Music, BFA: Versatile Voice
Program Overview
Music, BFA: Versatile Voice
The BFA in Music is a comprehensive, four-year program perfect for students seeking intensive study to develop those skills needed for a professional career and/or preparation for graduate school across many voice or primary instrument paths.
Overview
Our versatile voice program is broad enough to cover many genres and flexible enough to reflect your interest. That is because the market for professional singers is changing – opera singers are performing in musicals; Broadway performers are singing operas and pop singer training is improving dramatically.
Faculty and Staff
Our inspirational faculty and staff make sure students feel welcome and empowered to think outside the box and explore all possibilities of making art at UWM.
Scholarships and Aid
Financial constraints shouldn't hinder your artistic dreams. Our comprehensive range of scholarships and aid programs is designed to empower and support artists like you.
Study Abroad
We believe that a complete education in the arts should take you beyond the classroom and the local community. By studying abroad, you'll gain more than a change of scenery. You'll embark on a transformative educational experience and bring a global perspective to your field of study.
Requirements
Admission Requirements
Undergraduate applicants must meet general University admission requirements in addition to specific Peck School of the Arts requirements.
Undergraduate Advising
Academic advising is a collaborative process that empowers students to realize their maximum educational potential. Students are encouraged to visit the Peck School of the Arts Advising & Student Services page to meet with your advisor prior to each semester's registration period.
Laptop Requirement
Preparing for a future defined by digital technology is an important step in developing artists. Our digitally integrated curriculum helps you achieve a professional level with leading art-related software and practices.
Degree Requirements
Music Theory and History Requirements
The Music Theory core comprises a four-semester sequence of Materials of Theory concurrently with three semesters of Aural Theory. The Music History core comprises a three-semester sequence of the General History of Western Music.
Lessons, Studio Class, Convocation
Music performance instruction on the primary instrument consists of three components each week: a private lesson with the studio instructor, a studio class with other students on the instrument, and a department-wide recital on Friday with a rotating selection of student performers.
Performance Ensembles
All students must be registered in an approved ensemble concurrent with each semester of private study in lessons. Students pursuing a music degree or certificate are required to participate in performing organizations during their course of study.
Advance to Major and Retention
Students declared provisional at the time of auditions can achieve Music major status based on a successful jury performance at the end of the first semester. Students not performing a successful first semester jury will not be allowed to continue as a Music major and will be dropped from the Music Department.
Credits and Courses
Required Core
- General Education Requirements
- Competencies
- Oral and Written Communication – Part A and Part B
- Quantitative Literacy (QL) – Part A and Part B
- Foreign Language
- Distribution Requirements
- Humanities
- Natural Sciences (Must include one lab)
- Social Sciences
- Cultural Diversity
Music BFA Requirements
The minimum number of credits required to complete the Bachelor of Fine Arts is 130. Students who need background preparation courses in math, English, foreign language, and chemistry may need additional credits.
Versatile Voice Requirements
- MUSIC 604: Business for Performing Artists
- DANCE 111: Ballet I or DANCE 115: Jazz Dance I
- DANCE 321: Alexander Technique for the Performer
- DANCE 327: Dance for the Musical Theatre I
- MUSIC 245: Basic and Italian Lyric Diction
- MUSIC 246: German and French Lyric Diction
- MUSIC 310: Introduction to World Musics
- MUSIC 444: Vocal Pedagogy I
- MUSIC 457: Opera Theatre 1
- MUSIC 520: Voice Performance in Popular Music Styles
- THEATRE 101: Acting for Non-majors
- THEATRE 230: Acting 2: Text and Performance
- THEATRE 408: Acting in Musical Theatre
- Principal Instrument
- MUSPERF 411: Lessons in Voice
- Foreign Language Requirement
- ITALIAN 103: First-Semester Italian
- Lessons in Piano
- MUSPERF 101: Lessons in Piano
- Performing Ensemble
- MUSIC 44: Alta Voce Singers
- MUSIC 50: Kameraden Chorus
- MUSIC 52: Bella Voce
- MUSIC 56: Concert Chorale
- Music Theory Electives
- MUSIC 220: Introduction to Computers and Music
- MUSIC 321: Counterpoint
- MUSIC 323: Instrumental and Choral Orchestration
- MUSIC 327: Studio Techniques
- MUSIC 328: Interactive Electronic Music
- MUSIC 420: Advanced Electronic Music and Sound Art
- MUSIC 680: Special Studies in Music
- Music History Electives
- MUSIC 311: Music of the Baroque Era
- MUSIC 312: Music of the Classic Era
- MUSIC 313: Music of the Romantic Era
- MUSIC 314: Music since 1900
- MUSIC 317: Introduction to American Music
- Recital
- MUSIC 659: Junior Recital
- MUSIC 660: Senior Recital
- General Electives
- May be taken from any area of the University (including Music) to fulfill requirements
Music Learning Outcomes
Students graduating with this degree in Music will be able to:
- Recognize and distinguish music from all periods of European art music history, and from a variety of other world cultures and traditions, based on musical and stylistic features.
- Recognize assumptions, concepts, models, and various methods in musicological and ethnomusicological work and in their own thinking and will be able to choose the most appropriate analytical tools and concepts to examine specific music.
- Interpret, analyze, critique, and reflect on art music from different critical perspectives and aesthetic viewpoints.
- Express ideas about music in written form demonstrating a mastery of factual knowledge, bibliographic resources, analytical method, critical thinking, and the ability to construct a coherent and well-organized argument.
- Perform solo instrumental or vocal repertoire, chamber music, and large ensemble music in public, in a practical demonstration of their understanding of period or cultural aesthetic ideals.
- Apply pedagogical skills appropriate to their instrument/voice, choosing performance exercises that deal with technical issues found in the repertoire, and guiding beginning students in learning music.
Policies and Regulations
Academic Regulations
For information on University-wide Academic Action Policy and honors for scholarship, see Academic Policies.
Auditing Courses
No studio or performance courses may be audited.
Declaration of Submajor
In most instances, after two years of basic preparatory courses in the major, students choose an area of specialization within their respective departments, known as a submajor.
Grievance and Appeal Procedures
If you have concerns about a class or a grade, or if you've been dropped from a program and would like to appeal, follow the grievance procedures found under the resources section on the Peck School of the Arts Advising & Student Services page.
Independent Study
Under special conditions, juniors and seniors are permitted to take courses in independent study.
Program Changes
All program changes must be signed by the instructor and the Peck School of the Arts Office of Student Services.
Second Bachelor's Degree Candidates
Students with good scholastic records who wish to earn a second bachelor's degree in the Peck School of the Arts must obtain the recommendation of the Peck School of the Arts department in which they wish to major before they can be accepted.
Semester Credit Load
A full-time Peck School of the Arts student is one who takes a minimum of 12 credits per semester.
Transfer Students
Transfer students from other universities and colleges or UWM units are accepted by the Peck School of the Arts provided they meet the UWM admissions criteria and have a 2.0+ cumulative GPA.
Honors in the Major
- Honors in the Major is granted to students who have earned a GPA of 3.500 or greater in the major and the academic department's recommendation.
- High Honors in the Major is granted to students who have earned a cumulative GPA of 3.500 or greater and the academic department's recommendation.
- Departmental Honors are granted to students recommended by their academic department for Honors excellence in performance not reflected in the GPA.
- Dean's Honors are granted to students with major achievements in one or more of the arts.
College of the Arts and Architecture Dean's Honor List
GPA of 3.750 or above, earned on a full-time student's GPA on 12 or more graded credits in a given semester.
Honors College Degree and Honors College Degree with Distinction
Granted to graduating seniors who complete Honors College requirements.
Commencement Honors
Students with a cumulative GPA of 3.500 or above, based on a minimum of 40 graded UWM credits earned prior to the final semester, will receive all-university commencement honors and be awarded the traditional gold cord at the December or May Honors Convocation.