Undergraduate Majors

The Music major under the Bachelor of Arts degree is a liberal arts program for the student interested in combining the discipline of music training with the breadth offered by a liberal arts curriculum.

The Composition-Theory and Performance majors are professional degrees designed to prepare the student for

  1. a career as a composer or an artist-performer, or
  2. entrance to graduate schools where further excellence in composition or in a performance area might be pursued.

The Music Education major prepares the student for a teaching career and provides licensure in music for grades K-6 and 7-12.

General Requirements for Undergraduate Majors

Music majors on all degree programs must choose an area of applied music (540:xxx) for specialization and must meet the proficiency standards of the School of Music. The total required applied hours indicated for each major must be completed on one of the specialization instruments or voice on which the student auditioned. Dividing the required applied hours among various instruments, or voice and instrument(s), will not satisfy the applied music portion of any of the degree programs.

Auditions

Admission to the School of Music requires successful completion of an audition in the main performance area.

Piano Proficiency

Required of all majors. All freshmen will enroll in group piano class or applied piano continuously (semester by semester) until piano proficiency has been passed. For Music Education majors, requirements must be completed prior to student teaching.

Vocal and Instrumental Competency

Required of all Music Education Majors.

Vocal/choral students (Specialization A) will complete one semester of Introduction to Instrumental Techniques (570:015); instrumental students (Specialization B) will attend special sections of Instrumental Techniques (570:010) taught by vocal/choral faculty. Keyboard majors enrolling for Specialization A must also satisfy vocal proficiency as determined by the voice faculty.

Foreign Language

Bachelor of Music Performance voice majors are required to complete one semester (5 credits-UNI) at the college/university level in each of two of the following foreign languages, listed in order of preference: Italian, German, French. Ten (10) semester hours of credit in a foreign language are strongly recommended for students whose applied concentration is voice (Music Education Major) and for all non-voice majors on the Bachelor of Music Performance program.

Large Ensembles

In addition to applied music, all music majors must participate in at least one of the designated large ensembles for a minimum of 8 semesters (7 semesters for students in the music education program). Participation in large ensembles will be continuous from the first semester of residence until completion of the requirement. Participation in ensemble (530:012; 530:112) does not satisfy the large ensemble requirement. Auditions are required for all ensembles in the School of Music, and students will be assigned to ensembles according to audition results.

  1. Wind and percussion students will be assigned to an appropriate instrumental ensemble. All wind and percussion students who are pursuing the degree of Bachelor of Music in Music Education are required to participate in marching band for a minimum of two semesters. (It is strongly recommended that this requirement be fulfilled during the freshman and sophomore years.)
  2. In the fall semester, participation in either Concert Band or Jazz Band II may satisfy the large ensemble requirement for those students who have completed their respective marching band requirements and have met audition requirements for the two above ensembles.
  3. String players will participate in the orchestra.
  4. The initial choral ensemble for all freshmen voice students will be either UNI Singers or Women's Chorus. Freshmen are limited to participation in only one vocal ensemble. Students performing targeted roles in UNI Lyric Theatre main stage productions are exempt from ensemble participation for four (4) weeks preceding the final performance of the production.
  5. Composition and Keyboard majors will audition for either an instrumental ensemble or a choral ensemble. Keyboard majors in the music education program shall participate in an ensemble appropriate to their specialization.