Program Overview

Bachelor of Arts in Music

The Bachelor of Arts in Music degree includes courses in:

• Music Theory (4 semesters)
• Ear Training (3 semesters)
• Music History (2 semesters)
• Conducting
• Creative Music Lab Ensemble
• Music History Seminar
• Applied Lessons
• Ensembles

General Music Studies

General Music Studies offers students two capstone options:

• The research track involves faculty-directed study in an area of particular interest to the student
• The internship track enables seniors to apply music skills to a professional setting, such as:
  • The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist
  • Gonzaga's Foley Library Music Collection
  • Spokane Public Radio

Performance Concentration

Performance Concentration students pursue excellence through additional courses in:

• Pedagogy
• Repertoire
• A Junior and Senior Recital Students study privately with one of Gonzaga's distinguished faculty, who perform actively both internationally and locally with:
  • The Spokane Symphony Orchestra
  • The Spokane Jazz Orchestra
  • The Civic Theatre
  • The Kantorei Choir

Composition Concentration

Composition Concentration students study the craft of composing music through:

• Individual study
• Seminars Throughout four semesters of composition coursework, students' compositions are performed publicly and become part of the Junior and Senior Portfolios.

Jazz Concentration

Jazz Concentration students study:

• Improvisation
• Theory
• Arranging
• Composition within the jazz genre and other genres rooted in the African-American musical tradition Students perform within small and large group settings while learning the software, hardware, and editing skills necessary to record and produce material for their future as musicians.

Sacred Music Concentration

Sacred Music Concentration prepares students in the areas of:

• Musicianship
• Leadership
• Ministry to serve professionally in:
  • Catholic churches and cathedrals
  • Mainline Protestant and other Christian churches
  • Campus ministry settings Although the concentration focuses on sacred music of Christian traditions, students develop intercultural and interfaith competency through ecumenical and interfaith liturgies.