Chair
Rachel Rensink-Hoff
Professor
Brian E. Power
Associate Professors
Karin Di Bella, Peter Landey, Rachel Rensink-Hoff, Matthew Royal
Assistant Professor
Nina Penner
Resident Ensembles
Avanti Chamber Singers
Academic Advisor
Elizabeth Maddeaux
rmaddeaux@brocku.ca
General Information
Administrative Assistant
Katarina Rieger
music@brocku.ca
905-688-5550, extension 3817
brocku.ca/music
The goal of the Department of Music, part of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, is to prepare students for their chosen musical career and to produce critically aware musicians with a broadly based musical education. The Department of Music offers programs of study leading to a Bachelor of Music (BMus) Honours, a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Honours in Music, a BA with Major in Music and a Pass BA degree program. Students may also pursue a combined major or a minor in Music.
BMus and BA Honours students may earn a Concentration in Music Education. BMus students may declare a Concentration in Music Performance following a successful audition. BMus students may also declare a Concentration in Choral Music, or Music Therapy Foundations. BA students may declare a Concentration in Community Music. All concentrations are satisfied by successfully completing designated courses in addition to general program requirements. Alternatively, students may earn a BMus or a BA Honours degree without declaring a concentration.
Students take core courses in music in society, theory, general musicianship and choral ensemble performance. Students in the BMus program must take lessons in one of the following areas: piano, pipe organ, voice, classical guitar, harp, flute, oboe, clarinet, classical saxophone, bassoon, trumpet, French horn, trombone, tuba, percussion, violin, viola, cello and double bass. If lessons are not taken in successive years, students must re-audition.
Student progress will be evaluated annually. To continue in the BMus program students must achieve a minimum grade of 60 percent in all core MUSI courses and a minimum 70 percent major average, plus a minimum of 75% on the jury in 1-2-3F92. Any student who does not meet these requirements will be placed in the BA with Major program. To re-declare to BMus a student must upgrade any core MUSI course in which the minimum of 60 was not achieved and raise their major average to 70 percent. Otherwise, students may continue in the BA with Major program.
The requirement for graduation with a BMus or BA (Honours) is a minimum 70 percent major average and a minimum 60 percent non-major average. The requirement for graduation with a BA with Major is a minimum 60 percent major average and a minimum 60 percent overall average.
Facilities
The Department of Music is located in the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts building in downtown St. Catharines. Facilities in the Department of Music include Smart classrooms, applied music studios, choral and instrumental ensemble libraries, and a digital music lab. There are individual soundproofed practice rooms with pianos for use by music students.
Rehearsals and live performances take place in the Recital Hall in the adjacent FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre building. Additional performances take place in Partridge Hall.
An extensive selection of recordings as well as substantial holdings of music literature, collected editions, scores and special collections are housed in the James A. Gibson Library. Students have access to numerous online resources including Classical Music Library, Naxos Music Library, MediciTV, Oxford Music Online and RILM Abstracts of Music Literature.
Public Events
The Department of Music offers a regular series of events open to students, university faculty and staff and the general public. These include Brock University Choir, Sora Singers, Wind Ensemble and String Orchestra concerts, the Hugh and Marie Logan Jazz Series, the RBC Foundation Music@Noon Series, and the Walker Cultural Leaders Speaker Series.
Large Ensembles
The Department has two choral ensembles, a wind ensemble, a string orchestra and a jazz ensemble. All Department ensembles are also open to any member of the University community or the general public who successfully completes an audition.
Resident Ensembles
The Avanti Chamber Singers (ACS) is a community choir with strong ties to the Department. The ACS presents concerts in our annual series and is occasionally featured in joint performances with the Department’s student choral ensembles.
Entrance Requirements for Bachelors of Arts in Music
Students apply directly to the BA in Music. Students usually complete a theory placement evaluation by the beginning of classes in the first year, and must complete it by the end of their first year of study. Admission to Music major programs with transfer credits from colleges and universities requires an overall average of 70 percent in music courses.
Entrance Requirements for Bachelors of Music
Admission to the Bachelor of Music program requires the successful completion of a placement evaluation in rudiments of theory, an interview, and an audition on a solo instrument or voice. The theory placement evaluation is approximately equivalent to Royal Conservatory Level 7 Theory. Details concerning interviews and auditions are available at brocku.ca/music The recommended audition level for admission into the BMus program is minimum Royal Conservatory Level 9 or its equivalent. Students may also be considered for elective lessons in the Bachelor of Arts program. Applied music students who study with an approved non-resident instructor should be prepared to cover additional travel and instruction fees.
Language Requirement for Music Majors
Single majors in the BMus or BA in Music are required to complete one credit in a language other than English. Where half-credit courses are used to satisfy the requirement, both half credits must be in the same language.
Program Notes
- Music majors may take five and one-half credits in any year of the program without approval from the Dean of Humanities.
- Students in the Concentration in Music Performance take MUSI 2F91 in place of MUSI 2F92 and MUSI 3F91 in place of MUSI 3F92 .
- MUSI 1P88 and MUSI 1P89 require ensemble placement auditions, MUSI 1P82 requires a lesson audition, and MUSI 1P60 requires a theory placement evaluation.
- BMus students whose primary instrument is other than voice, piano or guitar may participate in an ensemble on their major instrument in 3rd and 4th year.
- BMus students in the Concentration in Choral Music must complete one full credit of private voice instruction. Students whose major instrument is other than voice may fulfill this through Secondary Studio, MUSI 2P80 , MUSI 3P80 , MUSI 4P80 . Audition is required.
- A concentration must be declared no later than April 30th of the student’s second year of study. The Concentration in Performance is determined by audition at the end of the student’s first year of study.
- In 20 credit degree programs a maximum of eight credits may be numbered 1(alpha)00 to 1(alpha)99; at least three credits must be numbered 2(alpha)90 or above; at least three credits must be numbered 3(alpha)90 or above; and the remaining credits must be numbered 2(alpha)00 or above.
In 15 credit degree programs a maximum of eight credits may be numbered 1(alpha)00 to 1(alpha)99; at least three credits must be numbered 2(alpha)90 or above; and the remaining credits must be numbered 2(alpha)00 or above.
In some circumstances, in order to meet university degree and program requirements, more than 15 or 20 credits may be taken.