Music
The Department of Music provides a creative environment for the study and performance of music with a global perspective, and encourages students to develop skills, expand knowledge, and contribute actively to society as artists and citizens.
We offer a diverse curriculum that engages students in historical and cultural study, as well as analysis, creation, and performance of music.
Our emphasis on global perspective and experiential learning provides opportunities for each student to explore and develop their own musical passions, and to collaborate with peers and faculty in many ways, including through interdisciplinary work, ensemble participation, and independent projects.
Performance Opportunities
African Music and Dance
Chamber Music
College Choir
Community Chorus
College Orchestra
Collegium
Jazz
Musical Theater
All Music Department courses, ensembles, lessons, and other activities are equally available to nonmajors and majors alike. The curriculum for music majors offers a balance between thoroughness and flexibility, offering each student a chance to develop areas of strength in the context of a broad liberal arts education.
A wide range of lessons are available—including piano, voice, and most orchestral instruments.
Our Facilities
The MAC
The 100,000-square-foot Kevin P. Mahaney ’84 Center for the Arts, known as the MAC, is a hub of arts activity on campus. It’s also home to the Music Department and includes practice rooms, lockers, an electronic music studio, and a 372-seat concert hall.
Explore the MACMusic Collection
Our extensive collection, located in the Davis Family Library, contains reference, CD, book, video, and score collections in the field of music and dance.
Our Music CollectionElectronic Music Studio
The electronic music studio, located in the MAC, houses computer workstations with software for the creation of digital music compositions.
The Electronic StudioChapel Organ and Carillon
The Middlebury Chapel houses a large pipe organ that was constructed by the Gress-Miles Organ Company in 1971, as well as a carillon, assembled in 1915 and enhanced over the years. Both are played regularly and enjoyed throughout the campus.
Chapel InstrumentsUpcoming Events
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Jazz Workshop
The Music Dept. offers this weekly jazz workshop for Midd students. Previous jazz experience is not required; proficiency on your instrument is preferred. For information, please contact Dick Forman, forman@middlebury.edu.
Mahaney Arts Center 221
Closed to the Public
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College Choir Concert
The College Choir sings a program of lively and contemplative music, including dance-inspired Baroque works by Monteverdi and Velasco, colorful works by Eric Whitacre, Reena Esmail, Stacey Gibbs, and Don Macdonald, and Shakespeare Songs of Matthew Harris. The program features the world premiere of a choral song cycle by Kai Fukuda ‘23.5, including settings of poetry by four Vermont poets. Student instrumentalists and students of the Department of Dance join the Choir for a unique and compelling exploration of musical energy and colorful imagination in sound and movement.
Mahaney Arts Center, Olin C. Robison Concert Hall
Open to the Public
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Middlebury Community Wind Ensemble: From Batman to Bach
For their spring concert, the Ensemble presents works for the full 40-musician band, as well as pieces featuring individual sections. The program includes music inspired by both hobbits and Batman, with The Lord of The Rings and an arrangement from The Dark Night Rises alongside popular classical pieces and a rousing finale with P.D.Q. Bach’s Grand Serenade for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion. Chris Foster, conductor.
Mahaney Arts Center, Olin C. Robison Concert Hall
Open to the Public
Free