Music

Welcome to the NSULA Department of Music at the Mrs. H. D. Dear, Sr. and Alice E. Dear School of Creative and Performing Arts!

Here you can find information on our degree programs, our outstanding faculty, upcoming concerts, and facilities for Music here at Northwestern State University. CAPA’s Department of Music offers a fully-accredited Bachelor of Music Education degree, as well as a Bachelor of Music degree with concentrations in Performance, Sacred Music, or Music Business.  A fully-accredited Master of Music degree with concentrations in Performance or Education is also offered. The Department of Music at Northwestern State University also provides multiple opportunities for majors and non-majors to participate in a variety of musical activities on the University level.

Northwestern’s School of Creative and Performing Arts has been recognized as an “Area of Excellence” among Louisiana colleges and universities.  This is a reflection upon our outstanding faculty, excellent facilities, and strength of our programs, all of which are described and profiled on this website. NSU students have an opportunity to perform in exciting vocal and instrumental ensembles such as the NSU Choirs, Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony, Wind and Jazz Ensembles, and the 300-member “Spirit of Northwestern” Marching Band. Scholarships are available for musically gifted students, regardless of their major course of study, who want to perform in NSU ensembles or as keyboard artists.

If you want to be involved in music, regardless of your major, there is a place for you at Northwestern.  If you want to major in music, NSU is an excellent choice for assisting you in developing your talent and skills.  Look through our website and learn more about our program.  If I can answer questions or provide additional information regarding our programs, ensembles, scholarships, or faculty, please contact me.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Ms. Terrie Sanders

Department Chair, Department of Music, School of Creative and Performing Arts
Northwestern State University
Office: 318-357-4522
Fax: 318-357-5906
sanderst@nsula.edu

Northwestern State University of Louisiana is a friendly, vibrant, student-oriented institution of higher learning committed to preparing students to adapt to change throughout life. The University places the highest premium on excellence in teaching. It also maintains a firm commitment to the economic, social and cultural development and diversification of the state and the region.

Consistent with this mission, the School of Creative and Performing Arts seeks to assist students in acquiring skills and knowledge necessary to meet their professional, social and personal needs. Through the interaction of the arts, the School desires to broaden the possibilities of self-development for all students and extend its influence culturally in the region served by the University.

Music is one of four artistic disciplines represented in the School of Creative and Performing Arts, the others being Fine and Graphic Art, Theatre and Dance, and New Media, Journalism, and Communication. The Music Department desires though its various programs to achieve the following:

Prepare students for careers in music. Encourage development of creativity and performance capabilities of students and faculty. Provide cultural enrichment and artistic services to the individual student, university, and community.

In realizing these goals, the School must provide a comprehensive musical course of study that prepares the student for the ever-changing climate of the music profession. Through applied work, the music student is offered the opportunity to work individually with professors, providing expert training in technical and artistic skills. Faculty and students refine these skills through numerous performance opportunities, involving the various large ensembles, as well as chamber music and recital performances.

The music faculty, staff, students and administrators should be anxious to make their service and scholarship available to the community and region. The School believes the earnest pursuit of this mission will have a strong effect in promoting and cultivating the arts in our community and will greatly enhance Northwestern State University’s influence throughout the region.

The Department of Music, as part of the School for Creative and Performing Arts, is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music and its guidelines.

Northwestern State University’s degrees in Music and Music Education are fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). They are designed to prepare students for professional careers or the pursuit of higher degrees in their chosen field of music or music education

With the beautiful and acoustically exciting Magale Recital Hall at the heart of the Creative and Performing Arts Center, Northwestern State has some of the most outstanding performing and rehearsing facilities in the South. A magnificent 40-rank Reuter organ graces Magale Recital Hall which has a large concert stage, two 9-foot Concert Grand Pianos, an Eric Hertz harpsichord, and seats approximately 400. The red oak decor and a design for listening to live concerts make this one of the most gratifying performance venues in the South.

NSU also boasts numerous classrooms, a state-of-the-art Multi-media Center, large individual studios for private lessons, and separate and unique rehearsal halls for each band, choir, and orchestra all provide a positive and functional environment for instruction, learning, and rehearsing.

August 18 First Day of Classes
August 30 All-State Day | 9am – 3pm | CAPA
October 3 Choral Festival | 9am – 6pm | Magale Recital Hall
October 14 Chamber Choir Fall Concert | 7:30pm | Magale Recital Hall
October 17 Chamber Choir LA-ACDA Performance | 7pm | New Orleans
October 24-25 Fall Opera | 7:30pm | Magale Recital Hall
October 26 Lyrica and Orpheus Fall Concert | 3:00pm | Magale Recital Hall
November 13-15 Regional NATS Conference
November 16 Cane River Singers Performance | 3:00pm | Magale Recital Hall
December 3-5 Christmas GALA | A.A. Fredericks
December 9 Chamber Choir Lessons and Carols | 7:30pm | Minor Basilica
December 16 Messiah Sing-Along | 5:00pm | Trinity Episcopal Church

*schedule is subject to change

Audition Requirements 

• At least one prepared solo. Voice majors in Music Performance, Education, or Business will be expected to sing 2 solos with 1 in a foreign language. Suggested repertoire is an Italian Art Song or Aria, English Art Song, a solo you would sing for Solo and Ensemble Festival
• We will take you through a series of vocal exercises to explore your vocal range.
• Sight-reading: you will be asked to sight-read short examples ranging in difficulty.
• You will be asked to sing back brief melodies to test your tonal memory.
• Please remember to bring a copy of your music for the accompanist.

Scholarship Application