Frequently Asked Questions
General
Alumni
Auditions, admission, etc.
- Do I have to audition to be admitted to the music department?
- Should I send a recording of my performances to the Music Department (or to Admissions)?
Ensembles
- What sorts of performing ensembles does the Music Department have?
- Do I have to be a music major to be in ensembles?
- Do I need to audition to be in ensembles?
- How many concerts a year do the ensembles present?
- Do student soloists ever perform concertos with the orchestra?
- Are there student-run ensembles?
The Music Major
Lessons
- Do I have to be a music major to take private lessons?
- Who teaches lessons?
- How much do lessons cost?
- Is there financial aid to help cover the cost of lessons?
- Can I perform a recital?
- Interested in Harp lessons?
Jazz
- Does Skidmore have jazz ensembles?
- Can I take private lessons in jazz performance?
- Are there any history or theory courses related to jazz?
- Can I give a jazz recital?
Facilities
The Filene Scholarships and the Filene Scholars
General
How big is the music department?
This is not an easy question to answer, but it is safe to say we have a remarkably
active musical life at Skidmore. We graduate about 15-18 majors a year, and have 14
full-time faculty and over 24 part-time faculty, plus three staff accompanists. About
40 students begin the music theory sequence each year. Close to 200 students take
private lessons in a typical semester, nearly 100 students perform in the chorus,
about 45 students perform alongside 25 professionals in the orchestra, and about 15
students perform in large jazz ensemble, while perhaps 30 are coached each semester
in one of the five small jazz ensembles.
Alumni
What do Skidmore music majors do when they graduate?
This article about what Filene Scholars have done when they graduated will give you some idea of
the rich world of possibilities to which a Skidmore degree can lead. (PDF)
Some majors go on to advanced study and careers in music; others use their broad liberal arts education, including their music major and perhaps a second major, to launch them in a myriad of careers. Our alumni have gone on to music careers in performance and performance teaching (both in classical music and jazz), in the recording and film industries, in concert and orchestra management, as professors of music theory or musicology, in music publishing, and as music librarians. Our alumni have earned advanced degrees from Yale, the New England Conservatory, the Eastman School of Music, NYU's Tisch School, Stanford, the University of Texas School of Music, the University of Michigan, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and others.
Our majors and Filene Scholars who have not pursued careers in music are out in the world working as doctors, lawyers, teachers, financial analysts, psychologists, and in many more professions.
Auditions, admission, etc.
Do I have to audition to be admitted to the music department?
No. We view Skidmore’s B.A. music major as fully embedded in the fabric of the liberal
arts education, and Skidmore encourages students to keep an open mind about their
major until they have been on campus for a couple of semesters. You don’t have to
audition to be a philosophy major and you don’t have to audition to be a music major.
Should I send a recording of my performances to the Music Department (or to Admissions)?
Strong classical performers applying to Skidmore generally enter the Filene Scholarship
Competition and send a recording that meets its requirements. Students with other
musical interests, such as jazz or composition, can send a short recording—just 10-15
minutes of your best playing or singing or composing is most useful—and music faculty
will listen to it. The faculty member may then contact you directly, or pass on comments
to the admissions office, or both.
Ensembles
What sorts of performing ensembles does the Music Department have?
The large ensembles include the Skidmore College Orchestra (students play alongside
some of the best professionals of the Capital Region), the Skidmore Concert Band,
the Skidmore Chorus (over 100 voices), and the Skidmore Jazz Ensemble. Small, select
ensembles include the Skidmore Guitar Ensemble, the Vocal Chamber Ensemble, Small
Jazz Ensembles (about 30 students participate each semester in five coached ensembles
), and diverse chamber music ensembles for strings, winds, brass, and low brass.
Do I have to be a music major to be in ensembles?
No. All music courses, including ensembles, private lessons, and classroom courses
in music theory, musicology, composition, and music technology, are open to all Skidmore
students, regardless of major.
Do I need to audition to be in ensembles?
Most ensembles have some audition requirement. Some ensembles, such as Vocal Chamber
Ensemble, or Small Jazz Ensembles, are quite selective. Others, such as the large
Chorus, are open without audition, although the students must sing for the director
in order to be placed into the appropriate section.
How many concerts a year do the ensembles present?
In a typical year, the orchestra presents four concerts, two each semester. The chorus
and the jazz ensemble usually perform one concert at the end of each semester. Most
of the chamber ensembles perform one concert in the Helene Filene Ladd Concert Hall
each semester, although there are opportunities to perform in other venues, such as
the Payne Room at the Tang Teaching Museum. The small jazz ensembles typically perform
three concerts each semester, one at the historic Caffe Lena downtown, one at Falstaff’s
coffee house on campus, and the final one in Helene Filene Ladd Concert Hall.
Do student soloists ever perform concertos with the orchestra?
Every December, students compete in the annual Concerto Competition. One student,
and sometimes two, are chosen to perform a concerto movement or an aria or song in
one of the orchestra’s spring concerts.
Are there student-run ensembles?
Skidmore has numerous student-run performing groups, including several a cappella
groups, a Cabaret Troupe that performs musical theater, the annual Aids Benefit, among
other student-run performance opportunities.
The Music Major
How many majors are there?
We graduate about 20 majors per year. At any point, we have about 50 declared majors,
plus interested first-year students who have not yet declared their major.
Lessons
Do I have to be a music major to take private lessons?
No. All music courses, including ensembles, private lessons, and classroom courses
in music theory, musicology, composition, and music technology, are open to all Skidmore
students, regardless of major. There is an additional fee for private lessons. However, Lesson Scholarships are available and may be applied for online.
Who teaches lessons?
Our studio faculty includes six full-time Artists-in-Residence plus some twenty part-time
instructors in voice, piano, all orchestral instruments, and some non-Western and
traditional instruments such as fiddle and banjo. Most have advanced degrees in their
performance area; those teaching orchestral instruments generally hold principal chairs
in regional orchestras, including Albany, Schenectady, Glens Falls, the Mid-Hudson
SO, and the Lake George Opera orchestra.
How much do lessons cost?
Private lessons, whether taken for credit or as an audit, cost $780 for a semester
of thirteen 45-minute lessons, and $1,040 for thirteen 1-hour lessons.
Is there financial aid to help cover the cost of lessons?
Students can apply to the Music Department, on a per-semester basis, to receive full
or partial aid for lessons through the Charles Kennedy Freeman and Laura Bellini Music Scholarship fund. The Skidmore College financial aid awards are determined before students register
for classes, so they cannot factor in whether or not a student will take private lessons.
Can I perform a recital?
Students enrolled in private lessons can, with the recommendation of their teacher,
audition to give a full or a shared recital. The Performance Handbook outlines all the policies regarding recitals, private lessons, the concerto competition,
and more.
Interested in Harp lessons? (click here for more information)
Jazz
Does Skidmore have jazz ensembles?
Students can enroll in our big band ensemble or in one of about five small jazz ensembles
coached by our faculty. The big band gives one concert each semester. Senior Artist-in-Residence
coordinates the small jazz ensembles. The SJEs typically perform three times each
semester, once in Falstaff’s, the on-campus student-run cabaret, once downtown at
the historic Caffe Lena coffee shop, and once on stage in the Helen Filene Ladd Concert
Hall. The best of our student ensembles also find some work in clubs in Saratoga.
Can I take private lessons in jazz performance?
Absolutely. Skidmore offers private lessons in jazz piano, guitar, electric and upright
bass, sax, trap-set and vibes, as well as private instruction in improvisation that
is open to other instrumentalists and on-campus student cabaret.
Are there any history or theory courses related to jazz?
Yes, we have upper-level seminars in the history of jazz and in jazz theory. Occasionally,
we offer topics courses that deal with jazz: among these have been an upper-level
seminar on Miles Davis.
Can I give a jazz recital?
Yes. Many seniors who study jazz present a recital as their Senior Project, often
featuring their original compositions.
Facilities
Where do performances take place?
The striking Arthur Zankel Music Center is located near the College's front entrance,
where it serves as the gateway to campus, in which we present concerts by Skidmore
students, faculty, and ensembles, as well as a roster of world renowned performers
who appear under the Filene Concert Series and the Sterne Virtuoso Series. With approximately
54,000 square feet of teaching, practice, performance, and administrative space, the
center is home to the vibrant activities of Skidmore's Music Department as well as
an important teaching and performance venue for the College's Special Programs division,
which sponsors numerous summer institutes. Zankel features the Helen Filene Ladd Concert
Hall, a 600-seat acoustically tuned space and the more intimate 90-seat Elisabeth
Luce Moore Hall. It is named in honor of the late Arthur Zankel, a financier and philanthropist
who was a Skidmore trustee, parent, and longtime supporter.