The Earlham College Music Department’s curricular offerings are as broad as those found at much larger schools, and in some respects they are quite unique. Our three full time faculty have expertise in the areas of choral music (Dan Graves), orchestral music (Forrest Tobey) and Javanese gamelan (Marc Benamou). Our adjunct faculty have expertise in the areas of both jazz (Austin Vickrey) and world percussion (Keith Cozart), and our private instruction is strong in all areas: piano, strings, woodwind, brass, percussion, and voice, with professionals teachers drawn from the metropolitan areas of Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Dayton.

The sheer range of our performing ensembles are impressive at a school this size: Concert Choir, Madrigals, A Capella Choir, Women’s Choir, Symphony Orchestra, big band Jazz Ensemble, Hand Drum Ensemble, Rhythm Project and Javanese Gamelan. (We own full gamelan sets in both slendro and pelog tunings). In addition, a chamber music program is offered in both classical performance and jazz, with a select string quartet, woodwind quintet, flute choir and jazz combo rehearsing and performing each semester. We also boast a state-of-the-art computer music studio and expert instruction in music technology, with many opportunities for the realization of personal projects.

We are especially proud of our innovative approach to teaching Western music history and music theory, where questions of musical meaning are included as an aspect of inquiry. We also offer a full range of courses in ethnomusicology (the anthropology of the world’s musics) that reflect our commitment to students gaining an understanding of music from a global perspective.

Everything we do is open to majors and non-majors alike—there are countless opportunities for everyone on campus to participate in music making and music study. It is one of the delights of our department that talented students from all disciplines perform alongside music majors in a spirit of cooperation and a shared love of music.

Our curriculum reflects Earlham’s international focus. The department runs a semester-abroad choral program in Vienna in which students have the opportunity to sing in the very venues where many great choral works were originally performed. Our new international studies program in India has a strong focus on Indian music and the arts. Moreover, we frequently bring to campus performers from varied cultural backgrounds (Cameroonian, Gambian, Andean, Afro-Peruvian, Tibetan, Indonesian, Russian, Dutch, and North Indian, to name some recent ones), many of whom give workshops for students.

We host musicians of international caliber, including a performance/workshop with the Tallis Scholars (2006), a celebration of the music of George Crumb, with the composer on campus for a series of coached performances and seminars (2005), and our upcoming performance with the Ahn Trio in the spring of 2008.

Earlham College · 801 National Road West · Richmond, Indiana 47374-4095
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This page last updated: Jan 7, 2004