Music Overview

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Music at Spelman College



On campus, Spelman music majors can be found honing their craft in our choral and instrumental rehearsal rooms equipped with Steinway piano or exploring creative possibilities in our music technology and recording labs. These facilities are currently housed in the beautifully renovated Rockefeller Arts Building, as well as temporarily in the Milligan Building and the Living and Learning Center II. We are eagerly anticipating our permanent move to the Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D. Center for Innovation & the Arts, scheduled for Spring 2025.

For those pursuing a BA in Music, we offer five specialized concentration areas: Performance, Songwriting/Composition, Music Technology, Choral Conducting, and Music Research. Our performance ensembles include the AUC Orchestra, Chamber Music (Spelman Chamber Players), Contemporary Popular Music Ensemble, and Jazz Ensemble.

The mission of the Department of Music at Spelman College is to enhance students' educational experiences through the study, experimentation, performance, and expression of music. Aligned with the college’s goal of imparting the knowledge, skills, and abilities essential for freethinking women of color, our department focuses on expanding students' understanding of women's roles across various fields of music. We aim to equip them to become leading 21st-century creators, innovators, thinkers, and change agents in music and the arts.


View Ensembles

Auditions

 

Friday, August 16, 2024

Glee Club Auditions
Rockefeller Fine Arts Building, Room 105
2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Sign Up to Audition

The Spelman College Glee Club is the premier performance organization for the College and sings for most campus events. Students who are interested in becoming a member of the Spelman College Glee Club must audition. Auditions are evaluated by the Director of the Glee Club and selected music faculty.


 

Friday, August 16, 2024

Music Department Auditions
Rockefeller Fine Arts Building, Room 109
5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Mandatory Registration

All interested music majors and minors are required to participate in the Music Department’s auditions. Auditions are evaluated by the music faculty and will last between 10-20 minutes.

 

Saturday, August 17, 2024

Glee Club Audition
Rockefeller Fine Arts Building, Room 105

11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Click to Audition

The Spelman College Glee Club is the premier performance organization for the College and sings for most campus events. Students who are interested in becoming a member of the Spelman College Glee Club must audition. Auditions are evaluated by the Director of the Glee Club, as well as selected music faculty.

 

Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Auditions for Contemporary Popular Music Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble
Living and Learning Center II Auditorium
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Interested in playing or singing blues, jazz, hip-hop, fusion, or other popular music? The
Contemporary Popular Music Ensemble is open to all students (music majors and nonmusic majors) capable of performing music from various stylistic periods and genres. Students interested in becoming a member of the Contemporary Popular Music Ensemble must participate in an audition evaluated by the director.

Please note that auditions for both the Contemporary Popular Music Ensemble and the Jazz Ensemble will take place on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.

 

Placement Test

 

Friday, August 16, 2024

Music Department Theory and Keyboard
Placement Tests
Rockefeller Fine Arts Building, Room 103
6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Music Majors and Minors

 

 

 

New Music Technology Concentration

Music Technology is a concentration for music majors! Students who pursue the music technology concentration will receive hands-on studio experience working with industry-standard recording and production technology. For questions or more information, contact Dr. Christina Butera at cbutera@spelman.edu.

Learn More About Music Technology

 

What We Offer

Spelman offers courses of study in vocal performance, piano performance, instrumental performance (brass, woodwinds, percussion and strings), composition, choral conducting and music and education.

Its graduates have distinguished themselves in classrooms, communities, fine arts organizations, and on stages throughout the world.


Going All the Way With Steinway

Spelman College is the first historically Black college or university, to join a prestigious group of institutions designated as All-Steinway Schools. All-Steinway Schools are institutions that have made an agreement with Steinway & Sons, the oldest piano company in America, that 90 percent or more of the school’s collection of pianos will be Steinways.

The goal of the department, which has a faculty-student ratio of 4 to 1, is to prepare students for contributions and fulfillment after they leave, leading to professional careers in performance, scholarship, music education or related fields.

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College Bulletin

2020-2022

College Bulletin

2017-2019

College Bulletin

2009-2010

College Bulletin

2008-2009

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