Harvard music program

[pianoman111]

<p>I was wondering how someone is supposed to get into the Harvard music program. Would I have to audition before I know if I get accepted to the school? I can’t seem to find any information about it on the Harvard website.</p>

[Sikorsky]

<p>A concentration in music is open to any student in Harvard College. (In principle, at least. In practice, there will be some requirements that are pretty difficult to fulfill if you’ve never sat at a keyboard and can’t read music.)</p>

<p>But Harvard’s music department is very academic, and not performance oriented. See here:</p>

<p>

The concentration in Music provides an understanding of music in diverse cultural and historical contexts as well as a solid foundation in composition, theory, analysis, and criticism. While the Department of Music is not in itself a school of music with a performance department, we strongly encourage performance activities. The program is not directed primarily toward students planning careers in performance fields, but serves such students by deepening their intellectual involvement with the music they are to play.

</p>

<p>[Harvard</a> Department of Music](<a href=“http://www.music.fas.harvard.edu/undergraduate.html#about]Harvard”>http://www.music.fas.harvard.edu/undergraduate.html#about)</p>

<p>Twenty-five years ago, the popular joke was that Harvard believed its Music Department should be seen and not heard. I’d bet they’re still making that joke in Cambridge today.</p>

<p>Because the focus of the Music Department is academics and not performance, you don’t apply directly to a program in music, nor do you audition. You go through the regular application process for admission to Harvard College.</p>

[WindCloudUltra]

<p>Depends. If you’re applying as an undergrad, then Sikorsky is correct. Despite the music department’s academic reputation, it has and continues to produce some pretty outstanding people, including a number of major American composers and performers–whether or not this has anything to do with the teaching of the department itself is of course arguable. One could say that it’s a pretty self-selecting crowd in the first place. </p>

<p>Even if we leave out the graduate alum list, the undergrad alum list is itself impressive, with names like Bernstein, John Adams, John Harbison, Paul Moravec among others. Harvard is also notable for having produced a number of major movers and shakers in the music world who DID NOT major/concentrate in music, including the soon-to-be 103-year-old Elliott Carter (English), Yo-yo Ma (History?), Christian Wolff (Classics) and Joshua Redman (Social Studies). I don’t think it needs repeating that this is a list any conservatory–even places like Juilliard and Curtis–would envy. It’s quite something for a university. Probably only Yale and a handful of other non-conservatoire institutions can boast a list such as this. </p>

<p>It’s a great atmosphere–there are a lot of extracurricular music groups and lots of fellow undergrads with interest and enthusiasm for the arts–including many who are not music concentrators. The academic is rather academic, but if you’re smart about it, you can easily supplement that with activities outside of your course work.</p>

[pianoman111]

<p>Thanks to both of you. That kind of sucks that it doesn’t have much of a built-in performance program, but I guess the extracurricular stuff might make up for it. I’m just glad I won’t ever have to audition there :)</p>

[WindCloudUltra]

<p>For some of the more competitive ensembles as well as Music 180, the chamber music class, you will still have to audition with either the instructor (usually Robert Levin for 180) or the director(s) of the ensembles. However, there are usually plenty of performance opportunities regardless of your abilities and range from a capella groups to pit orchestras.</p>