In one corner of a room in the Imig Music building, three students are softly singing a piece of music. A different duo is discussing the possibility of collaborating on a performance piece. With all of the people casually conversing, the lobby of CU’s College of Music feels as homey and welcoming as someone’s living room. Inside, it’s hard to remember that it’s part of a university that boasts over 28,000 students.
“We’re a small community within a very large university,” said Victoria Ibarra, the undergraduate staff adviser for the College of Music.
On the College of Music Web site, Dean Daniel Sher said the college is, “A community of students passionate about music making and learning.” The school has 350 undergraduates pursuing a degree in music. To receive a Bachelor of Arts degree in music, students are not required to take the traditional Arts and Sciences core curriculum; instead, they take musically focused classes.
“We have a lot of academic music courses in addition to the classes where we actually play music,” said Lauren Miller, a 19-year-old sophomore string performance major.
Music students are required to take music theory classes (Miller said these classes are “the math of music”) and aural skills classes in addition to hours of practicing their instrument.
“We do three-to-four hours of individual practice per day. This is on top of any ensemble and chamber groups you might be practicing with. In addition, I rehearse with the orchestra every other day for an hour and a half each time,” Miller said.
When asked about how rigorous the music program is, Miller said many students have a lot of misconceptions about the amount of work that goes into a music degree.
“People are like, ‘Oh it’s just music. It’s probably nice to not have to study for exams,’” Miller said. ”But it’s more than that. In music, you can’t cram. It’s impossible. In other classes people start the week before and can get a decent grade. But in music every day is a big, hardcore study day. You have to reserve the time every day to perfect it.”
Many students on campus say they don’t know anything about the College of Music.
“All I know is there’s that bus stop right outside of it.” said Kehly Skoog, a 19-year-old sophomore biochemistry major.
Music performance majors do take a few classes outside of the school, but many say they spend a large amount of their time in the school.
“I’m sure everyone in music feels overwhelmed by how much music is in their lives, but it’s very satisfying in the end,” Miler said.
Curious non-music students need only stop by the school to witness the fruits of the students’ labors.
“It’s wonderful; you can wander the halls at any time of day and hear so much music,” Ibarra said.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Mary Rochelle at Mary.rochelle@colorado.edu.
CU’s Music School presents an enormous amount of music, from Faculty Tuesdays to band or orchestra in Macky, Artist Series, Holiday Festival, CU Opera and Takacs Quartet (which is perpetually sold out). I live off Baseline a half-hour walk from campus and hike up to Music (or Macky sometimes) nearly every day for one show or another. Many are free though others require tickets; I save money with season subscriptions. Macky also hosts the Boulder Philharmonic and the annual Nutcracker Ballet. If nothing’s on at CU Music I take RTD into Denver for brass, organ recitals and other events. Never a dull moment!