School of music hopes to expand

by Amanda Wilson, contributing writer

The school of music is awaiting final approval by the State Council of Higher Education for a new Doctorate of Music Arts program to be implemented in 2007.

The director of the school of music, Jeffrey Showell, is confident that there is high demand for this specialized program. “First, it is the only program in Virginia, and secondly, it is the only joint Masters/Doctorate of Musical Arts program in the country, at least to my knowledge.”

Currently the school of music offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and allows students to choose concentrations in various music program areas, such as performance, music education, music industry, music theatre and composition. The new program will give music students the option to further their certification with a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree combined with a Master of Musical Arts.

This new program will entail further training than that required for the bachelor’s and masters degrees. “Beyond the requisite training in performance and along with the usual history and theory components, there will be extensive work in the pedagogy of higher education, and each student will rotate through mentorships in three different kinds of teaching situations: General Education classroom, music classroom, and studio applied,” Showell said.

The degree will not just be based on accumulating credits, but on proficiency as well.

To head the program, two full-time faculty and two support staffers will be hired in addition to the 40 full-time and 12 part-time faculty members who are already a part of the School of Music.

The school of music anticipates enrolling 12 students the first year and 36 by 2010. Freshman Jaunter Sears, who currently is working for his B.S. in performance, feels like the interest level in the program will be exceptionally high. “I think that people might consider going into this program at JMU because they’re used to the area. Also, there’s a certain professor that teaches each instrument, and students are probably used to them. That’s why I might consider going into the program. I really like my professor,” Jaunter said.

Freshman Taylor Watkins is also anticipating the implementation of the program. “I’m a music industry major, and it would be great if they had a music industry doctoral program here. I’m pretty excited about it,” Taylor said.

This program would allow JMU to move up from the baccalaureate college level, which consists of primarily undergraduate colleges with focuses on the liberal arts fields, to the level of doctorate-granting institutions, which not only offer baccalaureate programs, but are committed to graduate education through the doctorate degree.