open to vocalists and pianists, though others may be welcome depending on topic. Admission may be by audition in some cases. Staff

MPP 215 - Projects in Jazz Performance Not offered this year LA

A performance course that focuses on the development of style, concept, and repertoire in the jazz idiom. Students are coached by faculty in extended projects in performance. Staff

MPP 216 - Techniques of Conducting Spring LA

The course focuses on building a structure of physical technique that will communicate good rhythm, musical shaping and character, and also verbal and non-verbal communication. Proper rehearsal strategies will be addressed in the later weeks of the course, and the final exam will be a public performance of a short work. M. Pratt

MUS 103 - Introduction to Western Music Not offered this year LA

An introduction to Western music, involving works from around 1200 to the present. The course explains the basic elements of Western music -- rhythm, pitch, melody, harmony, form -- and historically significant styles and genres of composition. The course includes lectures on the symphony, ballet, and opera. Staff

MUS 104 - When Music Is Made Not offered this year LA

An introduction to the fundamental materials of a variety of musics, including Western concert music, jazz, and popular music. Course activities center around interrelated theoretical, compositional, and analytical projects that serve to explore issues of music theory, style, and creativity. D. Dennehy

MUS 105 - Music Theory through Performance and Composition Fall LA

An introduction to the procedures, structures, and aesthetics of tonal music. Composing, singing, playing, analysis of music such as 18th-century chorale, and 18th- and 19th-century piano music. Emphasis on fluency in handling tonal materials as a means of achieving a variety of formal and expressive ends. Two lectures, two classes, one session in practical musicianship. D. Dennehy, J. Seo, N. Joachim

MUS 106 - Music Theory through Performance and Composition Spring LA

An introduction to the procedures, structures, and aesthetics of tonal music. Composing, singing, playing, analysis of music such as 18th-century chorale, and 18th- and 19th-century piano music. Emphasis on fluency in handling tonal materials as a means of achieving a variety of formal and expressive ends. Two lectures, two classes, one session in practical musicianship. Prerequisite: ability to read music. D. Dennehy, J. Seo

MUS 205 - Species Counterpoint Fall LA

An introduction to the principles of voice leading and linear construction through a series of systematic compositional exercises. Prerequisite: 106 or equivalent. J. Seo

MUS 206 - Tonal Syntax Not offered this year LA

An introduction to the syntactic structure of the music of the 18th and 19th centuries through exercises in analysis and composition. D. Tymoczko

MUS 210 - Beginning Workshop in Musical Composition Fall/Spring LA

A continuous cycle of creation, discussion, and response based on the creative musical activity of the students. Varieties of kind and style--notated composition, multimedia music, multitracking, and improvisation--are encouraged. Prerequisite: instructor's permission. Two 90-minute classes. S. Mackey, J. Seo, B. White

MUS 220 - The Opera (also MTD 220) Not offered this year LA

An introduction opera from its beginnings in the late sixteenth century to the present, focusing on drama, vocal style, gender and sexuality, singers, and stage production; includes a consideration of non-European operatic traditions. W. Heller

MUS 221 - History of Western Choral Music Not offered this year LA

A survey of vocal literature (excluding opera) from the fifteenth century to the present day. Lectures focus on representative works that illustrate historical developments in musical style, vocal texture, and text-music relationships; attention is also given to choral music's role as an institution of social engagement, an expression of collective identity, and the societal ability to rejoice, celebrate, critique, and mourn on an impersonal level. J. Reuland

MUS 225 - Instrumental Music: The Symphony from Haydn to Florence Price Fall LA

A study of the development of the symphony from its origins in the mid-18th century through the first half of the 20th. Representative works will be chosen for detailed study in the class meetings. R. Ochs

MUS 230 - Music in the Middle Ages (also MED 230) Fall LA

Major developments of Western music up to about 1400, including some of the following: the origin and growth of chant, its liturgical context and musical properties; medieval secular song; early polyphony and Parisian organum; the French ars nova and Machaut; the Italian trecento; English medieval music. R. Wegman

MUS 232 - Music in the Renaissance Spring HA or LA

Introduction to the history and current scholarship of European music in the period 1400-1600. The principal thread is compositional history; in addition, the course includes extensive coverage of these topics: aesthetics, orality/literacy, improvisation, gender and sexuality. J. Reuland

MUS 234 - Music of the Baroque Not offered this year LA

An introductory survey of style developments, aesthetic trends affecting music, and principal vocal and instrumental genres (opera, cantata, concerto, sonata, and suite) of the period 1600-1750. Major figures to be considered include Monteverdi, Schütz, Lully, Corelli, Vivaldi, Handel, and J. S. Bach. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Prerequisite: any music course or instructor's permission. W. Heller

MUS 236 - Music of the Classical Period Not offered this year LA

Introduction to the history of 18th-century music, giving equal attention to pre-Classical and Classical periods, and covering France, England and Italy as well as Germany. The course features Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and numerous other significant figures. The chief narrative thread is the history of musical style and taste. A separate storyline running alongside this is the imaginative retelling of Dr. Charles Burney's musical journeys through Europe in the early 1770s. Extensive playlist and readings of contemporary texts (diaries, letters, travel accounts, music treatises, opera libretti, translated into English). R. Ochs

MUS 240 - Musical Modernism 1890-1945 Spring LA

An overview of modernism in European and Euro-American art music, including movements such as symbolism, expressionism, and neoclassicism. Required listening includes music of Bartók, Berg, Copland, Debussy, Ives, Mahler, Milhaud, Satie, Schoenberg, Scriabin, Stravinsky, and Varèse. Students may find it useful to have some prior experience with classical music, whether as listeners or performers. Ability to read music not required. Prerequisite: any music course, some classical music background, or instructor's permission. S. Morrison

MUS 242 - Music After Modernism, 1945 to the Present Not offered this year LA

European and American music since World War II. Study of many recent approaches to music and their cultural, social, and philosophical bases. Topics include: postwar European avant-garde, American extensions of serialism, technological developments, influences of popular and folk cultures, American avant-garde. Prerequisite: any music course, some musical background, or instructor's permission. B. White

MUS 250 - Musical Cultures of the World Not offered this year LA

Course explores aesthetic principles and social context underlying traditional and popular musics of various world regions, drawing on examples from South Africa, Japan, India, and Indonesia, among other places. Issues explored include conception of melody and rhythm in culture; the impact that language, pedagogical methods, patronage systems, gender, and ethnic or class identity have had on musical composition and performance; and the role of migration, globalization, and politics in the development of musical style. G. Steingo

MUS 251 - Music and Film Not offered this year LA

An examination of the effect of different compositional practices and different sound technologies on the film viewer. The course will focus on three parameters of film music: music that has a visual point of origin on the screen (diegetic music), music that does not have a visual point of origin on the screen (nondiegetic music, also called background scoring), and music that floats between these two realms. Prerequisite: 103, or 105, or permission of instructor. S. Morrison

MUS 258 - Music of Africa (also AFS 258) Not offered this year LA

Introduction to the vocal and instrumental music of Africa south of the Sahara. Topics include the place of music in society, the influence of language on musical composition, principles of rhythmic organization, urban popular music, "art" music as a response to colonialism, and the impact of African music on the earliest forms of African American music. Staff

MUS 260 - Music Traditions in North America (also AMS 261) Not offered this year LA

This course will delve into the many historical themes, social issues, and musical aspects that arise from surveying and comparing the diverse musical traditions of Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. Staff

MUS 262 - Jazz History: Many Sounds, Many Voices (also AAS 262) Spring LA

An introduction survey examining the historical development of jazz from its African origins through the present. The course will place emphasis on the acquisition of listening skills and explore related musical and social issues. Staff

MUS 264 - Urban Blues and the Golden Age of Rock (also URB 264) Spring LA

Examines post-World War II blues, rock music mostly of the late sixties and early seventies, and the connections between them. Explores wider musical and extramusical connections. R. Wegman

MUS 270 - Medieval and Renaissance Music from Original Notation (also MED 270) Not offered this year LA

A "hands-on" course that explores music from before 1600 using the pedagogical methods of the period. Medieval and Renaissance techniques of sight-singing, memorization, improvisation, and harmonization will be learned. Modern computer technology will also be used to investigate the deeper mystical and philosophical content of music from this period. Prerequisite: ability to read modern music notation comfortably. J. Reuland

MUS 308 - Contemporary Music through Composition and Performance Not offered this year LA

An introduction to a variety of 20th-century approaches to composition. Emphasis on understanding different techniques, syntaxes, and musical languages through exercises in compositional emulations and in performance projects of student and studied works, using available performance skills of participants. Prerequisite: 206 or instructor's permission. Staff

MUS 309 - Topics in Tonal Analysis Not offered this year LA

The course will deal closely with a small number of works from the tonal repertoire and will serve as a critical introduction to several pertinent and influential analytical methodologies, including motivic, formal, semiotic, and voice-leading analysis. The focus will be on the musical and aesthetic values that each method either enhances or attenuates. Prerequisite: 206 or instructor's permission. D. Trueman

MUS 310 - Advanced Workshop in Musical Composition Fall LA

A composition course for independent, self-directed composers. Most of the class will be spent working on a single piece. Students will present their work-in-progress to the class weekly or biweekly depending on enrollment. We will have a concert of final projects at the end of the semester, with all student pieces to be performed by So Percussion, the music department's world-renowned ensemble-in-residence. D. Tymoczko

MUS 311 - Jazz Theory through Improvisation and Composition I Not offered this year LA

An exploration of the melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic principles of the bebop paradigm. The course includes analysis of representative works by various jazz masters and will place a strong emphasis on student projects in improvisation and composition. Prerequisites: 105 or permission of instructor. Two 90-minute classes. Staff

MUS 312 - Jazz Theory through Improvisation and Composition II Not offered this year LA

An examination of the theoretical principles found in modal jazz through analysis of representative works by such composers as Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, and Herbie Hancock. The course will place a strong emphasis on student projects in improvisation and composition. Prerequisites: 105 or permission of instructor. Two 90-minute classes. Staff

MUS 314 - Computer and Electronic Music through Programming, Performance, and Composition (also COS 314) Fall QCR

An introduction to the fundamentals of computer and electronic music in the context of the Princeton Laptop Orchestra (PLOrk). The music and sound programming language ChucK, developed here at Princeton, will be used in conjunction with Max/MSP, another digital audio language, to study procedural programming, digital signal processing and synthesis, networking, and human-computer interfacing. D. Trueman, J. Snyder

MUS 316 - Computer and Electronic Music Composition Spring LA

Compositional projects involving computers and synthesizers. Some work may involve interactions between live and electronic sounds. Prerequisite: 314 or permission of instructor. D. Trueman, J. Snyder, T. Braxton

MUS 333 - Bach and Handel Not offered this year LA

The contrasting careers and oeuvres of the two greatest representatives of the late baroque in music will be considered both individually and comparatively. Prerequisite: a year of theory or instructor's permission. W. Heller

MUS 339 - Russian Music (also RES 311/SLA 311) Spring LA

A detailed survey of Russian national and international composers. Topics of discussion and analysis will include magic opera, realism, orientalism, the relationship between composers and poets of the Russian Symbolist era, the World of Art movement and the Ballets Russes, Soviet film music, Soviet arts doctrine, and musical aesthetics (especially as they pertain to authorship and identity). Prerequisites: 105 or permission of instructor. S. Morrison

MUS 430 - Topics in History, Analysis, and Interpretation Not offered this year LA

Topics chosen from, but not limited to: a group of works by a single composer (Leonin's organa, Monteverdi's madrigals, Brahms's symphonies); a certain genre (19th-century choral works, Hindustani Khayal, contemporary rock, late 16th-century madrigal); a specific theoretical or historical problem (atonal theory, composers' sketches and musical analysis, the origins of opera). Staff

MUS 431 - Topics in History, Analysis, and Interpretation Not offered this year LA

Topics chosen from, but not limited to: a group of works by a single composer (Leonin's organa, Monteverdi madrigals, Brahms's symphonies); a certain genre (19th-century choral works, Hindustani Khayal, contemporary rock, late 16th-century madrigal); a specific theoretical or historical problem (atonal theory, composers' sketches and musical analysis, the origins of opera). Staff

DAN 304 - Special Topics in Contemporary Practice (also MUS 301/THR 321/VIS 320) LA

Offers students the opportunity to gain a working knowledge of the ways in which dance, dance/theater, and body-based art are created and performed today. Primarily a studio course that stresses learning through doing. Students will have the opportunity to work with leading experimental creators. Topics, prerequisites, and formats will vary from year to year. Staff

HUM 470 - Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities (also CLA 470/ECS 470/MUS 470) Spring LA

This team-taught seminar examines texts, objects, periods and themes from an interdisciplinary perspective. Although designed to be the capstone course for students pursuing a certificate in Humanistic Studies, it is open to other students if space is available. The specific topic varies each year depending on the focus of the faculty team. Staff

THR 330 - Special Topics in Performance Practice (also MTD 330/MUS 328) Not offered this year LA

A special topics course designed to build upon and/or enhance existing program courses, taking into consideration the strengths and interests of program concentrators and the availability of appropriate instructors. Topics, prerequisites, and formats will vary from year to year. Staff