Music
Enhance your conducting skills and specialize in choral, orchestral, or wind ensemble conducting.
Music, Conducting Concentration, M.M.
The Master of Music degree program with a conducting concentration is an advanced course of study for musicians who hold a Bachelor's degree and seek advanced instruction in choral or orchestral and wind ensemble conducting. The program features studies in literature, arrangement, and interpretation with an ensemble experience designed to maximize podium time. Students study with a distinguished faculty of experienced artists who mentor students toward an individual artistic voice and its expression in the direction of an ensemble. Graduate teaching assistantship opportunities are available to qualified students.
News Briefs
MTSU alumni named CMA Foundation Music Teachers of Excellence
After almost a decade as a high school band director, MTSU alumnus John Hazlett has not only shared his expertise with his students; he’s advanced his education at MTSU to better serve them and received recognition for his efforts, most recently being named a CMA Foundation Music Teacher of Excellence for the third time. “It is a great honor [ Read More ]
News Briefs
MTSU alumni named CMA Foundation Music Teachers of Excellence
After almost a decade as a high school band director, MTSU alumnus John Hazlett has not only shared his expertise with his students; he’s advanced his education at MTSU to better serve them and received recognition for his efforts, most recently being named a CMA Foundation Music Teacher of Excellence for the third time. “It is a great honor [ Read More ]
Music, Conducting Concentration, M.M.
Alumni from the School of Music teach thousands of students every day in private studios and schools from kindergarten through university levels. MTSU graduates perform in orchestras, military ensembles, and opera companies; appear in clubs and recording studios with the famous and yet-to-be-known; compose music for Hollywood films and commercial jingles; lead professional music organizations; work in the music industry; serve as church musicians; and continually enrich the lives of others. Some continue on to enter prestigious doctoral programs. A sample of potential professional pathways for music master’s students:
- Artistic director
- Band director/leader
- Choral/choir director
- Church musician/worship leader
- College professor/instructor
- Conductor
- General music teacher at elementary/middle schools
- Music educator
- Music theater director
- Musical director
- Orchestra librarian
- Studio musician
Employers of MTSU alumni include
- Bellevue Middle School
- Belmont University
- Cane Ridge High School
- Case Western Reserve University
- Chattanooga Symphony
- Cumberland University
- The Downtown Band
- Earl Klugh (Grammy winner)
- EMBRA Artists, LTD.
- Fairview Middle School
- Jeff Coffin (Grammy winner)
- Jonathan Fletcher Music
- Lipscomb University
- MEINL Percussion
- Middle Tennessee State University
- Murfreesboro City Schools
- Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra
- Nashville State Community College
- Northeast Mississippi Community College
- Old Center Elementary School, Nashville
- Onks Woodwind Specialist
- Siegel Middle School
- Trevecca Nazarene University
- University of Louisiana-Lafayette
- University of Northern Colorado
- Vine Street Christian Church, Nashville
MTSU’s Career Development Center
MTSU offers a comprehensive Career Development Center that serves students throughout the full student experience and beyond. They collaborate with faculty and staff to equip students with the tools to be marketable to the world of work and continuing education.
Students can schedule an appointment or check online resources and job boards at mtsu.edu/career.
Students can find current internship opportunities by talking to faculty and visiting the University job and internship board called Handshake .
Wondering what you can do with your major? Check out our What Can I Do with A Major In guides.
Brochures
General Application Procedures
- Submit through the University’s Application tool (button below):
- Submit application with the appropriate fee
- Submit official transcripts of all previous college work
- Submit three letters of recommendation.
- Email directly to the program coordinator of interested area
- Additional Requirements (video links, papers, compositions, etc)
- By the February 1 deadline
- Complete a Student Application (if interested) for a Graduate Teaching Assistantship
Additional Requirements: Audition
Additionally, those seeking a specialization in conducting must complete an audition.
Choral Conducting Audition
Please provide a video of you conducting both a recent choral performance and a video of you rehearsing a choral ensemble. Please contact Dr. Raphael Bundage if you need additional information. [email protected] or Ph. 615-898-2849.
Orchestral Conducting Audition
Preliminary audition
Please submit the following materials to Dr. Nies ([email protected]) by February 5.
- a fifteen minute online conducting video by link. (Send by dropbox link or other online source)
- your resume
On-campus audition
Applicants who pass the preliminary audition will be invited for an on-campus audition.
This will include:
- Conducting assigned repertoire
- Score-reading test at the piano
- Sight-singing
- Melodic and harmonic dictation test
Please contact Dr. Carol Nies for additional information. ([email protected] or 615-898-5318).
Wind Band Conducting
Video Prescreening (required)
The prescreening submission should be between 15 and 20 minutes in length and should include both rehearsal and performance footage in which the applicant is visible.
- All of the rehearsal footage should show a frontal view of the applicant; preferably edited to highlight segments focused on dealing with specific rehearsal problems of intonation, ensemble balance, technique, style or interpretation. Videos of uninterrupted run-throughs in a rehearsal setting are not considered rehearsal material.
- One unedited performance of a complete work, preferably the same work featured in the rehearsal video above. The camera should be positioned behind the ensemble facing the conductor and the conductor should be clearly visible.
Email and attach your video prescreening to [email protected], by the December 1 deadline.
Audition (if invited)
- Repertoire and audition expectations will be discussed at the time the applicant is invited to audition live.
Vocal Conducting / Instrumental Conducting
Applicants who do not pass the audition may be allowed, at the discretion of the faculty, to be admitted with probationary status for one semester and must register for MUAP 5020 – Private Instruction. They must re-audition at the end of their first semester of study. Students who do not pass the audition on their second attempt will be excused from the program.
Resources
- Graduate Studies Information Sheet
- To Be Admitted
- Financial Assistance
- Music History Diagnostic Exam (Not applicable for Music Education concentration)
- Music Theory Diagnostic Exam (Not applicable for Music Education concentration)
Links
- Reference Forms
- Graduate Students in Music
- Ensembles
- Facilities
- Student Utilities
- Faculty by Field of Study
- Visiting Faculty
Libraries
Public Accountability Notice
Middle Tennessee State University has been accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) since 1970.
To see data about the program, please visit this webpage: https://planeffectiveness.mtsu.edu/master_music/.
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