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.
Jazz Studies B.M.
Area Coordinator: G. Colligan
Serving students who seek a professional degree in music with an emphasis in jazz, the B.M. in Jazz Studies provides a thorough music foundation with specialized coursework in jazz performance, improvisation, jazz history, and arranging. Students pursue immersive jazz performance experiences in large ensembles and jazz combos and solo performances in their recitals. Students successfully completing the B.M. in Jazz Studies will have gained the necessary skills and confidence to pursue professional work as a jazz musician.
Requirements
In addition to meeting the general University degree requirements, music majors seeking the professional music degree (Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies) must complete the following courses:
Courses
Total Credit Hours: 123
Mus 114 – Mus 116: (concurrent enrollment with Mus 111, Mus 112, Mus 113 required)
Mus 214 – Mus 216: (jazz section), concurrent enrollment with Mus 211, Mus 212, Mus 213 required.
Music majors must enroll in Applied Music and the related Large Ensemble each term. Students must earn 6 credits at each level of Applied Music. 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 6 of the 12 Large Ensemble credits must be completed at the upper-division level.
Music majors must enroll in the appropriate Chamber Music Ensemble.