Music Majors & Degrees

Music Department News

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Sample Schedule

  • MU 10 Principles of Music I
  • MU 12 Principles of Music II
  • Ensembles
  • Private Lessons
  • MU 110 Principles of Music III
  • MU 112 Principles of Music IV
  • Ensembles
  • Private Lessons
  • MU 15 Conducting
  • MU 120 Music History I
  • MU 121 Music History II
  • Upper Division MU and/or MUA Electives
  • Ensembles
  • Private Lessons
  • Junior Recital
  • ART 131 Theory and Criticism in the Arts
  • Upper Division MU and/or MUA Electives
  • Ensembles
  • Private Lessons
  • Senior Recital

Active Faculty By Instrument 

Westmont Ensembles

Westmont’s principal choral ensemble and touring concert choir, is now under the direction of Dr. Daniel Gee. The choir performs the classic repertoire of the past five centuries, along with spirituals, folk song arrangements, and music of other cultures. The ensemble presents local concerts including, each year, a major work with orchestra. The College Choir also appears at Westmont events, performs in chapel, ministers in local church services, and participates in regional choral festivals. Highlights of the year include the Christmas concert and the spring tour. To learn more about the College Choir, please see this link.

College Choir Press Kit

Westmont College Choir 2022-23

This select ensemble, now under the direction of Dr. Daniel Gee, specializes in a cappella literature, including madrigals and motets of the Renaissance, contemporary sacred and secular music, folk song arrangements, spirituals, and vocal jazz. Community outreach is central to the ensemble. In addition to performing alongside the College Choir, the Chamber Singers performs on its own locally and across Southern California and the Central Coast. Performance highlights include the Fall Choral Festival, the Christmas Concert, the Spring Choral Masterworks Concert, the fall and spring Vocal Chamber Concerts, and the spring tour. Membership in the Chamber Singers is contingent upon membership in the College Choir.

Chamber Singers '22-23

 

The Westmont College Orchestra, conducted by Dr. Ruth Lin, performs original literature, transcriptions, and arrangements. Included in this are works for full orchestra, string orchestra, and small ensembles. The study and practice includes various style periods and composers from the Renaissance through the Twenty First Century. The orchestra performs two major independent concerts each semester, as well as a combined Christmas concert with the choral ensembles and a major works program in the spring with the College Choir and plays for the annual opera production. Typically, the orchestra is made up of circa 60 students. Faculty specialists coach each section of the orchestra, including Dr. Han Soo Kim (violin), and Dr. Paul Mori (wind, brass and percussion).

College Orchestra Press Kit

Westmont College Orchestra 2022-23

Various Wind Chamber Ensembles, directed and coached by Dr. Paul Mori and Andrea Di Maggio, are organized for brass, woodwind, and percussion players. The various chamber ensembles perform throughout the semester. Typical groups include a woodwind quintet, 5 brass sextet, brass choir, and flute ensemble. Other ensemble forms to meet student interest and abilities.

Chamber Orchestra '21-22

The Jazz Ensemble performs and studies classic and contemporary literature, including the art of improvisation, and perform both on and off campus.

Jazz Band '22-23

A wide range of music from contemporary jazz to hymn arrangements mixed with classical pieces.

Brass Ensemble -'21-22

 

Offering traditional string quartets, trios and other ensembles. These groups have an active presence on campus and throughout the Santa Barbara community. 

 

Fall Choral Festival

Westmont College would love to offer you the opportunity to participate in our Virtual Fall Westmont Invitational Choral Festival. The focus of the festival is pedagogical and performance oriented, NOT competition. 

Choral Festival Date: Friday, October 27, 2023

Early Application Deadline: Friday, August 18, 2023

Regular Application Deadline: Friday, September 15, 2023

Choirs who apply by August 18 will receive priority consideration and be notified of acceptance by August 25. Those who apply after will be notified by September 22.

Learn More

Westmont Music Academies

Westmont Academy for Young Artists (WAYA)

The Westmont Academy For Young Artists presents a marvelous opportunity for students to sharpen their skills, meet musical friends, forge relationships with top-quality artist teachers, and infuse their summer with a dose of inspiration. The setting is beautiful and the music making is alive with spontaneity.

Learn More

Apply Today

Career Paths for Music Majors

  • Performing musician
  • Music teacher
  • Church music
  • Music publishing
  • Music management
  • Music business
  • Recording
  • Broadcasting

See career paths for graduates who majored or minored in music at Westmont.

Music Alumni

Aaron Wilk ’16 majored in biology, chemistry, and music with an emphasis in piano performance. He is currently an MD/PhD student at Stanford University where he studies how the immune system can protect from and contribute to viral diseases, including Covid-19. He continues to study piano at Stanford, staying active in solo performance and chamber music. “In high school, I was worried about finding ways to balance my two academic passions: science and music. Westmont provided me with the flexibility and resources to pursue both passions well. The interdisciplinary approach of the Westmont liberal arts education, combined with the vibrant community of the Music Department, presents a one-of-a-kind opportunity to holistically develop your musical craft.”  

Sarah Pfister ’12: Sarah majored in violin and viola performance and earned a master’s degree in viola performance with an emphasis in violin Suzuki pedagogy at the University of Hartford Hartt School of Music. She taught violin and viola at the Greenwich Suzuki Academy in Connecticut and is now a violinist with the ruse Opera Orchestra in Ruse, Bulgaria. “Growing up I enjoyed taking private music lessons and found fulfillment in teaching. At Westmont I felt called to bring together my love for music and teaching to pursue a career in Suzuki education. My professors encouraged me and provided the tools I needed to pursue my passions. My well-rounded Christian liberal arts education has helped me both professionally and personally.”

Megan Silberstein Billings ’14: She majored in music and is working on a Master of Music in opera performance at Oklahoma City University. She is a professional opera and musical theatre singer and teaches voice and piano at Southern Hills Baptist Church Fine Arts Academy.“My Westmont professors prepared me academically for graduate school and even more for the challenges of the real music world. They equipped me mentally, emotionally and spiritually for the battle facing modern musicians. They demonstrated the true foundation of their confidence—Jesus Christ—and lived out the difficult conviction to make music for God. Westmont pushes students to excel in music for the right reasons: Christ and His kingdom.”

Luke Mizuki ‘15 and Emily Rutherford Mizuki ‘15 met as first-year Music Majors in Westmont’s Music Department, fell in love on choir tour in Russia and Lithuania, and got married two years after graduating from Westmont. They both went on to earn a Master of Arts in Teaching from the Longy School of Music in Los Angeles and currently teach general music, band, and choir at public and private schools in Orange County. “At Westmont, we were encouraged to explore all the facets of music: composing and conducting, collaborating and accompanying, and of course teaching - before Music Education was even available as a major! Having such a well-rounded education in both the liberal arts and music has proven invaluable for us as musicians and educators.”