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 MACUpcoming Events
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College Choir Spring Concert
The Middlebury College Choir sings a program that celebrates the vibrant energy of spring and the hopefulness of community. Hear music from Italy, England, South Africa, Canada, India, Ukraine, and the USA, including a Renaissance-era double choir motet by Raffaella Aleotta, Psalm settings by Herbert Howells, African American composer William Dawson’s stunning setting of “Steal Away,” and the premier of “Noche” by William Mortell ‘26. Lively and inventive folk and traditional music completes the program. Free and open to the public.
Middlebury Chapel
Open to the Public
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Middlebury College Orchestra
The Middlebury College Orchestra presents an exciting spring concert featuring Shostakovich’s monumental Symphony No. 5, Korngold’s epic overture from the swashbuckling film The Sea Hawk, and this year’s winner of the Beucher Concerto Competition, Elliot Persell, performing Debussy’s rapturous Premiere Rhapsody for Clarinet and Orchestra.
Mahaney Arts Center, Olin C. Robison Concert Hall
Open to the Public
Free
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Sound Investment Jazz Ensemble: Return of the Big Band
The Sound Investment Jazz Ensemble, back to its full size and directed by Kyle Saulnier, performs a wide range of big band jazz from timeless classics to contemporary repertoire. This end-of-semester set covers maximum ground, from early Duke Ellington, to titans like Thad Jones and Dizzy Gillespie, to modern works by Phil Wilson and John Fedchock. The band is large – the energy is larger.
Mahaney Arts Center, Olin C. Robison Concert Hall
Open to the Public