Undergraduate Courses

This one-quarter course is 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 works 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.

This course is a selected survey of classical, popular, and folk music traditions from around the world. The goals are not only to expand our skills as listeners but also to redefine what we consider music to be and, in the process, stimulate 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.

This introductory course in music is intended for students who are interested in exploring the language, interpretation, and meaning of music through coordinated listening, analysis, and creative work. By listening to and comprehending the structural and aesthetic considerations behind significant written and improvised works, from the earliest examples of notated Western music to the music of living composers and performers, students will be prepared to undertake analytical and ultimately creative projects. The relationship between cultural and historical practices and the creation and reception of music will also be considered. The course is taught by a practicing composer, whose experience will guide and inform the works studied. No prior background in music is required.

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.

This course, part of the Social Sciences Civ core, looks at musics in different moments of Euro-American history and the social contexts in which they originated, with some comparative views on other world traditions. It aims to give students a better understanding of the social contexts of European music over this period; aids for the basic sound structures of pieces from these different moments; and convincing writing in response to prompts based on source readings or music pieces. Our first quarter (MUS 12101 etc.) spans roughly the period between Charlemagne's coronation as Holy Roman Emperor (800 CE) and the dissolution of the Empire (1806) with the triumph of Napoleon across Western Europe.

This course, part of the Social Sciences Civ core, looks at musics in different moments of Euro-American history and the social contexts in which they originated, with some comparative views on other world traditions. It aims to give students a better understanding of the social contexts of European music over this period; aids for the basic sound structures of pieces from these different moments; and convincing writing in response to prompts based on source readings or music pieces. Our second quarter (MUS 12201 etc.) runs from the beginning of European Romanticism around 1800 to the turn of the 21st century.

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This course examines the centrality of music to Viennese culture in one of the moments of its greatest flowering on the eve of World War I.  We discuss  readings in the city's flourishing intellectual life, and study both popular music of the time as well as works by Mahler, Schoenberg and others.  Students will report on source texts and their relation to music.

The first quarter focuses on fundamentals: scale types, keys, basic harmonic structures, voice-leading and two-voice counterpoint. Musicianship labs in ear training and keyboard skills required.

The Afro-Cuban Folkloric Ensemble explores this unique musical tradition still practiced today in Cuba. This African diaspora-based music and culture is a living example of how art can be a manifestation of the human desire to stay connected to one's roots, ancestors, belief system, and home, even in the darkest of situations. Born of deep African origins, this form involves hand drumming, percussion, and singing.  ACFE Director Samuel Werk has studied this rich musical tradition in Havana, Cuba, under Alejandro Carvajal Guerra, and has performed in prominent venues ranging from Montreux, Switzerland, to Perugia, Italy, to Juncos, Puerto Rico.

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