Visual & Performing Arts

Program Description

Ithaca College

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Since its founding in 1892 as a conservatory of music, Ithaca College has been nurturing and developing its musical character. The College remains dedicated to the goals of its founder, W. Grant Egbert, who said, “It is my plan to build a school of music second to none in the excellence of its faculty, the soundness of its educational ideals, and the superior quality of instruction.”

As the conservatory evolved into a college with expanded academic offerings, the programs in music retained their position of prominence. Today, Ithaca’s School of Music is counted among the nation’s leading schools devoted primarily to undergraduate study. Students benefit from a blend of first-class faculty members, innovative programs, and outstanding facilities.

Students in the School of Music take about one quarter of their academic work in the liberal arts, primarily through the School of Humanities and Sciences. Additional electives from the Schools of Business, Communications, and Health Sciences and Human Performance and the Division of Interdisciplinary and International Studies are also available. The interaction between these schools and the division is another advantage to an Ithaca education: physics majors can be found working in the electroacoustic music studios, television-radio majors may take courses such as Music and the Media, and music students play in the pit orchestra for theater productions and perform on sound tracks for student filmmakers. The planned studies option allows students to create their own degree programs that take advantage of the broad array of courses and majors—some 2,000 courses and more than 100 degree programs are offered.

Students who come to the Ithaca College School of Music are already dedicated to the idea of mastering voice, piano, guitar, or any of the standard orchestral and band instruments. At Ithaca they continue their training under a faculty of performing professionals who are dedicated to teaching undergraduates. Students prepare for their musical performances through weekly private lessons and hour-long repertory classes with their major teachers and fellow students. Repertory classes provide opportunities for students to perform for each other, review performance techniques, and meet guest artists such as James Ehnes, William Bolcom, Paul Sperry, Billy Taylor, Phyllis Curtain, Midori, Christian Tetzlaff, and the Guarneri String Quartet. As soloists and with ensembles, students become part of the rich musical life of the school, where more than 300 recitals, concerts, musicals, and operas are given each year.

All degree programs emphasize performance. Each year, some 500 undergraduate and 40 graduate students are involved in live performances—on campus, in the Ithaca community, throughout the northeastern United States, and at national and international concert venues. In addition, several ensembles tour annually and have won critical acclaim for their work in New York City at Lincoln Center, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and Carnegie Hall; throughout New England; in Washington, D.C., and other cities; and in international venues such as London’s Royal Academy of Music and the University of Limerick in Ireland.

The city of Ithaca is one of the country’s premier college towns, with about 26,000 students at Ithaca College and Cornell University. Surrounded by magnificent gorges, lakes, and countryside in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, Ithaca is a thriving cultural center. The community supports an impressive array of concerts, art galleries, movies, and theater productions. Among the artists who have performed in town recently are Steve Earle, Cassandra Wilson, Arlo Guthrie, Branford Marsalis, Yo-Yo Ma, and David Crosby and Graham Nash.

Ithaca College’s combination of a resident faculty, an emphasis on undergraduate performance, and access to a wide spectrum of liberal arts courses makes it an excellent choice among the major music schools in the nation.

Program Facilities

 Performance spaces include Ford Hall Auditorium (750 seats) and the Hockett Family Recital Hall (250 seats). Electroacoustic music studios, computer-assisted instruction facilities, a professionally equipped recording studio, and a full complement of practice instruments are available. Some ninety practice rooms are open to students, and there are forty Steinway grand pianos included in the 167 pianos at the school. The library has extensive holdings of music and recordings. A 69,000-square-foot music building addition has nearly doubled the existing space and includes increased rehearsal space, a computer classroom and lab, and a music education resource center.

Faculty, Resident Artists, and Alumni

 Faculty members perform nationally and regionally; many are scholars in the fields of music education, theory, composition, and history. Resident faculty ensembles include the Ithaca Brass, Ithaca Wind Quintet, and Ariadne String Quartet. Alumni hold positions in major orchestras and opera companies, perform in many prestigious chamber ensembles, sing on Broadway, and are recognized jazz recording artists. They also hold teaching positions in secondary schools and universities and are successful in arts administration, music publishing, audio technology, and music business.

Student Performance Opportunities

 Every student is required to perform in a major ensemble each semester; many participate in more than one. There are more than twenty student ensembles, including symphony orchestra, chamber orchestra, wind ensemble, concert band, symphonic band, brass choir, percussion ensemble, guitar ensemble, choir, chorus, women’s chorale, madrigal singers, vocal jazz ensemble, opera workshop, and jazz workshop, as well as other numerous chamber ensembles.

Special Programs

 Students may study abroad at the Ithaca College London Center or in one of about fifty countries worldwide. The Office of Career Services offers special assistance geared to music students, and alumni also actively serve as career opportunity resources.

Application Procedures

Deadline--freshmen: February 1; transfers: March 1. Notification date--freshmen: April 15. Required: essay, high school transcript, college transcript(s) for transfer students, letter of recommendation, audition, SAT or ACT test scores, two original music scores for composition applicants. Recommended: minimum 3.0 high school GPA, interview. Auditions held 12 times on campus and off campus in New York, NY; Washington, DC; Philadelphia, PA; Boston, MA; recorded music is permissible as a substitute for live auditions when distance is prohibitive or scheduling is difficult and videotaped performances are permissible as a substitute for live auditions when distance is prohibitive or scheduling is difficult (video preferred).

Undergraduate Contact

Mr. Gerard Turbide, Director, Admission, Ithaca College, 100 Job Hall, Ithaca, New York 14850-7020; 607-274-3124, fax: 607-274-1900.

Graduate Contact

Dean of Graduate and Professional Studies, Ithaca College, 111 Towers Concourse, Ithaca, New York 14850-7142; 607-274-3527, fax: 607-274-1263.