Music | Lehman College

Undergraduate Program

Welcome to the Department of Music, Multimedia, Theatre, and Dance!

We are excited to begin the academic year with our current and newest students. In partnership with our faculty and staff, they make Lehman’s performing arts programs a destination for the next generation of creative professionals.

Our undergraduate programs focus on highlighting students' talents. Whether you're a musician, dancer, artist, or actor, we have opportunities for you. Musicians can join various groups, including jazz bands, choirs, Afro-Caribbean bands, percussion, and guitar ensembles. Dancers and actors can audition for multiple productions each semester. Artists have access to the latest digital audio and video technology, as well as one of New York City’s top recording studios. Whether you're a major or not, come perform with our internationally recognized faculty and staff. Our programs aim to prepare aspiring performing artists with the skills needed to turn their creative passions into professional success. Balancing courses that enhance artistic expression with classes in Entrepreneurship, Performing Arts Management, Music Therapy, and Stagecraft, Lehman’s performing arts program is just as committed to your future career as you are. Students will also have numerous opportunities for internships to gain practical experience.

On behalf of the performing arts faculty and staff, I invite you to join us this year. We look forward to getting to know you and discovering your creative talents. Whether you audition for a show, join an ensemble, take a class, or attend a performance, we warmly welcome you.

Jennifer Jolley, D.M.A (she/her)
Associate Professor, Interim Chair
Music, Multimedia, Theatre, and Dance

Bachelor of Science in Music

The Bachelor of Science in Music is a flexible yet rigorous degree designed to give students a solid musical foundation that suits a variety of careers in music, digital music technology, and the arts generally. Graduates of our 64-credit Music Major have gone to enjoy careers in music education, arts journalism, performance, arts and non-profit management, and composition.

The Digital Music Technology option (53-credit major) combines cutting-edge music technology learning, foundational music training and, responsiveness to the unique community we serve. A flexible, “ears first”, tailored approach helps students develop a wide range of skills, including audio engineering and production, scoring for film, television, and games, orchestration and recording for live instruments, live performance, interactive multimedia, dance, etc. The program aims to be inclusive, accessible, have a global perspective, be future and student work-oriented. This degree will build on students' passion for music beyond a traditional conservatory model. The degree affords opportunities to collaborate across the programs of the Department of Music, Multimedia, Theatre, and Dance and beyond, it allows music students to work on projects with Dance, Theatre, Multimedia, and Film/Television Studies students.

Students enrolled in the 64-credit Music degree may design their own concentrations by choosing the following music electives:

Pre-Music Therapy

MSH 245: Introduction to Music Therapy (3 cr)
MSH 246: Music and the Brain (3 cr)
MST 371: Practicum in Music Therapy (1 cr; repeat 3 times)
MST 496: Senior Project: Music
+ One other music elective of your choice

*Students wishing to pursue Music Therapy at the graduate level should develop their piano and guitar skills (MSP 191, MSP 185), seek practicum experiences in three clinical settings (MST 371) along with courses in psychology (PSY 166, PSY 232, PSY 234) and biology and human development (BIO 173) and HIN 268).

Digital Applications

MST 221: Fundamentals of Film Music (3 cr)
MST 321: Creating Music with Computers (3 cr)
MST 322: Recording Techniques and Studio Production (3 cr)
MST 323: Scoring for Media (3 cr)
+ MST 496: Senior Project: Film Scoring or Recording Project

Musicology

MSH 369: History of Jazz (3 cr)
MSH 370: American Popular Music (3 cr)
MSH 350: Topics in Ethnomusicology (3 cr, may be taken twice as topics change)
+ MST 496: Senior Project: Music Research Project

Music Education Dual Credit Program

Maintain a GPA of 3.0 and you can apply for the Dual Credit Program: in your final year of undergraduate studies, take up to 12 credits in the Graduate Program in Music Education and have those courses count as electives towards your undergraduate degree. Then, upon successful entry to the Masters of Arts in Teaching program, those courses will transfer towards your graduate degree.

MSH 750: Special Topics in Music History (3 cr)
MSH 751: Topics in Ethnomusicology (3 cr)
MSP 750: Topics in Music Performance (3 cr)
MST 710: Advanced Musical Analysis (3 cr)
MST 712: Music, Computers, and Multimedia Pedagogy (3 cr)

Students wishing to teach in New York State schools may want to tailor their degree with conducting (MSP 445 and MSP 446) and a variety of vocal and instrumental performance courses (MSP 166, MSP 227, and others) before entering our Master’s program which prepares candidates for initial certification.

We offer a variety of professional development workshops throughout the year, masterclasses with outstanding performers, and guest artists who inspire.