Music
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Marta Ptaszynska, Go H 206,
702-8663, mptaszyn@midway.uchicago.edu
Departmental Office Secretary: Go H 309, 702-8484
Academic Affairs Secretary: Sandra Hagen, Go H 310, 702-2089
World Wide Web: http://music.uchicago.edu/
Program of Study
The Department of Music aims to broaden the exposure to and enrich the understanding of the various musical traditions of the world. Courses address the materials of tonal music in the Western tradition, the analysis of individual works, the study of composers and genres, non-Western and vernacular repertories, musical composition, critical approaches to music, and the role of music in society. The Bachelor of Arts program in music provides a background both for graduate work in music and for study in other fields. The department also sponsors a number of performance organizations and concert series.
Courses for Nonconcentrators: General Education. Students seeking to meet the general education requirement in dramatic, musical, and visual arts with music courses must choose from among the following: Music 10100 (Introduction to Western Music), Music 10200 (Introduction to World Music), Music 10300 (Introduction to Music: Materials and Design), or Music 10400 (Introduction to Music Analysis and Criticism). Students seeking to meet the general education requirement in civilization studies may select the following two-quarter sequence: Music 12100-12200 (Music in Western Civilization). These courses are open to all students, regardless of previous musical background.
Other Courses for Nonconcentrators. In addition to the general education courses, the department offers a two-quarter Introduction to Music Theory (Music 14100-14200) for students who have had little or no exposure to reading music. Students who can read music comfortably can take a three-quarter sequence in Harmony (Music 15100-15200-15300). Courses numbered from 20000 to 24900 are open to students who have passed a course at the 10000 level or who have equivalent musical background. In addition, courses designed for the concentration (Music 25000 to 29900), and certain graduate courses, are open to qualified College students who are not concentrating in music, with consent of the instructor.
Program Requirements
B.A. Program. The program for the bachelor's degree with a concentration in music offers a well-balanced selection of practical, historical, and conceptual approaches to music.
All concentrators are required to take at least twelve music courses and participate in a campus performing organization (or comparable musical activity) for at least three quarters. Students should begin their concentration program by taking the three-quarter sequence in Harmony (Music 15100-15200-15300) during their first or second year. The required course in musicianship skills (Music 28500) is offered every year and should be taken after the Music 15100 to 15300 sequence. NOTE: Music 28500 is a yearlong course. One quarter's credit (100 units) is granted in the spring quarter only, after successful completion of the year's work. To meet requirements for full-time student status, students must carry at least three additional courses during the autumn and winter quarters.
To develop their musical skills and historical knowledge, students should take the advanced music theory sequence (Music 25100-25200-25300) and Topics in the History of Western Music (Music 27100-27200-27300) during the next two years (another theory course or a course in performance or interpretation may be substituted for Music 25300). Students complete their programs by choosing two additional courses: one in ethnomusicology; and one in composition, computer music, or orchestration. With the instructor's consent, undergraduates can take graduate classes; graduate courses can be used to meet concentration requirements by petition to the director of undergraduate studies.
All concentrators must arrange a formal consultation with the director of undergraduate studies before declaring their concentration.
Summary of Requirements
3 MUSI 15100-15200-15300
3 MUSI 25100, 25200, and 25300
(or another theory or performance course in place of MUSI 25300)
1 MUSI 28500
3 MUSI 27100-27200-27300
1 one course in ethnomusicology (any course numbered in the 23000s)
1 one course in composition, computer music, or orchestration (any course numbered in the 26000s)
participation for at least three quarters
in a performance organization
12
Advanced Standing. Those students who exhibit a competence in harmony sufficient to place out of Music 15100-15200-15300 or knowledge of music history sufficient to place out of Music 27100-27200-27300 may devise an alternative program with the director of undergraduate studies.
Grading. Courses taken to meet the general education requirement cannot be taken on a P/N basis. Music concentrators must take courses in the concentration for letter grades.
Honors. Students who have a grade point average of at least 3.0 overall and at least 3.5 in the concentration, and who present a senior essay or composition written in an advanced course or special tutorial (Music 29900) may be recommended for honors. The optional Undergraduate Honors Seminar (Music 29500) is designed to prepare students to write an honors essay. Students seeking honors should speak with the director of undergraduate studies no later than spring quarter of their third year.
Musical Performance. The Department of Music is committed to the idea that the study of music is incomplete without some participation in the making of music. Students concentrating in music must participate for at least three quarters in the activities of at least one of the performance organizations on campus, either through the larger ensembles (the Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, the choral ensembles, the Wind Ensemble, the Jazz Ensemble, the Javanese Gamelan, and the New Music Ensemble) or through the Chamber Music Ensembles program. A student may, by petition to the director of undergraduate studies, show evidence of outside musical activity to meet this performance requirement.
Performance Organizations
Membership in the Department of Music performance organizations is open to qualified students from all areas of the University through competitive auditions held at the beginning of autumn quarter. Most organizations rehearse weekly. For further information, students should consult the brochure "Performance Opportunities at the University of Chicago" or contact Barbara Schubert, director of performing programs.
Symphony Orchestra. The one-hundred-member University Symphony Orchestra presents six concerts per season. Familiar and unusual repertoire from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is featured. A major performance with the University Chorus every season, the biennial University Concerto Competition, and a regular summer opera production with the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists are highlights of the symphony's activities. Wednesday evening rehearsals. B. Schubert. Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring.
Chamber Orchestra. The University Chamber Orchestra is a string ensemble that specializes in baroque, early classical, and twentieth-century repertoire. Supplemented by wind players for particular pieces, the group presents three concerts per season. Members often play in the University Symphony as well. Monday evening rehearsals. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
Wind Ensemble. The University Wind Ensemble performs both symphonic wind ensemble literature and transcriptions of major orchestral repertoire. The group presents one concert each quarter and occasionally performs at informal activities and social events on campus. Monday evening rehearsals. W. Gordon. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
Chorus. The one-hundred-thirty-member University Chorus performs choral literature of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries, accompanied by keyboard, small instrumental ensembles, or the University Symphony. One major concert per quarter plus supplemental performances on campus and elsewhere in the city make up the season. Tuesday evening rehearsals. R. Von Ellefson. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
Motet Choir. The forty-member University Motet Choir is a select group that specializes in a cappella choral literature of all periods, plus Renaissance and baroque works accompanied by period instruments. The ensemble presents one major concert per quarter on campus, has frequent performances elsewhere in Chicago, and goes on an annual tour. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday noontime rehearsals. R. Von Ellefson. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
Jazz Ensemble. The Jazz Ensemble is an eight- to ten-piece group dedicated to the exploration of small-group improvisation and ensemble performance in traditional jazz styles. The ensemble's repertoire ranges from standards to new compositions written for the group to collaborative works. The group presents one major concert per quarter on campus, as well as supplemental performances on campus and elsewhere in the city. Wednesday evening rehearsals. M. Bowden. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
Middle East Music Ensemble. The Middle East Music Ensemble (MEME) explores a variety of classical, neo-classical, and popular forms originating throughout the Middle East. Participants develop knowledge of Middle Eastern compositional and improvisational techniques through performance. The MEME, which performs one major concert a year, is open to all students and to community members with appropriate musical experience. Monday afternoon rehearsals. M. Stokes, Coordinator. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
New Music Ensemble. The University New Music Ensemble performs a wide variety of twentieth-century repertoire, with each of its quarterly concerts including solo and ensemble works for singers and instrumentalists. Experimental music, world premieres, and multimedia programs are an integral part of every season, along with twentieth-century masterworks and compositions by students in the Department of Music. Saturday afternoon rehearsals. B. Schubert. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
Javanese Gamelan Ensemble. The Javanese Gamelan Ensemble is part of the department's expanded offerings in ethnomusicology. The group focuses on authentic performance practice and makes use of numerous opportunities to rehearse and perform with visiting artists from Java and around the United States. The ensemble's performances feature contemporary Indonesian and American compositions in addition to traditional Javanese gamelan pieces. Rehearsals by arrangement. M. Stokes, Administrative Director. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
Chamber Music Ensembles. Chamber Music Ensembles are open to students from all areas of the University and at all levels of proficiency. The Department of Music organizes various ensembles in accordance with players tastes and skills, and provides opportunities for musical coaching and performance. Master classes with area professionals and visiting artists, as well as coaching sessions, are organized through the chamber music program. Rehearsals by arrangement. I. Levinson. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
Other Campus Activities. A variety of other musical activities is available at the University, including the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, several residence hall recital series, and several student-run theater groups.
Faculty
Philip V. Bohlman, Professor, Department of Music and the College
THOMAS CHRISTENSEN, Professor, Department of Music and the College
Richard Cohn, Professor, Department of Music and the College; Chairman, Department of Music
Martha Feldman, Associate Professor, Department of Music and the College
Philip Gossett, Robert W. Reneker Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Music, Committee on General Studies in the Humanities, and the College
Berthold Hoeckner, Associate Professor, Department of Music and the College
Robert L. Kendrick, Associate Professor, Department of Music and the College
MARTA PTASZYNSKA, Professor, Department of Music and the College
Shulamit Ran, William H. Colvin Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Music and the College
Anne Walters Robertson, The Claire Dux Swift Professor, Department of Music and the College
Howard Sandroff, Senior Lecturer, Department of Music; Director, Computer Music Studio
Barbara Schubert, Senior Lecturer, Department of Music; Director, Student Performing Programs
MARTIN H. STOKES, Associate Professor, Department of Music and the College
Randi Von Ellefson, Senior Lecturer, Department of Music and Rockefeller Memorial Chapel; Director, Choral Activities
Lawrence Zbikowski, Associate Professor, Department of Music and the College
Courses
For a description of the numbering guidelines for the following courses, consult the section on reading the catalog on page 15.
For additional course listings, consult the online version of the catalog at www.college.uchicago.edu/catalog, the quarterly Time Schedules, the Office of the Department of Music, and the following departmental Web site: http://music.uchicago.edu.
10100. Introduction to Western Music. This course meets the general education requirement in the dramatic, musical, and visual arts. Background in music not required. Students must confirm enrollment by attending one of the first two sessions of class. A one-quarter course designed to enrich the listening experience of students, particularly with respect to the art music of the Western European and American concert tradition. Students are introduced to the basic elements of music and the ways that they are integrated to create masterworks in various styles. Particular emphasis is placed on musical form and on the potential for music to refer to and interact with aspects of the world outside. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
10200. Introduction to World Music. This course meets the general education requirement in the dramatic, musical, and visual arts. Background in music not required. Students must confirm enrollment by attending one of the first two sessions of class. A selected survey of classical, popular, and folk music traditions from around the world. The goal is not only to expand our skills as listeners, but also to redefine what we consider music to be, in the process stimulating a fresh approach to our own diverse musical traditions. In addition, the role of music as ritual, aesthetic experience, mode of communication, and artistic expression is explored. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
10300. Introduction to Music: Materials and Design. This course meets the general education requirement in the dramatic, musical, and visual arts. Background in music not required. Students must confirm enrollment by attending one of the first two sessions of class. In this variant of the introductory course in music, students explore the language of music through coordinated listening, analysis, and exercises in composition. A study of a wide diversity of musical styles serves as an incentive for student compositions in those styles. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
10400. Introduction to Music Analysis and Criticism. This course meets the general education requirement in the dramatic, musical, and visual arts. Background in music not required. Students must confirm enrollment by attending one of the first two sessions of class. This course aims to develop students' analytical and critical tools by focusing on a select group of works drawn from the Western European and American concert tradition. The texts for the course are recordings. Through listening, written assignments, and class discussion, we explore topics such as compositional strategy, conditions of musical performance, interactions between music and text, and the relationship between music and ideology as they are manifested in complete compositions. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
12100-12200. Music in Western Civilization (=HIST
12700-12800, MUSI 12100-12200, SOSC 21100-21200). PQ: Prior
music course or music-reading ability not required. This two-quarter
sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization
studies. It may not be used to meet the general education requirement
in the dramatic, musical, and visual arts. Music 12100 (Music
in Western Civilization, to 1750) and Music 12200 (Music in Western
Civilization, 1750 to the Present) explore musical works of broad
cultural significance in Western civilization. We study pieces not
only from the standpoint of musical style, but also through the
lenses of politics, intellectual history, economics, gender, cultural
studies, and so on. Readings are taken both from our music textbook
and from the writings of a number of figures such as St. Benedict
of Nursia and Martin Luther. The format of the class consists of
lectures and discussions in smaller sections that focus on important
issues in the readings and on music listening exercises. A. Robertsn,
Winter; R. Kendrick., Spring.
14100-14200. Introduction to Music Theory for Nonmajors. These courses may not be used to meet the general education requirement in the dramatic, musical, and visual arts. This two-quarter sequence covers the basic elements of music theory, including music reading, intervals, chords, meter, and rhythm. The emphasis is on practical and analytical skills leading to simple melodic and contrapuntal composition, and a more profound appreciation of music. Staff. Autumn, Winter.
15100-15200-15300. Harmony and Voice Leading. PQ: Ability to read music. This three-quarter sequence serves as an introduction to the materials and structure of Western tonal music. The first quarter focuses on fundamentals: scale types, keys, basic harmonic structures, voice-leading and two-voice counterpoint. The second quarter explores extensions of harmonic syntax, the basics of Classical form, further work with counterpoint, and non-diatonic seventh chords. The third quarter undertakes the study of modulation, sequences, and additional analysis of Classical forms. Musicianship labs in ear-training and keyboard skills required. L. Zbikowski, Autumn, Winter; R. Cohn, Spring.
22300. Introduction to Opera. This course provides an introduction to the art of opera through the close study of several important works from the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries, including Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Verdi's Rigoletto, Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, Bizet's Carmen, and Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress. The emphasis is on developing an understanding of how music, text, dramatic action, and stagecraft join forces in creating this most improbable and most wonderful of art forms. Students study these works from printed sources, recordings, and videos. Attendance at performances may be required. P. Gossett. Spring.
230000. Kontexte der frühen Musikethnologie (=GRMN 26300,
MUSI 23000/33000). PQ: GRMN 20200 or equivalent. This seminar attempts to
illuminate the emergence of scientific ethnomusicology at the end of the nineteenth
century by focusing on the complex links between the fragmentation of the senses
(newly available to scientific analysis) and the persistence of discursive entities
such as "origin, " "race," and "history." We explore the ways in which this
ambivalent modernity helped to shape a discipline that has become an integral
part of contemporary musicology. Classes conducted in German; texts in German
and English. S. Klotz. Autumn.
23100/33100. Jazz (=AFAM 20200/30200, MUSI 23100/33100).
PQ: Any 10000-level music course, or the ability to read music.
This survey examines the history and development of jazz from its West African
roots to the so-called free jazz of the 1960s and 1970s. Representative works
in various styles are selected for intensive formal and stylistic analysis.
Traditional forms and genre's are traced from the New Orleans beginnings to
their contemporary manifestations in the avant-garde. The resources of the Chicago
Jazz Archive in the Regenstein Library provide primary source materials. Not
offered 2001-02; will be offered 2002-03.
23200/33200. Music of Duke Ellington. PQ: Any 100-level music course or the ability to read music. R. Wang. Winter.
23300/33300. Music of South Asia. PQ: Any 10000-level music course, or consent of instructor. Not offered 2001-02; will be offered 2002-03.
23500/33500. Area Studies in Ethnomusicology. PQ: Any 100-level music course. M. Stokes. Winter.
23600/33600. Musical Cultures in Sub-Saharan Africa. PQ: Background in Euro-American musical practice not required. This course focuses on contemporary and historical musical performance practices of peoples living in Africa south of the Sahara. We emphasize integrative considerations of musical practices in their historical and social contexts. Course materials include ethnography, audio-video materials, and guest cultural performers. C. Johnson. Autumn
23800/33800. Staging Femininity: Gender as Spectacle in Opera and Film (=CMST 22300/32300, GNDR 23800, GRMN 23800/33800, MAPH 33500, MUSI 22800/31900). This course explores the relationship between cultural production and gender identity. We read a broad range of texts from contemporary cultural, performance, and film theory (e.g., Judith Butler, Catherine Clement, Mary Ann Doane, Susan McClary, Laura Mulvey, and Slavoj Zizek) and examine a number of symptomatic films and operas where gender norms become apparent through their exaggeration, violation, or suspension. Films by Josef von Sternberg (The Blue Angel, 1930), Busby Berkeley (The Gang's All Here, 1943), King Vidor (Gilda, 1946), Werner Schroeter (Death of Maria Malibran, 1972), Rainer Werner Fassbinder (Lili Marleen, 1980), and Jean-Jacques Beineix (Diva, 1982); operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Marriage of Figaro), Gaetano Donizetti (Lucia di Lammermoor), and Giacomo Puccini (Turandot). Texts in English. D. Levin. Winter.
25100. Theory and Analysis I. PQ: MUSI 15300 or equivalent. This course continues the investigation of harmony and voice-leading begun in Music 15300 and extends it to standard chromatic harmonies (including augmented-sixth chords and the Neapolitan), exploring these topics through model composition and analysis. The course also covers the analysis of standard tonal forms, including sonata form. Staff. Autumn.
25200. Theory and Analysis II. PQ: MUSI 25100 or equivalent. This course ventures further into extended chromatic techniques, and the analysis of music of the late nineteenth century, and continues the development of analytical skills for the study of tonal forms. The course also focuses on rhythm and meter, in both Western and non-Western traditions. R. Cohn. Winter.
25300. Theory and Analysis III. PQ: MUSI 25200 or equivalent. This course focuses on analytical approaches to twentieth-century atonal and serial repertories. T. Christensen. Spring.
25700/31900. Cognitive Science and Music Analysis. PQ: MUSI 25200. Open to nonconcentrators with consent of instructor. This course surveys recent research in music cognition and cognitive psychology and shows how it can be applied to problems of musical analysis. There is a general review of research on the perception of pitch and rhythm, on processes of categorization, and on cognitive structures associated with inference and reason. This review is paired with an exploration of issues in music theory and analysis that could be addressed by research in cognitive science. Analytical models incorporating both of these strands are developed in the latter portion of the course. L. Zbikowski. Autumn.
25800. Jazz Theory and Improvisation. Not offered 2001-02; will be offered 2002-03.
26100. Introduction to Composition. PQ: MUSI 14200 or 15300, or equivalent. The student is introduced to some of the basic problems in musical composition through a series of simple exercises. M. Ptaszynska. Spring.
26200. Advanced Composition. PQ: MUSI 26100 or equivalent. This course is a continuation of the study of composition undertaken in MUSI 26100. Not offered 2001-02; will be offered 2002-03.
26300-26400/34700-34800. Introduction to Computer Music. PQ: Consent of instructor. Rudimentary musical skills (but not technical knowledge) required; basic Macintosh skills helpful. This two-quarter course of study gives students in any discipline the opportunity to explore the techniques and aesthetics of computer-generated/assisted music production. During the first quarter, students learn the basics of digital synthesis, the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI), and programming. These concepts and skills are acquired through lecture, demonstration, reading, and a series of production and programming exercises. Students are encouraged to indulge their musical and programming creativity throughout the course. The final project is a creative musical or programming endeavor of the student's choosing. Weekly lab tutorials and individual lab time in the Department's Computer Music Studio are in addition to scheduled class time. H. Sandroff. Autumn, Winter.
26500/34500. Instrumentation and Orchestration I. PQ: Open to non-concentrators with consent of instructor. This course introduces the fundamental principles of the capabilities of musical instruments and their combinations. Not offered 2001-02; will be offered 2002-03.
26800. Sixteenth-Century Counterpoint. PQ: MUSI 15300 or equivalent. This course is an introduction to the theory, analysis, and composition of modal counterpoint using texts and examples by sixteenth-century theorists (i.e., Zarlino) and composers (i.e., Josquin, Lassus, and Palestrina). Techniques include cantus firmus, canon, and modal mixture. Students read sources, analyze passages, and compose (and improvise) counterpoint in two to four parts. R. Kendrick. Winter.
26900. Eighteenth-Century Counterpoint. This is a practical course for learning the art of fugue writing. The class concentrates on writing different types of fugues, as well as short pieces involving different types of imitation. The material is based on Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, Goldberg Variations, Das Musikalische Opfer, and Die Kunst der Fuge. M. Ptaszynska. Spring.
27100-27200-27300. Topics in the History of Western Music. PQ: MUSI 14200 or 15300; open to nonconcentrators with consent of instructor. A three-quarter investigation into Western art music, with primary emphasis on the vocal and instrumental repertories of Western Europe and the United States. MUSI 27100 begins with the earliest notated music and considers monophonic liturgical chant and the development of sacred and secular vocal polyphony through the sixteenth century. MUSI 27200 addresses topics in music from 1600 to 1800, including opera, sacred music, the emergence of instrumental genres, the codification of tonality, and the Viennese classicism of Haydn and Mozart. MUSI 27300 treats music since 1800. Topics include the music of Beethoven and his influence on later composers; the rise of public concerts, German opera, programmatic instrumental music, and nationalist trends; the confrontation with modernism; and the impact of technology on the expansion of musical boundaries. Not offered 2001-02; will be offered 2002-03.
28500. Musicianship Skills. PQ: MUSI 15300. Open only to music concentrators. Credit is granted only in the spring quarter, after successful completion of the year's work. This is a yearlong course in ear training, keyboard progressions, realization of figured basses at the keyboard, and reading of chamber and orchestral scores. Classes each week consist of one dictation lab (sixty minutes long), and one keyboard lab (thirty minutes long). I. Levinson. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
29500. Undergraduate Honors Seminar. PQ: Consent of instructor. This course is offered to fourth-year music concentrators who wish to develop a research project and prepare it for submission for departmental honors. The seminar guides students through the preliminary stages of selecting and refining a topic, and provides an interactive forum for presenting and discussing the early stages of research, conceptualization, and writing. The course culminates in the presentation of a paper that serves as the foundation of the honors thesis. The instructors work closely with honors project supervisors, who may be drawn from the entire music faculty. M. Feldman. Autumn.
29700. Independent Study in Music. PQ: Consent of instructor and director of undergraduate studies. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Consent Form. This course is for students who wish to pursue specialized readings in music, or to do advanced work in composition. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
29900. Senior Essay or Composition. PQ: Consent of instructor and director of undergraduate studies. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Consent Form. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
|