As a student in TCU’s School of Music, you will study with outstanding faculty members as well as listen to, interact and study with renowned guest artists from throughout the world in an artistically and academically rigorous environment. You will excel and grow as an artist in an academic environment that is large enough to afford students world-class musical opportunities, yet small enough to ensure a personalized musical experience.
Academics
Brass
As a TCU brass student, you’ll access a range of courses and opportunities that will equip you with the specific skills and guidance to grow as a musician.
Composition/Theory
In this program, you’ll learn from full-time composers and theorists in a highly selective program offering individual instruction and mentoring.
Musicology
Because music is inextricably woven into the fabric of human activity, the cultural and philosophical contexts of which music has been a part are important considerations in the study of the variety of styles, genres, and media that students in our program have the opportunity to explore.
Organ & Church Music
Students will experience broad range of pipe organs and harpsichords in the TCU School of Music.
Percussion
The TCU Percussion Studio is dedicated to maximizing percussion education through a wide variety of performing ensembles and a closely supervised private lesson structure.
Piano
Piano majors study with an internationally known faculty of artists and teachers through a variety of program options.
Strings
The TCU School of Music offers a world-class education from a faculty that includes nationally and internationally recognized musicians in violin, viola, cello, bass, harp and guitar.
Voice
Our goal in the voice program is to prepare our students for success whether they choose to use their vocal talents on stage, in the classroom or elsewhere in life.
Woodwinds
The woodwind curriculum includes personalized instruction and performance opportunities in an equally supportive and challenging environment.
Music Minor Requirements (21 Hours)
Studio Performance Lessons (4 hours)
Lower Division (4 hours)
Requires four semesters of successful jury examinations designated to fulfill music minor requirement
Music Theory (8 hours)
Music History (9 hours)
TCU’s artist diploma provides intensive study and performance opportunities under the guidance of master teachers in preparation for a performance career. This program accepts only the most advanced and gifted performers who demonstrate serious potential to become concert artists through their performance and credentials.
The artist diploma is a three-year program in Piano and Strings; two-year in Voice/Opera and Winds/Percussion (Please note: The Voice/Opera Artist Diploma program is only seeking mezzo-soprano and tenor applicants for the Fall of 2023), available in a post-baccalaureate track.
An audition is required. Admission to the program is allowed only upon the recommendation of the appropriate applied studio faculty and the approval of the School of Music director.
A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 is required to maintain satisfactory academic progress in this program.
For more information about the Artist Diploma program in Voice, contact:
Dr. Corey Trahan
Interim Director of Opera, Instructor of Voice
Corey.trahan@tcu.edu
At TCU, you’ll grow intellectually and personally, and you’ll also gain specific knowledge and skills for a career. You’ll learn by doing, stepping outside the classroom to turn your ideas into action. Internships are invaluable for helping determine which career path most interests you.
Internship experiences within the School of Music are based on your area of study. Music education majors often pursue private teaching, sectional or band camp classes with area school districts. Students who pursue Bachelor of Music or Bachelor of Arts degrees can take advantage of internships through summer music festivals, area arts organizations, places of worship, community outreach programs and more.
Contact the Center for Career and Professional Development to request funding for these internships.
TCU policy on internships
TCU offers hundreds of internships in any given semester and does not support political or personal statements associated with any of them. We evaluate each opportunity to ensure academic value as it relates to a course of study. Beyond that, we encourage you to seek the opportunities that best match your interests and to choose how to best fulfill your internship requirements.
Develop your degree plan with advisors who are committed to your personal and professional success. The School of Music guides you every step of the way so that you can identify and accomplish your academic and career goals. To speak with your advisor, refer to the contact list below or your my.tcu.edu student center portal. For more information about advising in the School of Music, please contact Dr. Sean Atkinson.
Sean Atkinson, PhD
Director, School of Music
LAN 120A
sean.atkinson@tcu.edu
817-257-5417
Primary Advisors
Wind Conducting: Bobby Francis
Orchestral Conducting: German Gutierrez
Choral Conducting: Christopher Aspaas
With fulltime piano studio teacher: Ann Gipson, Harold Martina, John Owings, Tamás Ungár
Other piano students advised as follows: Ann Gipson
Harp and Guitar: Blaise Ferrandino
Violin: Elisabeth Adkins
Viola: Misha Galaganov
Cello: Misha Galaganov
Double Bass: Blaise Ferrandino, Yuan Xiong Lu
A – L (Undergraduates): Sean Atkinson, Till Meyn
M – Z (Undergraduates): Blaise Ferrandino, Martin Blessinger
Graduates: By primary professor
With fulltime voice studio teacher: David Brock, San-Ky Kim, Twyla Robinson, James Rodriguez, Corey Trahan, Angela Turner Wilson
Other voice students advised as follows:
Voice majors last names beginning A – F: David Brock
Voice majors last names beginning G- L: San-ky Kim
Voice majors last names beginning M – Q: James Rodriguez
Voice majors last names beginning R – V: Twyla Robinson
Voice majors last names beginning W – Z: Angela Turner Wilson
Flute, Oboe: Shauna Thompson
Clarinet: Corey Mackey
Saxophone, Bassoon: Joe Eckert
Trumpet: Jon Burgess
Horn: Heather Test
Trombone: David Begnoche
Tuba, Euphonium: David Begnoche
Percussion: Brian A. West
Advisors by Degree
Primary advisor as listed by instrument/discipline.
Primary advisor as listed by instrument/discipline.
Secondary advisor:
Elizabeth Kirkendoll
Primary advisor as listed by instrument/discipline.
Secondary advisors:
Vocal: Elizabeth Kirkendoll
Percussion: Elizabeth Kirkendoll
Instrumental: Laura Singletary
In addition to TCU’s full range of scholarships, the College of Fine Arts offers competitive scholarships for music majors at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Assistantships, including up to full tuition and a stipend, are available for graduate students.
Nordan Scholar, Aubrey Fineout, Class of 2017
For music majors, the School of Music awards numerous scholarships — up to full-tuition awards. Additionally, many TCU students receive both music and academic scholarships. Excellence in composition is recognized each year through the awarding of the Jonathan Durington prize. Under special circumstances, non-music majors might also be considered for scholarship awards based on audition and the specific needs of the performing ensembles.
To be considered for an academic scholarship, complete the standard TCU Undergraduate Student Application and the School of Music Admission Application by February 1.
Music scholarships, except for Nordan scholarships (explained below), will be considered by audition during one of the scheduled audition dates; applicants must complete the online School of Music Admission Application before an audition time can be scheduled.
Isaac Chiang – Percussion – BME-Instrumental Concentration
John Dubois – Voice – BM-Vocal Performance
Andrew Vargas – Piano – BM-Piano Performance
Julianne Tai – Piano – Double Major in BM-Piano Performance and Anthropology
Alexander Byrd – Trombone – BME-Instrumental Concentration
Pauline Napier – Percussion – BME-Instrumental Concentration
TCU Early Action Program
Music applicants interested in an earlier admission response are strongly encouraged to complete the TCU application procedures above before the TCU Early Action deadline of November 1. TCU Early Action provides application review and nonbinding university notification by January 1, while allowing applicants to decide by May 1 (national candidate reply date) whether or not to attend TCU. TCU School of Music admission notification will be sent no later than April 1.
Please note: Final admission into the TCU School of Music as a music major will not be considered until the performance audition has been completed, all supporting materials have been submitted and the student has been fully admitted to TCU.
Nordan Young Artist Award Scholarship
The Nordan Young Artist Award is an exclusive scholarship, open to entering first-year vocalists, instrumentalists, and composers of superior talent, who have chosen to major in music. Nordan winners receive a four-year, full tuition award.
A completed online School of Music Admission Application must be submitted to the School of Music by December 1. For the Nordan Scholarship Award, you are required to upload a preliminary pre-screening video performance when completing the online application. Specific repertoire requirements are linked on Step 4 for each division area found on the Undergraduate Student Admission page with specific instructions for the Nordan audition.
How to create a quality prescreen media recording.
Following screening, successful applicants will be notified at the end of TCU’s Fall semester by mail/and or email of their eligibility to perform during the on-campus auditions.
Nordan auditions will be held at TCU on January 14, 2023. It is preferred that auditions are performed in person, but if an exception is needed, please contact Sarah Walters at s.walters77@tcu.edu.
Nordan awardees in music will be considered for full tuition awards provided they submit the Free Application of Financial Student Aid (FAFSA – required for US citizens) and the CSS Profile by March 1. Visit the TCU Office of Financial Aid for more information.
Students not chosen to participate in the Nordan auditions are encouraged to audition on other January or February audition dates for School of Music acceptance/scholarships or for ensemble scholarship awards in their area of study.
Music applicants interested in an earlier admission response are strongly encouraged to complete both application procedures above before the TCU Early Action deadline of November 1. TCU Early Action combined with the Nordan Audition Day ensures a comprehensive admission decision by February 15.
Accompanists
An accompanist will be provided for the Nordan audition by request or you may bring your own. Music must be submitted to the School of Music Office no later than ten days prior to the audition. Prerecorded accompaniments are not permitted.
Marching Band Scholarship
Students participating in the TCU Marching Band will receive a $3,000 scholarship during the fall semester in which they participate. For more information, contact band@tcu.edu or call 817-257-7640.
Graduate Assistantships & Financial Aid
Assistantships are available to qualified, full-time graduate students in the School of Music. Applicants must be admitted to the program, have an outstanding academic record and present favorable recommendations.
Master’s and doctoral applicants will be considered for graduate assistantships as part of their application process. Assistantships provide tuition grants plus stipend and require approximately ten hours of work weekly.
Musicology students are also eligible for the Michael M. Winesanker Scholarship, named for the late distinguished scholar who served the TCU School of Music for more than 40 years.
The deadline for doctoral applications is December 1, and the deadline for master’s applications is February 1.
More Information
For more information about the School of Music admission process or scholarship information, please contact Sarah Walters, Coordinator of Music Admissions at s.walters77@tcu.edu or text/call 817-257-4742.
At TCU, you’ll graduate with the skills — collaboration, creativity, organization and leadership — to pursue a successful career inside and outside the arts. Some music graduates decide to attend law or medical school. Others continue their graduate studies at prestigious universities and conservatories across the country.
With a job placement rate over 90 percent, our graduates have gone on to succeed as public and private school teachers, church music directors, freelance musicians, arts administrators, music producers and professional musicians in symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles or opera companies.
Career Services
You’ll have access to a career consultant who works with fine arts students. This person’s expertise working with arts majors is a clear advantage for you. Schedule one-on-one meetings with your career consultant, who will assess and analyze what you need most. Whether you’re crafting a speech or preparing for a job interview, your career consultant is there on the sidelines — pushing you into the game.
Melanie Coulson
Career Consultant to the College of Fine Arts
817-257-2222
m.coulson@tcu.edu
For more information about job opportunities, please visit:
Center for Career & Professional Development