Department of Music

The Department of Music offers both a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education and a minor in music. Music students will develop musical and leadership skills in university and public school settings. You will work closely with dynamic faculty and other highly accomplished music educators in the region who are focused on helping students achieve their goals. Four-year scholarships are available by audition for qualified music majors, minors and ensemble participants. Non-music majors are also eligible for certain scholarships, and they are encouraged to participate in ensembles, take lessons and join music student organizations to keep their musical lives active.

Numerous performance opportunities are available to students, including Marching Band, Wind Ensemble, Collegiate Singers, Chamber Singers, Jazz Band, Music Theatre, and other vocal and instrumental ensembles. Performing groups offer touring experiences to such places as New York City, Toronto, the Bahamas and throughout West Virginia.

Music majors study a comprehensive balance of music theory, music history and music education methods to prepare you for teaching music to Pre-K through adult students in a variety of settings. You will gain experience using state-of-the-art music technology resources as well as traditional instruments, and you will acquire teaching methods for vocal and instrumental music. Music education majors bring their experiences to a close with a senior recital on their primary instrument and a semester of student teaching in the public schools.

Students enjoy membership in professional and honorary music student organizations, which include trips to professional conferences and teaching seminars. Recent graduates of the music program have received graduate degrees in music education and pedagogy, and they are employed as music educators in public schools throughout West Virginia and beyond.

Programs of study: Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education and a minor in music

Student Organizations

This is a non-profit professional organization of choral directors from schools, colleges, universities, communities, churches and professional choral groups. Membership in ACDA is open to any student who participates actively in the choral music program. Members are eligible to attend any state, division or national conference and convention, and they are given opportunities to work on choral projects serving the college and community.

The purpose of the national honorary band fraternity for college band members is to promote the existence and welfare of college and university bands, to honor outstanding band members, to stimulate campus leadership, to promote a pleasant and helpful social experience for all engaged in college band work and to cooperate with other campus musical organizations. The Theta Sigma Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi at Fairmont State provides its members with the opportunity to participate in numerous community service projects as well as special social activities. To be eligible for membership, a student must have participated in band at least one semester and be enrolled each semester in the college band to maintain an active status.

This is an international honorary music fraternity for women who have a strong interest in music. Its purpose is to uphold high standards in music education and performance in the United States and foreign countries and to provide the school and community with a variety of services. Women become eligible for membership in SAI during their second semester of college. Prospective members must have a 3.0 music average, a 2.5 cumulative average, and must be enrolled in two hours of music courses.

The WVCMEA is a professional organization for students, especially music majors who plan to teach music, and those who have a strong interest in music. Local Chapter 315 sponsors monthly meetings with interesting programs, trips to outstanding concerts and excursions to observe excellent music programs in the public schools. Membership in WVCMEA provides students with the opportunity to attend the State Music Conference and the Fall Conference designed especially for college music majors.

Special Opportunities

Department of Music faculty members mentor students on research projects based on their individual areas of interest. For example, a music education major recently completed a Summer Undergraduate Research Experience with a faculty mentor. The research team analyzed the content of fourth grade general music series textbooks from throughout the twentieth century and noted changes in content over time. They will present their research at the West Virginia Music Educators Association conference and publish the results in the Notes a Tempo journal. Faculty members welcome the opportunity to discuss potential topics of undergraduate research with interested students.

Performance Opportunities

Chamber ensembles at FSU come in many forms. Students participate in chamber choir, brass ensembles, woodwind ensembles, guitar ensemble and digital piano ensembles. The music faculty are available and willing to coach ensembles in all vocal and instrumental areas.

With over 70 years of performances, the FSU Bands are among the most visible performing ensembles on campus. Membership in the bands is open to students who play a band instrument or have the necessary skills to participate in one of the auxiliary units such as flags or rifles. The Marching Band performs at all home football games during the fall semester and at various marching band activities such as parades and festivals. The Wind Ensemble is open to all students who can play a band instrument. Students are presented with the opportunity to study and perform a wide variety of band literature. The Jazz Ensemble is open by audition to advanced instrumental students. It is designed to give students an opportunity to rehearse and perform big band jazz and jazz-rock literature under faculty direction. The Fairmont State Bands have traveled across the East Coast and as far south as Walt Disney World and Bermuda. In the spring of 2008, the band travelled to the Bahamas. They perform on tour every two years, and in the future, expect to return to Europe, Mexico and Australia/New Zealand. They have produced compact disc recordings in recent years and plan to record more in the future. Alumni who have participated in the band have gone on to have successful careers in music education as well as a variety of occupations all across the United States.

Singing in a choir at FSU is an opportunity for students of all majors and degree programs. Three choirs perform music ranging from Renaissance madrigals to symphonic masterworks to contemporary pieces from cultures around the world. Collegiate Singers is open to all students of the university without audition. Previous experience in high school, church or community choirs is desirable but not required. The repertoire includes accompanied and a cappella music in many styles and languages. The Chamber Choir is a small, select mixed ensemble which holds auditions at the beginning of every semester. All students with excellent choral experience and music reading ability are welcome to audition. A larger repertoire of challenging music and more foreign language performance is expected in the Chamber Choir. The University-Community Chorus is organized for special occasion concerts. The Collegiate Singers and Chamber Choir are joined by volunteer singers from the greater Fairmont area to perform large works with orchestra such as Handel’s “Messiah,” the Mozart “Requiem” and John Rutter’s “Magnificat,” to name just a few. FSU choirs sing one or more concerts each semester. In addition to campus events, the choirs have toured throughout West Virginia, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and Canada, performing for high schools and churches. Recent tour engagements include Toronto in 2007, sharing a concert with the Upper Canada Choristers, and at New York City’s Carnegie Hall in 2003, singing Beethoven’s “Mass in C.”

The Fairmont State University Community Orchestra gives students an opportunity to play in an ensemble with professional orchestra members, as well as students from West Virginia University. The orchestra performs one concert each semester in a series shared with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra from Charleston. Participation in the FSUCO is open to students with experience in all orchestral instruments, with permission from the conductor. Music students may also audition to perform solos with the orchestra in our annual concerto competition.

Scholarships

The School of Fine Arts has numerous scholarship opportunities available to its majors.  While no application for admission is required for Fine Arts programs other than that required by the university, scholarships require a separate application and depending on the area, an interview, audition or portfolio review.

In addition to the Fairmont Undergraduate Scholarships (FUS) which are allocated to the School of Fine Arts, the following endowed scholarships for Music are also available:

Fairmont Concert Association Music Endowed Scholarship
Blanche Kinney Fine Arts Endowed Scholarship
B. J. O’Dell Sherman Endowed Scholarship
Virginia P & Richard P. Wellock Music Endowed Scholarship

The Blanche Kinney Endowment is also used by the School of Fine Arts to support visiting artists, master classes and gallery exhibits. The fund is also used to support student travel to attend fine arts events in places like Pittsburgh, New York, Washington, D.C., Stratford, Ontario, and London. This endowment is one of the largest maintained by the Fairmont State University Foundation, Inc.

Fairmont State University also maintains Participation Scholarships that are granted to students, regardless of their major, for participation in activities such as the Marching Band, Wind Ensemble, Collegiate Singers, Masquers Theatre Productions, Debate or the Art Gallery.