Finally...a home for music in Catholic higher education.

Ave Maria University’s Department of Music is fast becoming a leader among Catholic institutions of higher learning in the area of music. Besides a close working relationship with faculty, excellent resources, and premium performance opportunities, the curriculum in music provides students with an insight into musical thought and practice unavailable at most institutions. We are proud of our rigorous musicianship training that emphasizes the development of musical intelligence that will suit our graduates for a future in musical leadership in a variety of contexts.

• The Department of Music accepts students in the areas of Piano, Organ, and Voice only.
• Admission to the Department of Music is by audition only.  Please see the links on the left for Audition Requirements and the Audition Application form.

Music Scholarships

Ave Maria University's Department of Music is pleased to offer music scholarships to incoming students majoring in music. Awards are made to those auditioning students who qualify via their audition performance, sight reading ability, and interview with the music faculty. All auditions completed before April 30 are considered for a music scholarship - there is no separate application. On-site auditions receive priority consideration. For more information, please contact Prof. Rebecca Ostermann at rebecca.ostermann@avemaria.edu.

Auditions

Auditions may be scheduled outside of these weekends in some cases, with the permission of the Department of Music.

Music Audition Weekends for students who intend to enter the program in Fall 2013:

• Nov. 9-11, 2012
• Feb. 8-10, 2013
• April 5-7, 2013

For more information on the Music Audition Weekends please click here.

The Study of Music

Music is both a linguistic and mathematical discipline.  As an intellectual enterprise, music study is concerned with both the physical phenomena that give rise to its sonic elements as well as the principles of syntax and grammar that operate with varying consistency over the periods of music history.  Ave Maria’s Department of Music seeks to engage its students in the musical life of the mind.

Music theory is an indispensible knowledge base for all musicians.  It is the basis upon which we practice and judge creative musical endeavor.  The music theory program addresses itself essentially to the development of writing skills in music.  While not every student will manifest compositional inclination, learning the technique upon which the craft of composition stands will make our students better judges of compositional success in every style and genre. 

The study of music history is paramount for an understanding of the cultural impact that music has had on human civilization.  Given the great cultural mandate that Ave Maria assumes as central to its mission, this study is critical for an understanding of how music has helped to form civilization, and how human civilization has effected music in its turn.  These lessons cannot help but influence the way that today’s musicians apply their gifts and their art to the cause of cultural formation in the light of a Christian vision for civilization.

CURRICULUM