Graduate Music Session

Summer Graduate Study for Music Educators

Since its founding in 1892 as a conservatory of music, Ithaca College has had a long tradition of educating many of the finest music educators and musicians in this country. With over 500 undergraduate and graduate students, the School of Music offers a full range of music degrees at the undergraduate and master’s degree levels. In addition, the College offers interesting and engaging summer workshops for practicing music educators and musicians.

Graduate studies in the summer focus on the master’s degree in music education. This degree, which is required for New York State permanent/professional certification, can be completed in three or four summers and is designed to offer participants the same dynamic and extensive opportunities and curriculum as the residential program. Highlights of the program include

• a series of core classes that focus on pedagogy, research, philosophical foundations, as well as contemporary educational issues, methodology, and resources;
• a rich offering of music electives that rotate in a three-year cycle and are designed to give participants the opportunity to select from a wide range of topics, including curriculum development, contemporary issues, music technology, special learners, multicultural music, and administration and supervision;
• a valuable opportunity for two summers of one-on-one mentoring with one of our widely recognized faculty members.

A limited number of summer assistantships is available.

Students who wish to apply for the summer master’s program in music education should consult the School of Music or the Division of Graduate Studies. Contact information is listed in the sidebar.

Graduate Music Summer Workshops

June 25–29

These workshops are open to both graduate degree students and nondegree students and may be taken for two graduate credits or on a noncredit basis.

Northeast Wind Conducting Symposium
(MUED-73700-41)

This symposium is designed to investigate and improve techniques of conducting and rehearsing, and to explore other topics of interest to the serious wind conductor. The 2007 symposium features Mallory Thompson, director of bands at Northwestern University, and Stephen Peterson, director of bands at Ithaca College, as they lead lecture/discussion sessions with wind conductors at all levels. Topics include repertoire, rehearsal techniques, score study, national standards, and setting and maintaining musical, personal, and educational standards. Participants will conduct a live ensemble while focusing on refining their conducting skills, and they may submit their own repertoire for approval for inclusion in the conducting sessions.

Choral Music Experience: New Directions in Choral Music
(MUED-73500-41)

This workshop expands the boundaries of traditional choral repertoire and includes movement, instruments, and means of communication. Participants will examine conducting technique, vocal pedagogy, and score study with the resident chorus of young people. Offered by Janet Galván, along with guest composer/conductor Francisco Núñez (conductor of the 2007 Multicultural National Honor Choir) and Jennifer Haywood, this workshop will include a package of distinctive repertoire, which is varied in style, period, and voicing. The resident chorus will include members of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City and the Ithaca Children’s Choir.

Rhythms of the World
(MUED-72700-41)

This workshop is designed for vocal and instrumental music teachers who are interested in using world drumming and other non-pitched percussion instruments to enhance their music curriculum. Pedagogical techniques will be explored that will help the music specialist organize and facilitate a world music group using West African and Afro-Brazilian rhythms. Rhythms from different cultures will also be incorporated into the overall experience. The workshop will be taught by Baruch J. Whitehead, assistant pro-fessor of music education at Ithaca College and West African music expert, and Deraldo Ferreira of the Brazilian Cultural Center of New England, who also teaches classes and workshops at Hampshire College, Amherst College, Smith College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and at the Dance Complex in Sardinia, Italy.

Saxophone Performance and Pedagogy
(MUED-70100-41)

Ithaca College professor and classical saxophonist Steven Mauk will be joined by jazz saxophonist Chris Vadala from the University of Maryland for an intensive week of saxophone study. This workshop will concentrate on all essential elements of saxophone performance and teaching, and is open to professionals, amateurs, and college and advanced high school saxophonists. Vadala will focus on such topics as woodwind doubling, jazz improvisation, career management, and becoming a versatile saxophonist. Mauk will discuss the fundamental elements of playing the saxophone, repertoire, and specific teaching techniques. Both Mauk and Vadala will perform a recital and present master classes in their respective areas of classical and jazz music. A large saxophone ensemble, formed by the participants, will perform at the workshop’s closing concert.

Composing, Improvising, and Arranging: Techniques for Expanding Creativity in the Traditional Classroom/ Rehearsal
(MUED-70700-41)

This course is designed to enable instrumental and vocal music teachers to incorporate composition, improvisation, and arranging into their classrooms and rehearsals in compliance with state and national standards. Participants will begin with an overview of the creative process and then compose an original piece as a model for developing teaching techniques for student composition. Methods and techniques developed and discussed in class will serve as the means to produce teaching units, which will be designed to transfer easily into standard curricula. Workshop presenter Greg Rudgers is a composer with Manhattan Beach, Carl Fischer, and Grand Mesa Music who has spent many years in public school music developing student composition programs.