Department of Music

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Study music with a background in history and theory, and hone your craft through a blend of performance and individualized training.

 

The Colgate University Jazz Ensemble plays "funky" big band jazz at the Palace Theater, directed by Glenn Cashman.
The Colgate University Jazz Ensemble plays "funky" big band jazz at the Palace Theater, directed by Glenn Cashman.

Colgate trains musicians in a variety of disciplines with an integrative approach to music theory, history, and practice. The global perspective of the curriculum prepares student musicians for environments ranging from the concert hall to the recording studio.

Whether taking an elective or pursuing a full course of study, Colgate music students benefit from access to numerous opportunities to perform. Students also receive individualized attention from their professors, who teach private lessons and lead major ensembles.

The department expands its diverse curriculum with invitations to visiting artists, performers, and scholars who provide students with unique opportunities to engage musical and cultural influences from all over the world.

The department offers both a major and a minor in music.

About the academic program in music

Students applying as music majors may share supplemental application materials.

Supplemental application materials

Department Contacts

Chair: Laura Klugherz 
Concert manager: Lorraine Joseph
Office: 102 Dana Arts Center
Phone: 315-228-7642 or 315-228-7645

Events

The department hosts a number of concerts and other events each semester.

Schedule of Events
Private Lessons

Colgate music department faculty are available for private lessons, for all those interested in individualized instruction.

Schedule a Lesson
Off-Campus Study

The music department encourages students to expand their perspectives and experience by studying and performing off campus.

Learn about Study-Abroad Opportunities
Faculty and Staff

Meet the faculty and staff of the music department, and learn about their ongoing practice and scholarship.

Browse the Faculty & Staff Directory

Visiting Artists

The department is proud to play host each semester to world-renowned visiting artists, groups, and performers. Students benefit not only from the opportunity to observe visitors’ performances, but to engage with them in classroom and workshop settings.

Chucho Valdés

Cuban pianist, composer, and arranger Chucho Valdés visited campus to share his work, which has been influenced by flamenco and the Gnawa music of Morocco, ritual rhythms of the Orishas, the deities of the Afro-Cuban Santeria religion, hard-bop, and danzon as well as Bach, Rachmaninoff, and Miles Davis

Harlem Quartet

In this performance, the genre-defying quartet shared an eclectic mix of music including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart String Quartet No. 17 "The Hunt" in B-flat Major, K. 458; Antonio Carlos Jobim (arr. Dave Glenn), The Girl from Ipanema; Guido Gavilan Guaguanco; Edvard Grieg String Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 27 "Panache" NY Times.

Manhattan String Quartet

Students were invited into a performance by the Manhattan String Quartet as the audience was invited to observe from seating on the stage itself.

Taiko Drumming

Visiting artists enrich the curriculum with classical sounds and performances drawing on cultures from around the world.