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
See more-
Middlebury College Orchestra
Join the Middlebury College Orchestra in our Spring 2024 concert! Taking place at 3pm in the Robinson Concert Hall, the program will feature Mozart’s Bassoon Concert in B-flat major featuring soloist Roeskva Torhalsdottir (‘25), the premiere of Gino Abrams’ (‘24) symphonic work The Bronze Horseman, and Elgar’s Enigma Variations. Open admission and mask-friendly.
Watch the livestream of the performance hereMahaney Arts Center, Olin C. Robison Concert Hall
Open to the Public
-
MICA Quartet: Rondo through the Ages
The Middlebury College Music Department proudly presents the debut performance of the MICA string quartet, with performers Marco Matroni ‘25, Isaac Xie ‘24, Amelia Grosskopf ‘24, and Chelsea Robinson ‘26. The hour-long concert will explore stylistic transformation across string quartet works spanning the 18th-20th centuries, featuring works by Scarlatti, Haydn, Schubert, Smetana, Debussy, and Bartok, as well as original solo viola interludes that stylistically bridge the works together in rondo form. Senior project of Amelia Grosskopf ’24.
Mahaney Arts Center, Olin C. Robison Concert Hall
Open to the Public
Free
-
Piano Recital by Students of Diana Fanning
The spring concert by Diana Fanning’s students has always been a popular event celebrating our talented Middlebury pianists. This year’s program features Judy Chen, Adam Gips, Greg Marcinik, and Peter Shellhaas playing works by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, MacDowell and Mozart. Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free
Mahaney Arts Center, Olin C. Robison Concert Hall
Open to the Public