School of Music

Dr. Benjamin J. Brooks, Director of the School of Music

Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex, Room 202 • WTAMU Box 60879
806-651-2840 • Fax 806-651-2958
bbrooks@wtamu.edu • School Website

Faculty: Abbasova, Barger, Bartley, Beckham-Turner, Bell, Blackburn, Brooks, Evans, Hansen, Hieb, Ingebritsen, Jekova-Goza, Krause, Kuhnert, Lefevre, Lewis, Lopez, Manfredi, Meredink, Nam, Oglesby, Pullen, Rushing, Scales, Shanks, Storey, Takacs, Tariq, Teweleit, Todorov, Zvonnikov.

West Texas A&M University is fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music.

Requirements for All Music Majors

All entering freshman and transfer students intending to major in music must perform an entrance audition for a faculty committee. Each performance area has specific audition requirements and students should contact the music office for additional details. The audition will consist of:

Performance of a Class I solo, selected from University Interscholastic League (UIL) Contest Solo list or comparable solo.
Performance by instrumental and keyboard students of the major scales by memory. Wind instruments will also be expected to play a chromatic scale in the normal playing range of the instrument.
Sight-reading with some degree of fluency of easy music selected by the auditioning committee.
In addition to requirements listed above for the primary instrument, composition students will submit supporting materials in the form of musical scores.

Music Ensembles

Ensemble participation may be elected by qualified students from any department. No more than eight hours of music ensemble credit (MUEN 2140 and MUEN 2160 exempt) may be applied on any degree offered by this University.

Applied Music

Private study of piano, voice, string, brass, and woodwind instruments is available on a space-available basis to all students of the University on both beginning and advanced levels of instruction. Course fees apply., percussion instruments, composition and conducting is available to all students of the University on both beginning and advanced levels of instruction. Course fees apply.

NOTE: Only 80 hours of music (MUSI), music ensemble (MUEN) and applied music (MUAP) courses can be applied to a bachelor’s degree in music. All other course work must be taken outside the school.

School Requirements

Ensemble Requirement

The required minimum semester hours of ensemble courses are detailed in each degree plan. Band (MUEN XX26 or XX27) is the major ensemble for woodwinds, brass and percussion; choir (MUEN XX41 or XX42) for voice; orchestra (MUEN XX29) for strings; choir for keyboard majors, but keyboard students may choose band or orchestra, respectively, if they can play a woodwind, brass, percussion or string instrument. Transfer students, students who are accepted as music majors after their first semester and other extenuating circumstances may need to be evaluated by the director of the School of Music to determine how many semesters of ensemble at WTAMU are needed for graduation. Any exception to the eight-semester rule must be approved in writing by the director of the School of Music.

Keyboard Proficiency

All majors (except piano majors and those choosing Music Industry, Option 1 or Option 2) must demonstrate functional keyboard skills by completing four semesters of class piano with a grade of “C” or better.

Incoming first-year students, transfer students, and native students changing major to music, who have keyboard skills may be placed in MUSI 2182 or MUAP 1069 (one credit hour) until the four-semester requirement is satisfied. Transfer students entering with four semesters with a grade of “C” or better will be advised by the piano faculty, as necessary, of any additional requirements.

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree

Musical Theatre B.A. (Major Code: 215)

Administered by the Department of Art, Theatre and Dance, this is an interdisciplinary performance degree that requires development and study in theatre (33 hours), music (21 hours) and dance (11 hours).

For more information, refer to the “Department of Art, Theatre and Dance ” section of this catalog.

Discipline - Course Prefix
Applied Music - MUAP
Music - MUSI
Music Ensemble - MUEN
Music Industry - MUMI

NOTE: See the “Course Descriptions ” section of this catalog for a complete list of courses offered by the University.

Programs

Majors

Certifications, Teacher

Music Education with (Grades EC-12) Music Educator Certification B.M.Ed.

Minors

Music Minor