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.
Open Position: Assistant Professor of Music
The Department of Music invites applicants for a full-time tenure-track position in music theory beginning fall 2026. The successful candidate will demonstrate expertise in music theory and a commitment to undergraduate liberal arts pedagogy. We seek an experienced and innovative instructor with ability to teach courses that integrate theory with history, ethnomusicology, analysis, creative work, and performance across our curriculum.
Read more about this position.
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 MACUpcoming Events
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Diana Fanning, Piano: 50th Anniversary Concert
Affiliate Artist Diana Fanning gives a beautiful solo concert marking her 50 years of teaching at Middlebury. An acclaimed concert pianist with national and international accolades, she’s also a Middlebury alumna with deep roots in Vermont.
Mahaney Arts Center, Olin C. Robison Concert Hall
Open to the Public
$15/10/8/5
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Walking with My Ancestors: Cape Coast Castle (2019)
Walking with My Ancestors: Cape Coast Castle (2019) is a one-woman award-winning multimodal performance piece that generates fresh perspectives on the experiences of the nameless African women, men, and children who once languished in the dungeons of Cape Coast Castle and suffered the agony of the middle passage.
Wilson Hall, McCullough Student Center
Open to the Public
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Middlebury Afropop Band and African Music and Dance Performance Class Joint Concert
This concert opens with the African Music and Dance Ensemble Performance class performing repertoire that showcases the stylistic and instrumental diversity of traditional East African musical cultures. In the second half of the concert, the Middlebury Afropop Band performs original compositions and arrangements of classic and contemporary popular songs from all over Africa. The band uses pop and rock instrumentation as well as styles that blend traditional African with Western and/or Afro-diasporic musical idioms.
Wilson Hall, McCullough Student Center
Open to the Public