Visual & Performing Arts

Program Description

Purchase College, State University of New York

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The Conservatory of Music at Purchase College offers a comprehensive musical education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels for gifted students seeking professional training in music. All students who enter the Conservatory of Music have been admitted as the result of an audition process. Purchase is an intimate community of approximately 450 students studying with distinguished and dedicated faculty members who are as committed to their teaching as they are to their own careers as performers, composers, and scholars.

The Conservatory of Music offers the following degrees: Bachelor of Music, Performer’s Certificate, Master of Music, and Artist’s Diploma. Areas of study include instrumental performance: woodwinds (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon), brass (trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba), strings (violin, viola, cello, bass), classical guitar, harp, percussion, and piano (also organ/harpsichord); voice/opera studies; jazz studies; composition; studio composition; and studio production.

The core undergraduate curriculum for the Bachelor of Music degree is similar throughout the four years for all areas of study: students take private or small-group study; ensemble; a series of skills courses in music theory, history, and musicianship; and courses specific to their primary area of study. All students perform here—early, classical, contemporary, jazz, electro-acoustic, and commercial—and the opportunities to perform are numerous.

The 30-credit general education program in the liberal arts and sciences supports the Conservatory curriculum and provides a broad education that enhances the musical education and better prepares the students to function successfully as thoughtful, responsible, and contributive members to society.

The Master of Music degree is an intensive program designed to provide advanced training for students seeking professional careers in music. Other training opportunities include the one- or two-year Performer’s Certificate, a postbaccalaureate program, and the Artist’s Diploma postgraduate program.

The Conservatory of Music provides the serious, developing musician an educational experience that encourages excellence within the context of a nurturing and supportive learning environment. Instruction in the classroom and studio is significantly enhanced by a regular series of concerts, including faculty and guest artist recitals, master classes, workshops and special events. Among those who have offered their musical gifts and special insights to the Conservatory of Music community are Emanuel Ax, Colorado Quartet, Misha Dichter, Emerson Quartet, Vladimir Feltsman, Guarneri Quartet, Matt Haimovitz, Jimmy Heath, Freddie Hubbard, Marilyn Horne, Juilliard Quartet, Lang Lang, Jennifer Larmore, Branford Marsalis, Midori, New Millennium Ensemble, Charles Niedich, Garrick Ohlssohn, Orpheus, Frederic Rzewski, Clark Terry, Tokyo Quartet, and Yo-Yo Ma.

The Conservatory of Music at Purchase College is one of the few conservatories in the nation producing fully mounted opera productions predominantly for undergraduates. The opera program has won the National Opera Association’s “Best Production of the Year” awards for Hansel and Gretel (2004), Dialogues of the Carmelites (2005), and The Coronation of Poppea (2007). The jazz curriculum is performance-driven and includes both large and small ensemble work. The majority of the studio production and composition students work professionally while still at Purchase because of the contacts and opportunities offered to them by the faculty. The other major areas of study also provide similar intensive training and resources in support of professional development.

Application Procedures

Deadline--freshmen and transfers: June 1. Notification date--freshmen and transfers: July 1. Required: high school transcript, college transcript(s) for transfer students, audition, SAT or ACT test scores, minimum TOEFL score of 550 for international applicants, portfolio for composition majors. Recommended: essay, minimum 3.0 high school GPA, 2 letters of recommendation, interview. Auditions held 4 times on campus; recorded music is permissible as a substitute for live auditions when distance is prohibitive or in special circumstances and videotaped performances are permissible as a substitute for live auditions when distance is prohibitive or in special circumstances. Portfolio reviews held 4 times on campus.

Undergraduate Contact

James Gibson, Admissions Counselor, Conservatory of Theatre Arts and Film, Purchase College, State University of New York, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, New York 10577-1400; 914-251-6305, fax: 914-251-6314.

Graduate Contact

Ms. Sabrina Johnson, Counselor, Conservatory of Music, Purchase College, State University of New York, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, New York 10577-1400; 914-251-6479, fax: 914-251-6739.