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Program Codes:
BMMUSTHY
Bachelor of Music
Introduction
Mercyhurst University is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). The D’Angelo Department of Music is dedicated to assisting young musicians realize their potential as performing artists, educational leaders, and music therapists. With its distinguished faculty, the Department fosters musical achievement and cultural growth through its rigorous curriculum; its membership in the National Association for Music Education; its Faculty Recital Series; its numerous ensembles, productions, and solo performance opportunities; and by presenting special master classes and guest artists through its Roche Guest Artist Series. The D’Angelo Music Building is located on the south end of the campus. The three-level facility and was opened in September of 1988. In 1996, the university opened the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center. This state-of-the-art facility adjacent to the music building showcases many of the performances and productions of the D’Angelo Department of Music. The Department also utilizes the Walker Recital Hall in the Audrey Hirt Academic Center. This 240-seat hall serves as an additional concert and rehearsal space.
Mission Statement
The D’Angelo Department of Music strives to provide an undergraduate curriculum with comprehensive instruction to students seeking degrees in Performance, Music Education, Composition, Music Therapy, or a Bachelor of Arts in Music. We are committed to encouraging non-music majors to enroll in our department ensembles and courses. Successful completion of degree programs will enable our music students to take a meaningful place within their communities. It is our goal to assist our students to become well-rounded, healthy individuals and life-long learners in the arts. The Department seeks to do this within the context of a liberal arts university and with a deeply personalized approach to learning.
Vision of the Department
The D’Angelo Department of Music strives to be a nationally competitive and well-respected institution of learning. We seek to have a diverse student body that is intellectually curious, and motivated to learn in our rigorous, high quality curriculum. With a faculty of visionary educators, scholars, and musicians, we believe our students will be challenged to achieve these high scholastic and artistic goals. Faculty and students work together in an atmosphere of professional awareness, mutual support, and outreach. As a result, our graduates will be versatile musicians, prepared to pursue successful, fulfilling careers of their choosing.
Music Minor - 19 Credits Required
The D’Angelo Department of Music welcomes any student to audition as a Music Minor (see Audition Requirements below). You will take 30-minute weekly private lessons on your instrument/voice; study Music Theory, Aural Skills, and Music History; and participate in one of our large ensembles. Scholarships are also available to Minors (see Scholarships and Financial Information below).
One Music History course (3 cr) chosen from the following:
Applied Music Lesson Fee
This lesson fee applies only to certain types of students: 1) Non-music majors who wish to enroll in private lessons taught by department faculty, 2) Music Minors who desire to take private lessons beyond the required two years, 3) Current music majors who register for lessons in a secondary area that is not part of the specific degree program.
Description of Degree Programs
The D’Angelo Department of Music enrolls undergraduate students in the following degree programs: Bachelor of Music in Performance, Bachelor of Music in Music Education, Bachelor of Music in Composition, Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy, and Bachelor of Arts in Music. Applied study is offered in the following areas: Brass (Trumpet, Trombone, Tuba, Euphonium, French Horn), Strings (Violin, Viola, Cello, String Bass), Woodwinds (Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Saxophone), Composition, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, and Voice. A minor in music is also available to students from other disciplines (see Music Minor above). Each of these degree programs has a minimum GPA requirement.
Admission
In addition to the Mercyhurst University application and admission process, students applying to the D’Angelo Department of Music must
BM Music Therapy Audition Requirements
Voice Applicants in Music Therapy
Voice applicants in Music Therapy will be expected to audition with two pieces of their choice.
Virtual auditions: If submitting a virtual audition with video links, vocalists may choose either to record with a live accompanist or with a pre-recorded track.
Additionally, in a separate session on the day of your audition (or virtually if choosing the virtual option), Vocal applicants in Music Therapy will:
Instrumental Applicants in Music Therapy
Instrumental applicants in Music Therapy should perform two pieces of contrasting style on your primary instrument.
Virtual auditions: if submitting a virtual audition, send video links to dangelomusic@mercyhurst.edu.
Additionally, in a separate session on the day of your audition (or virtually if choosing the virtual option), Instrumental applicants in Music Therapy will:
Scholarships and Financial Information
Majors
Talent-based scholarships are awarded through the audition process at the discretion of the faculty and the Chair of the Department of Music. Any prospective student is eligible to compete for scholarship assistance, regardless of financial status. Students wishing to apply for financial assistance must also apply to the Student Finanical Services ofice. Students who do not meet required academic and performance levels during their time at Mercyhurst may have their scholarship reduced or eliminated.
Minors
Non-music majors are accepted as music minors through the same audition process described above and are awarded a scholarship for their participation in the music department’s large ensembles: Concert Choir, Civic Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, or Jazz Ensemble. Minors are also welcome to participate in the department's small ensembles at the discretion of the ensemble's director. Small ensembles are: Clarinet Choir, Saxophone Ensemble, Flute Ensemble, Brass Ensemble, Piano Ensemble, Chamber Choir, String Chamber Ensemble, Composers Workshop, and Opera Workshop.
Sophomore Review
At the end of the Sophomore year, a formal review is made by the entire full-time music faculty to evaluate whether the student will be retained in the program. Based on grades, progress on the major instrument/voice, juries, and other criteria established by the faculty, the Sophomore Review must be passed successfully for the student to continue working toward a music degree.
Graduation Recital
Student Best Practices & Procedures
A student guide outlining all policies of the D’Angelo Department of Music is provided to all music students. It is the responsibility of the student to adhere to guidelines and policies set forth in the document.
This Bachelor of Music program emphasizes musical proficiency at a pre-professional level through individual instruction, mentoring, and career guidance. Performance experience includes large and small ensembles, solo performance opportunities, solo work in large-scale productions, and solo recitals in the junior and senior years.
Music Therapy is an evidence-based and credentialed health care profession that utilizes the properties of music to accomplish non-music goals in a medical, therapeutic, or special education environment. The Music Therapy curriculum focuses on music, psychology, neurology, health care, and real-world clinical experiences within a wide variety of Erie-area health care facilities. All graduates of the four-year program who also complete a six-month internship will be eligible to sit for the national board exam, which leads to the Board Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC) credential. Students are encouraged to craft a minor or concentration in a related field to enhance their practice in a specific area of health care, such as psychology, neuroscience, or art therapy.
Total Credits Required to Graduate in the Major Music Therapy - 121 Credits
REACH Curriculum
Music Core Curriculum
Additional Courses
47 Credits Required for BA Music, BM Music Therapy, BM Music Education (43 credits for piano concentration)
55 Credits Required for BM Performance and BM Composition (51 credits for piano concentration)
This course provides a broad understanding of the Western Art Music tradition from the music of antiquity through the Baroque. Students will be guided through listening, score analysis, and engagement with written scholarship in order to attain knowledge about key pieces of the Western Art Music canon as well as the historical context in which this music was written and performed.
This course provides a broad understanding of the Western Art Music tradition from the music of the Classical period to the present. Students will be guided through listening, score analysis, and engagement with written scholarship in order to attain knowledge about key pieces of the Western Art Music canon as well as the historical context in which this music was written and performed.
The purpose of this course is to introduce basic and essential technologies often used by musicians. Students will have multiple opportunities to immediately apply new knowledge in realistic and useful settings.
Required for all first-year theory and aural skills students. Supplemental guided practice for academic concepts and practical skills covered in the Music Theory I & II and Aural Skills I & II curriculum. 0 credits.
An introduction to sight-singing, rhythm and ear training. The students will apply solfege to major and minor modes using a diatonic melody, perform rhythms in simple and compound meter, and identify intervals isolated and within a melodic dictation.
An introduction to sight-singing, rhythm and ear training. The students will apply solfege to major and minor modes using a diatonic melody, perform rhythms in simple and compound meter, and identify intervals isolated and within a melodic dictation.
Required for all first-year theory and aural skills students. Supplemental guided practice for academic concepts and practical skills covered in the Music Theory I & II and Aural Skills I & II curriculum. 0 credits.
The first of a four-semester sequence of class instruction that will develop functional piano skills and incorporate elements of applied theory. Topics covered include proper technique habits, five-finger patterns, major scales, major and minor triads, basic chord progressions, intro to harmonization and improvisation, easy repertoire pieces, and sight-reading.
The second of a four-semester sequence of class instruction that will develop functional piano skills and incorporate elements of applied theory. Topics covered include major and minor scales and arpeggios in two octaves, harmonization and transposition using all primary and secondary chords, repertoire pieces of increasing difficulty, chord progressions using secondary chords, improvisation to elicit kinesthetic responses, and sight-reading.
A four-year course of individual instruction with, emphasis on the thorough development of, musicianship, technique, style, interpretation, and repertoire. Credits determined by student's, degree program. 1-2 credits.
A four-year course of individual instruction with, emphasis on the thorough development of, musicianship, technique, style, interpretation, and repertoire. Credits determined by student's, degree program. 1-2 credits.
First year of a four-year course of individual, instruction with emphasis on the thorough, development of musicianship, technique, style,, interpretation and repertoire. Credits determined, by student's degree program. 1-2 credits.
Course offers individual instruction with, emphasis on the thorough development of, compositional creativity and techniques. 1-2, credits.
This is a requirement of all music majors. Attendance at weekly Student Forums and certain faculty/guest recitals is required. Students will register for Attendance Requirement each semester for all four years.
This course is designed to broaden the student's knowledge and appreciation of non-Western music and jazz. The world music portion examines music of the world’s major cultures, with an emphasis on style, instrumentation, and the cultural influence those societies had on music, both locally and globally. The jazz history segment examines the origins of jazz through the mid to late twentieth century, with an emphasis on identifying historical figures and the styles of jazz they represent.
Uses the skills achieved in MUS 111/112 to sing and dictate melodies that are diatonic, modal, chromatic, and modulate in various clefs and keys. In addition, students will perform rhythms that are more advanced in simple and compound meters and will be introduced to music that is more metrically complex.
Uses the skills achieved in MUS 111/112 to sing and dictate melodies that are diatonic, modal, chromatic, and modulate in various clefs and keys. In addition, students will perform rhythms that are more advanced in simple and compound meters and will be introduced to music that is more metrically complex.
Required for BM in Music Therapy
This year-long course is designed for beginners or for players who need to fill in the gaps in their basic overall knowledge of the instrument, all within a music therapy context. Topics covered are fingerboard knowledge, chords, strumming, basic improvisation, basic finger-style technique, reading standard notation/tablature, and basic concepts in music theory.
A year-long course covering basic physical and psychological principles of voice production, with particular attention to problems of tone, diction, development of vocal range and sight-reading. Particular focus on popular and jazz music, accompanying self on guitar and piano, as well as clinical uses of vocal techniques with a variety of patient populations.
Emphasis on functional skills on a variety of instruments commonly used in a music therapy setting. Other aspects include original songwriting, improvisation, alternate tunings, Greek modes, music technology and building population-specific repertoire.
This course serves as a classroom introduction to in-field clinical practice. Students will be observing, analyzing, session planning, and documenting on real sessions from a video database
with a wide variety of diagnoses and populations. All these hours can be applied to pre-internship totals under the current standards set forth by the American Music Therapy Association.
Pre-Internship experience in music therapy. Each student will complete weekly sessions at the chosen field site, in addition to a weekly in-class seminar/supervision meeting with faculty. The weekly in-class seminar portion of this course will focus on skill building. Specific skills addressed will be session planning, intervention building, conducting clinical assessments, and clinical documentation.
This course is focused on thinking about and thinking through improvisation as it applies to the therapeutic setting. Course objectives include: To learn about the various styles of improvisation and percussion elements in Music Therapy, to develop patient evaluation/assessment skills, to design appropriate therapeutic interventions that incorporate improvisation, and to explore symbolism and meaning of one’s own music.
Pre-Internship experience in music therapy. Each student will complete a total of 12 sessions at the chosen site, in addition to a weekly seminar/supervision meeting with faculty.
The major forms of psychopathology that appear in childhood and adult life. Topics include the symptomatology of mental disorders; their etiology from psychological, biological, and sociocultural perspectives; and issues pertaining to diagnosis, treatment, ethics, and the legal system.
