Any student interested in the Bachelor of Music degree must complete an audition on a primary instrument/vocal area. This includes students interested in the B.M. Music Industry concentration (not the B.A. concentration or minor). Click here for audition guidelines.
Students interested in the Bachelor of Arts degree are not required to audition, but if they are interested in taking lessons on their voice/instrument, they must complete an audition. Click here for more information.
If you are interested in pursuing one of our music minors (Music, Music Industry, Jazz, Music and Human Services), you do not have to be admitted to the School of Music via audition. All of our ensembles and productions are open to both Music majors and non-Music majors, as are student music clubs and organizations.
There's a three-step process for any student interested in the Bachelor of Music degree:
- Submit your Undergraduate Admissions Application via the JMU Admissions Office.
- Register for an Audition Day.
- Submit your School of Music application through Slideroom. Your Music application is due at least 7 days prior to attending your on-campus Music audition. In addition to completing the application questions, you'll need to upload:
- One or two music letters of recommendation
- Unofficial high school transcript
- Music resume
Please visit the Bachelor of Music application page for more information.
Your audition materials will be submitted online through the supplemental School of Music application on Slideroom. Each applied area will ask for different requirements as to what to submit as a part of your audition materials. Please visit our website for a breakdown of those requirements by instrument.
The audition days for the School of Music will consist of information sessions, performances, workshops, and student Q&A sessions. This is a great opportunity for you to get to know more about the kind of programs we offer and our applied areas.
All of our music faculty members are excited to meet you and learn more about your interest in studying music at JMU. Visit our faculty directory website for contact information for the professor in your applied area. Faculty may be willing to conduct a trial lesson or meeting in person, over Zoom, invite you to a studio class or current student's lesson, or suggest you attend an ensemble rehearsal. You can also reach out to the Music Admissions office at music_admit@jmu.edu if you need assistance connecting with a faculty member. We ask that students wishing to take a trial lesson wait until their senior year to make this request of our faculty members.
In the School of Music, there are two degree options each with their own concentrations:
Bachelor of Arts
Music Studies - a flexible concentration for students wishing to explore music study in combination with other interests; for those who wish to focus on fields such as music theory, musicology, and ethnomusicology; or for those who wish to incorporate another major or minor in an outside field.
Music Industry - for students interested in a wide range of music technologies, such as audio engineering, music software, music copyright, music advertising, artist management, and more.
Bachelor of Music
Composition - for students who are interested in classical style composition and careers in instrumental/vocal scoring as well as film scoring.
Jazz - for students looking to pursue a career as a professional jazz musician.
Music Education - for students interested in becoming a music teacher in the K-12 public school system, which includes certification and student teaching.
Music Industry - for students interested in a wide range of music technologies, such as audio engineering, music software, music copyright, music advertising, artist management, and more.
Music Performance - for those students wanting to become professional performers, often going on for an advanced degree beyond JMU.
Music Theatre - for students interested in music performance including additional coursework in dance and theatre.
Students don’t have to declare a concentration until their sophomore year. Everyone takes the same first year as essentially Music undecided. There are additional requirements to declare each of the different concentrations, and some students may choose to declare up to two concentrations.
Learn more about the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Music degree programs.
As a music major, you’ll be getting started with your music classes right away. In your first year, most students will take Music Theory, Ear Training (Aural Skills), Recital Attendance, Private Lessons*, Piano Keyboard Skills*, an Ensemble, and a general education credit. You can check out the JMU course catalog for a full list of required classes for each of the different music concentrations.
*Bachelor of Music requirement
We have approximately 450 students majoring in Music at JMU. Around 75 of those students are in MM & DMA degree programs, meaning almost 85% of the students studying music at JMU are undergraduate.
In a normal year, the School of Music puts on over 250 performances every year and there are over 30 different large and small ensembles. There are performance opportunities starting in your freshman year. Students will register for at least one ensemble their first semester, which will typically have 2-3 performances each semester. In addition, students will have the opportunity to perform in their studio class and in the weekly area recitals. There are also end of the semester juries, not to mention any clubs or extra ensemble performances to look forward to. No matter what your concentration, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to perform!
At JMU, we are so lucky to have the state-of-the-art Forbes Center for the Performing Arts. The Forbes Center has five beautiful performing arts venues:
Recital Hall: 198 seat intimate space for student, faculty, and guest recitals and small ensemble performances.
Concert Hall: 600 seat space for large ensemble and guest performances.
Mainstage Theatre: 450 seat space for Theatre, Musical Theatre, and Opera productions.
Earlynn J Miller Dance Studio: a Dance performance and classroom space.
Studio Theatre: home for the Experimental Theatre program, with student curated plays and musicals.
Anthony-Seeger Auditorium: 220 seat space for student recitals and chamber music.
In addition there’s also the Music Building which houses most of the faculty studio spaces, classrooms, a recording studio, and our Music Library. JMU is an All-Steinway school, with over 200 Steinway family pianos for practice and performance.
That varies widely depending on the type of class. In the School of Music, you will receive one-on-one private lessons with a faculty member on your primary instrument. For your concentration specific classes, often there will only be 12 - 20 students, especially the higher level you are. Some of your music history and music theory classes are larger, with up to 100 students, and some of your ensembles are larger, with up to 100 students. You will definitely receive plenty of support even in your large classes, with all of our professors hosting office hours and graduate TA’s offering additional resources for these larger class settings.
JMU offers study abroad programs through the Center for Global Engagement. The School of Music hosts the Jazz Montreal Summer Program every June. Faculty members will also have connections to summer programs outside of JMU. Because of the sequential nature of our program, it’s difficult to do a full semester or a full year abroad, but you can always discuss that as an option with your advisor to complete general education requirements if that’s something you’re really passionate about.
The School of Music works closely with the University Career Center to make sure there are professional opportunities for all of our music students. That includes resume workshops, mock interview days, career fairs, and more. The College of Visual and Performing Arts provides over $25,000 annually in CVPA Undergraduate Research grants. Many of our undergraduate music students are involved in research, and present at national and international conferences every year. In addition, the School of Music and the Forbes Center bring in dozens of music professionals every year for performances and masterclasses. We ensure that every artist who performs at JMU also includes a talkback session, masterclass, or other professional development opportunity. We have a strong connection with our Music alumni, who we often bring back to campus or connect through professional events (like the Virginia Music Educators Association Conference) to talk about their experiences and provide valuable networking opportunities. At JMU we believe in arts for the real world, which means preparing you to be successful upon graduation!
Ensembles are open to anyone in any major. Many of our ensembles require an audition, typically in the first week of classes, but some of them are open to anyone. As a first year student we don’t typically offer official private lessons through the School of Music, but there are many willing and eager doctoral candidates who are happy to take on non-major students on a private basis.
There are four different Music minors available to all JMU students:
Music minor: flexible, general Music minor (18 credits)
Jazz minor: helps students majoring in other disciplines understand and perform the jazz art form (15 credits)
Music and Human Services minor: prepares students for vocational opportunities to use music performance, education and community engagement skills to serve diverse populations (18 credits)
Music Industry minor: foundation for exploring career opportunities in the music entertainment industry (15 credits)
The MRDs are open to anyone in any major. Incoming freshmen will receive an invitation to join the band in May via email. There are auditions for spots in the percussion and color guard, but all other instruments are open to anyone without an audition (there are auditions for marching spots held during band camp). You can check out their website here: https://www.jmu.edu/mrd/
All music majors taking lessons will pay an applied music lesson fee of $175 per semester, which is included in the tuition payments*. Music majors must also complete MUS 195, a Recital Attendance course, which may include ticket fees for certain events. The School of Music does offer a number of free concerts and recitals every semester, but some studios may be required to attend performances that are ticketed through the Forbes Center for the Performing Arts.
*Please go to the Cost of Attendance Calculator to see the estimated cost of attendance for your program of study.
