Graduate Music Workshops

2009 Tuition Rates

Graduate tuition, per credit hour: $603
Noncredit participation fee (graduate music workshops only) is $625.

Registration for any of the graduate music workshops must be done through the Division of Graduate and Professional Studies. You may pay by check, made payable to Ithaca College, or by credit card.

If paying by check, please download the Registration and Housing Payment Form (PDF) and mail it to:
Division of Graduate and Professional Studies
Ithaca College
953 Danby Road
Ithaca, NY 14850

If paying by credit card, please go to the workshop registration page, fill out the online form and continue to payment.

Housing and Meals

Housing is available for workshop participants from Sunday night through Friday night, June 28-July 3, 2009.

Some residence halls have community bathrooms and showers (separated by gender) and are not climate controlled. Some have private bathrooms with showers, and are climate controlled. Smoking is not permitted in any of the residence halls.

Meals may be purchased in the College snack bar or off campus. A College dining hall, where you may purchase cafeteria-style meals on a fixed-price basis, will also be open.

June 29-July 3, 2009

Each of the workshops listed below is offered for two graduate credits, or noncredit.

Choral Music Experience Workshop
The Complexity of Simplicity: Connecting West African Singing, Dancing, and Drumming to
Choral Music (MUED-73500-41)

West African drumming shares common ground with classical and contemporary choral music in its invitation for listeners and performers to hear and understand the communication between parts and patterns within the musical form. This workshop will explore listening with the mind and body and communicating with other parts within the ensemble to enhance individual musicianship in a vibrant musical community. Join Janet Galván, Kathy Armstrong, and Jennifer Haywood as they connect the wisdom and spirit of drumming to the artistry of singing. Participants will refine their conducting gesture, vocal pedagogy, and score study. (Those who have studied with Armstrong before will have opportunities for more challenging involvement.) A chorus of young people (ages 10 to 18) will offer participants the opportunity to work on their conducting and rehearsal technique. Members of the Young People's Chorus of New York City will join the Ithaca Children's Choir in residence. A package of distinctive repertoire will form the basis for score study, including cultural context, and vocal pedagogy. The repertoire will feature works for all levels (easy to difficult) from several styles and periods for treble voices, mixed choirs, and young men's choruses.

Northeast Wind Conducting Symposium (MUED-73700-41)

As of May 19th this workshop is full. Anyone wishing to be put on a waiting list should contact the Division of Graduate & Professional Studies by email at gps@ithaca.edu or phone 607-274-3143.

The Ithaca College Northeast Wind Conducting 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 2009 symposium features Anthony J. Maiello, professor of music and director of instrumental studies at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia; and Stephen Peterson, director of bands at Ithaca College. Together they will lead lecture and discussion sessions with wind conductors at all levels of experience. Each of the five days will offer participants opportunities to conduct a live ensemble performing a variety of well-known wind works, during which time conducting technique will be addressed. Discussion topics will include rehearsal technique, repertoire at several different levels, and current conducting and rehearsal trends—including implementation of national standards. Workshop members will be offered abundant opportunities for meaningful discussion about all aspects of being a wind conductor/teacher.

Successful Leadership in Contemporary Music Education (MUED-70500-41) 

This workshop, designed for the contemporary music educator and/or supervisor, will be presented by Keith Kaiser, chair of music education at Ithaca College. Participants will examine effective leadership and its relationship to successful teaching in our contemporary environment. Strategies for advancing music in society will be discussed, including sessions with guest clinician Edward Lisk, former director of bands and K-12 music supervisor for the Oswego City School District. Workshop participants will be encouraged to synthesize and apply class principles and materials to their current teaching settings. The five-day workshop will give participants the opportunity to develop a better understanding of leadership attributes such as: employing characteristics of quality leadership; advancing music in contemporary society; nurturing leadership characteristics in students; getting beyond administrative tasks to envision individual and program advancement; investigating how goal-setting, communication, perspective, and environment affect success; and building trust, professional equity, and conflict management skills. Additionally, the workshop sessions will review current legislation, regulations, and trends affecting contemporary music education.

Creativity in Public School Music: Improvisation and Composition (MUED-70800-41)

Music teachers and other musicians, who may have limited or no background in composition or improvisation, will broaden their musicianship while learning to teach in creative areas as suggested by the National Standards and State Framework for Music. The workshop will serve to develop participants’ skills and confidence and also provide instruction on specific ways educators can help develop composition/improvisation skills in students at both the middle-school and high-school levels. Hands-on experience is emphasized, and participants are encouraged, but not required, to bring any instrument on which they feel comfortable performing. The workshop will be led by Louise Mygatt, music lecturer at Ithaca College. A composer and jazz musician who has taught in the School of Music at Ithaca College since 1993, Mygatt directs an improvisation ensemble for composers and players and teaches improvisation and composition for non-music majors, as well as jazz piano, voice, and music in popular culture courses. The workshop also will feature two guest clinicians: Dana Wilson is an internationally-known composer and jazz pianist and is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Music at Ithaca College. Patricia White is active in the New York State School of Music Association and chairs the NYSSMA Music Technology in Education Committee.