Undergraduate programs
The School of Music & Theater is located within the hub of musical and theatrical activity in the Pacific Northwest, only three blocks from the Portland Center for the Performing Arts. It maintains close ties to the Oregon Symphony, Portland Opera, Portland Jazz Orchestra, Portland Piano International, Portland Youth Philharmonic, Chamber Music Northwest, Oregon Repertory Singers, Artists Repertory Theater, Portland Center Stage, Milagro Theatre, and Third Rail Repertory Theater, among other organizations. Faculty and students alike interact with these performing organizations in various ways.
Students have the opportunity to study with faculty members who are internationally recognized performers, conductors, composers, actors, directors, writers, and scholars. Standards are high as students pursue the conservatory-like Bachelor of Music degree or the more general Bachelor of Arts or Science in Music or Theater. Graduates have consistently demonstrated their excellence in the fields of performance, conducting, composition, acting, writing, production, and scholarship. Many are leaders in music, theater, and education around the Northwest and elsewhere.
Programs in the School of Music & Theater are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music and National Association of Schools of Theater. Graduates have gained admission to both university graduate programs and professional training programs; they have become teachers and university professors; and they have pursued a range of related professions in the arts, education, business, administration, law, social services, and non-profit management.
Composition B.M.
Area Coordinator: B. Miksch
Requirements
In addition to meeting the general University degree requirements, music majors seeking the professional music degree (Bachelor of Music in Composition) must complete the following courses:
Courses
| Mup 190 | Applied Music Performance | 6 |
| Mup 290 | Applied Music Performance | 6 |
| Mup 390 | Applied Music Composition | 6 |
| Mup 490 | Applied Music Composition | 6 |
| Mus 046 | Piano Proficiency Exam | (0) |
| Mus 048 | Junior Recital | (0) |
| Mus 049 | Senior Recital | (0) |
| Mus 111 | Music Theory I | 3 |
| Mus 112 | Music Theory I | 3 |
| Mus 113 | Music Theory I | 3 |
| Mus 114 | Sight-Singing/Ear Training | 1 |
| Mus 115 | Sight-Singing/Ear Training | 1 |
| Mus 116 | Sight-Singing/Ear Training | 1 |
| Mus 188 | Performance Attendance | 0 |
| | Mus 195, 196, 197, or 198 Band, Orchestra, Choir, or Jazz Lab Band | 6 |
| Mus 205 | Listening I | 1 |
| Mus 206 | Listening II | 1 |
| Mus 211 | Music Theory II | 3 |
| Mus 212 | Music Theory II | 3 |
| Mus 213 | Music Theory II | 3 |
| Mus 214 | Sight Singing and Ear Training | 1 |
| Mus 215 | Sight Singing and Ear Training | 1 |
| Mus 216 | Sight Singing and Ear Training | 1 |
| Mus 240 | Composition I | 2 |
| Mus 241 | Composition I | 2 |
| Mus 242 | Composition I | 2 |
| Mus 291 | Advanced Class Piano | 2 |
| Mus 292 | Advanced Class Piano | 2 |
| Mus 293 | Advanced Class Piano | 2 |
| Mus 304 | Music History: Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque | 4 |
| Mus 305 | Music History: Classical and Romantic | 4 |
| Mus 306 | Music History: 20th Century | 4 |
| Mus 311 | Formal Analysis | 3 |
| Mus 312 | Orchestration | 3 |
| Mus 313 | Counterpoint | 3 |
| Mus 320 | Fundamentals of Conducting | 2 |
| | Mus 394, 395, 396, 397, or 398 Large or Small Ensemble | 3 |
| Mus 411 | Topics in Music History | 2 |
| Mus 421 | Analysis of Contemporary Music | 3 |
| | | |
| Mus 474 | Midi Applications | 2 |
| | or | |
| Mus 475 | Midi Applications | 2 |
| | | |
| Mus 476 | Computer Music Composition | 3 |
One of the following:
Mup 190 & Mup 290 Applied Music: 12 credits in performance.
Mup 390 & Mup 490 Applied Music: 12 credits in composition.
Mus 114 – Mus 116: concurrent enrollment with Mus 111, 112, 113 required
Mus 214 - Mus 216: concurrent enrollment with Mus 211, 212, 213 required)
Mus 188: must be taken concurrently with Applied Music each term through the completion of Mup 390 for a total of 9 terms.
Music majors must enroll in Applied Music and the related Large Ensemble each term. The credits in Applied Music are divided 6 credits at each level. With School approval, the distribution of Applied Music credits may be altered; however, a minimum of 12 of the 24 credits must be completed at the upper-division level. A minimum of 3 of the 9 Large Ensemble credits must be completed at the upper-division level.
Music majors must enroll in the related Chamber Music Ensemble.
NOTE: Applied Music performance (instrumental or vocal) through Mus 290 with 12 accumulated credits is required. Interested students will submit a portfolio of compositions for acceptance as a Composition Major after the Mus 240, Mus 241, Mus 242 sequence. Transfer students may be admitted on the basis of their portfolio of compositions and their transcript.