Welcome from the Dean
Welcome to the School of Music at Stetson University. As you spend time on campus or in communication with us via the website, I am certain you will come to appreciate the richness and depth of the diverse and stimulating musical and educational environment that makes this such a special place.
Stetson's School of Music is founded on the vision of an exclusively undergraduate program that serves as the starting point of great careers in all areas of the profession. Over 200 carefully selected undergraduate students receive the undivided attention of 47 artist-faculty members in an atmosphere of challenge and support. At Stetson you will find a pervasive, compelling commitment to artistic excellence, intellectual curiosity, and professionalism. Standards are high and the work is intense, but the rewards are many.
- Competitive music scholarships, available to outstanding student performers in all areas, make a Stetson education affordable regardless of your chosen major. An audition is required, both for admission to the School of Music and for scholarship consideration. You must apply to the university before you audition, and we adhere to strict audition guidelines and deadlines, available on this website.
- Opportunities abound for solo and chamber performance and a deep array of widely recognized major ensembles, including the University Symphonic Band, Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, Concert Choir, Opera Theatre, Stetson Women's Chorale, Stetson Men, and Choral Union.
- Our active, dynamic Stetson music faculty serve their students as mentors, advisors, and fellow music makers. They are acclaimed performers and leaders in the profession, bringing outstanding and relevant experiences to their Stetson teaching and performance.
- The busy concert season at Stetson features faculty, student and guest artists performing in historic Lee Chapel in Elizabeth Hall. Faculty and student performances reach into the central Florida community and far beyond.
- Each year, our students' growth is enriched through workshops and masterclasses with an impressive array of acclaimed and accessible guest artists and scholars, as well as exciting guest and alumni recitals and concerts.
- Our music facilities continue to expand with the relocation of the music library to the beautiful arts wing of DuPont-Ball Library. Not only do our students now enjoy over twice the access to library holdings an dinviting study spaces, but Presser Hall has another large multi-use rehearsal and instructional space near study/seminar spaces and the Presser computer lab.
Here at Stetson, both academic study and performance expertise are important components of every music degree. You will find well-designed and flexible curricula that allow concentration on performance, music education, music technology, composition, theory, or the option of combining the study of music with almost any other field. For example, students who wish to consider the music connection to business are able to complete a music degree and an MBA in only five years. Up to three levels of conducting, three career-skills development courses, and an array of core and advanced theory and literature courses have proven to prepare students for highly successful teaching and acceptance to the most competitive graduate programs in the nation.
Each year we rejoice with students and alums in their professional acclaim and life fulfillment.
- Right now, Stetson graduatess can be found studying at Yale School of Music, Eastman School of Music, Rice University, New England Conservatory, Indiana University, the University of Nebraska, the University of Michigan, the University of Kentucky, The Ohio State University, the University of Texas, Arizona State University, Mills College, Ithaca College, Florida State University, the University of Alabama, Boston University, and many others. Among our 2011 graduates:
- 2011 graduate Jenna Siladie is one of two sopranos chosen to begin graduate study at Yale School of Music in the fall of 2011. Jenna studied in Vienna as a Stetson University Research Experience grant recipient after her junior year, and she had extensive opera experience at Stetson, appearing as Susanna in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" and in the title role of Puccini's "Suor Angelica." Other Stetson grads selected to attend Yale tuition-free include organist Josiah Armes and guitarist Michael McCallie.
- Maxwell Grossman '11 will attend Ithaca College in 2011, studying conducting and collaborative piano on a full scholarship. Winner of the Tampa Bay Symphony Concerto Competition in 2010, Max had three performances of the Grieg Piano Concerto in his senior year. Max played clarinet and piano with the University Symphonic Band, conducted in rehearsal and performance, and honed his leadership skills as a teaching intern and as president of the School of Music Student Advisory Council.
- Donovan Singletary '07 just finished a three-year stint with the Lindemann Young Artist Program at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He is now being booked for opera engagements around the country. Donovan and fellow Stetson alum and recent Boston University grad Tai Oney '07 are two of ten young professional singers chosen in November 2010 to receive Sullivan Foundation Awards. In addition to lucrative cash prizes, each is eligible for grants to assist with preparation of new roles over the next five years.
- 2010 Outstanding Young Alumnus Wesley Whatley recently won a Daytime Emmy Award for best original song ("Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus!"). Wesley is Associate Creative Director for Macy's Inc. in New York City. When you think of Wesley, think Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and July Fourth Fireworks!
- 2007 Outstanding Young Alumna Katherine Rohrer '98 continues to enjoy an international singing career. She recently appeared at the Florida Grand Opera and in productions in Valencia, Spain; Geneva, Switzerland;
- The composition program is alive and well with performances by faculty and student composers each semester. 2007 graduate Omar Surillo, student of Drs. Sydney Hodkinson and Manuel de Murga, has been a fellow at the Atlantic Center for the Arts (New Smyrna Beach) and recently completed the MM in Composition at Yale School of Music.
- Andrew Moedinger graduated from Stetson with degrees in Computer Science and Piano Performance. Having had a summer internship with Google between his junior and senior years, Andrew was hired full time at Google immediately following his graduation.
In tandem with the university's mission of providing a significant education in a creative community where learning and values meet, the School of Music community embraces academic rigor, artistic excellence, professionalism, and ethical behavior -- in turn applying these to spectacular performance experiences. Magic happens!
On behalf of the Stetson music community and the entire university, I thank you for your interest, whether you are a high school student, the parent of a prospective student, or an advocate and lover of music and the arts. You are invited to learn more about the School of Music, to visit our campus, and to attend our concerts and recitals. When you visit, don't be a stranger. Welcome to the School of Music!
Dr. Jean West, Dean of the School of Music
