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.

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.

Students walking to and from the MAC.

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 MAC

Music 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 Collection

Chapel 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 Instruments

Upcoming Events

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  • Jazz Workshop

    A weekly session devoted to learning about and playing jazz in a small-group setting. Previous jazz experience is not required. Open to Middlebury College students only.

    Mahaney Arts Center 221

  • Photo of conductor and a still image of a film

    Pre-Show Talk: VSO’s Night at the Movies

    Join VSO Artistic Advisor and Project Conductor Matt LaRocca ’02, composer and Assistant Professor of Music Matthew Evan Taylor, and filmmaker and Animation Studio Producer Daniel Houghton ’06 for a talk about their artistic process.

    Mahaney Arts Center 125

    Open to the Public
  • Image of a woman with dark hair smiling

    Presenting Princess Shaw

    An uplifting documentary about an unexpected and unique collaboration between an American and an Israeli musicians.

    People all over the world post video clips online. They cram their video notes into virtual bottles and toss them into the boundless ocean that is the Internet. All they want is for someone to find the hidden treasure and to be seen.

    Twilight Auditorium 101

    Open to the Public

Meet with Faculty

Office Hours

Explore the Major

Majoring in Music

Find Forms and Info

Student Resources

Explore Lessons

Private Lessons