Music Programs and Ensembles (BA)

Professor Jeff Bailey and student, Music program, Hamline

Musicians, sound designers, and anyone who is passionate about music will find a home in Hamline’s music major, contemporary music production minor, and Certificate in Music Production program. Our music department has been an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) since 1961. The program  provides you with an expansive curriculum that blends contemporary and traditional skills to help you develop your expertise in performance, theory and composition, contemporary digital music technology, business and marketing, and music histories and cultures.

During the program, you will learn how to use industry-standard equipment, including Apollo, Neve, API, Undertone Audio, Soyuz, Stager, Peluso, ATC 25’s, and Focal. In addition, we have a spacious Mac lab classroom where you can learn how to use industry-standard software, including Logic Pro, Pro Tools, and QLab software.

What’s more, as Hamline is located in the robust Twin Cities performing arts scene, our professional, well-connected teaching staff will provide you with excellent internship opportunities with recording studios, theater companies, music venues, commercial music libraries, educational organizations, and music producers.

You can find more information on course offerings in our academic bulletin. 

Music major, minor, certificate, and ensembles

Music major (BA)

Choose from a wide variety of courses suited to your creative and career interests.

Explore courses

Contemporary music production minor

Build an interdisciplinary toolkit with select music courses that will enhance your talents in another field.

Explore minor

Music production certificate

Develop a technical toolkit and demonstrate your expertise to employers seeking skilled musicians and sound designers.

Explore certificate

Ensembles

Share your talent with audiences across the Twin Cities and collaborate with skilled musicians and mentors in our wide array of ensembles.

Get more info

Engaged learning and student research opportunities

Your research opportunities are limited only by your imagination. Our students have produced EPs and LPs and composed original theme music for podcasts, underscores for theater productions, soundtracks for dance shows, art shows and community events, and compositions for Hamline ensembles. They've investigated the intersections of music with other liberal arts studies, from studying music and second language learning and exploring religiosity in songwriting to examining legal battles over ownership in the entertainment industry.

From your first semester, you'll connect with greater Twin Cities communities by sharing your music with audiences in formal and informal settings. Your flute ensemble may perform for the residents at a neighborhood retirement home; if you are a jazz musician, your senior recital may be performed at a St. Paul jazz club; as a member of choir, your voice will uplift congregations in local churches.

Hamline Music student Jesse Mickelson playing guitar in Hamline music room

The music production program has taught me so much as a composer. I joined the program as a novice and left able to mix my own music, chop samples, write orchestral mockups, and much more. I learned so much from Jeff Bailey's mentorship and even found my first composing job."

— Jesse Mickelson '22; Music and Certificate in Music Production; of Columbia Heights, Minnesota

Internships for music students

We make sure you leave Hamline with music work experience on your resume, and the opportunities are boundless. Whether you want to explore a career in sound design, music production, advertising, or more, we have internship opportunities for you.

Examples of past music student internships include:

  • Greater Twin Cities Youth Orchestra, rehearsal assistant
  • St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, educational outreach intern
  • Shifting Paradigm Records, marketing and operations assistant
  • Essential Sessions, recording studio assistant
  • Tinderbox Music, radio and streaming services assistant
  • Keys 4/4 Kids, nonprofit piano donations & distributions administrative assistant

Explore career paths

Our innovative courses and one-on-one mentoring by faculty will give you the tools to succeed in a variety of jobs, such as:

  • Recording and post-production producer
  • Freelance composer-arranger
  • Sound designer
  • Grants and special events manager
  • Front of house sound engineer
  • Retail experience manager
  • Music ministry coordinator

You can also put your degree to work in any number of fields, including:

  • Performance and instruction
  • Recording and technology
  • Music business
  • Arts administration

Take your studies further with graduate school

Our graduates have gone on to graduate schools across the country in the pursuit of master’s degrees. Examples of programs and schools include:

  • Master's in Vocal Performance, Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University
  • Master’s in Scoring for Film, Television, and Video Games, Berklee College of Music (Valencia, Spain campus) 
  • Master of Music in History and Literature, University of Northern Colorado.
  • Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting, Manhattan School of Music
  • Graduate Certificate in Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television, USC Thornton
  • Master of Music in Voice Performance, Lionel Hampton School of Music, University of Idaho

Learn about Hamline's orchestra
 

Related programs

Music Production Certificate Theatre Arts The Arts at Hamline

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