Welcome to the
CSU Fullerton Music Department

You are reading this because you already have something in common with us. You share our passion for music and music making, and you are looking for high quality music experiences to continue your development as a musical performer and scholar. Is Cal State Fullerton the place for you? Here are some of the reasons to give yourself the benefit of a Fullerton education in music…

Outstanding academic and performance faculty – Our performance faculty is among the best in the world. The Cal State Fullerton Music Department is recognized for its exceptionally dedicated applied faculty who regularly perform in the Los Angeles arts and entertainment industry and worldwide, as well as an outstanding academic faculty who provide all music majors with a thorough traditional background in music history, literature, and theory.

You have already heard some of our faculty perform, even if you weren’t aware of it at the time! Some of our performance faculty are freelance musicians who perform in the recording studios of Hollywood, performing on motion picture sound tracks heard around the world as well as in prestigious live events throughout Southern California. Others perform with the Los Angeles Philharmonic or the Pacific Symphony. Some travel throughout the world giving recitals and performing with international orchestras.

Our academic faculty equals our performance faculty in stature, consisting of composers, musicologists, ethnomusicologists, and music teacher training faculty who are active, vibrant contributors to their fields as well as highly dedicated teachers who are passionate about educating students.

Our students and faculty form strong, direct, and often long lasting relationships. Unlike many colleges and universities, all music major classes are taught by fully qualified professors, never by graduate teaching assistants who are still learning subject content and how to teach. Learn More...

Exceptional performance, practice, and teaching facilities – With recently renovated classrooms, the Michalsky Resource Center’s computer/MIDI lab, a generous bank of practice rooms, excellent instrumental and choral rehearsal rooms, and wireless internet throughout campus, your learning opportunities abound at Fullerton.

The crown jewel of your experience at Fullerton is the opportunity to rehearse and perform in Meng Concert Hall, the only true concert hall on any Southern California college or university campus, and one of the finest 800-seat concert halls in the United States. Opened in January 2006, this visually stunning and acoustically magnificent concert hall has already served as host to scores of the world’s greatest musicians as well as serving as performance home to Cal State Fullerton’s music majors. Learn More...

Successful Alumni – Successful graduates from Cal State Fullerton’s Music Department surround you, working in Southern California and beyond as opera stars, symphony orchestra and freelance musicians, composers and arrangers, private studio teachers, in arts management, and as leaders in public school music education and in piano pedagogy. Read the latest in our Alumni Newsletter.

Convenient, accessible location, at a reasonable cost – Located near the intersection of the 57 and 91 freeways, the Fullerton campus is readily accessible to you whether you choose to commute to school or live on or near campus. Fullerton’s beautiful, compact campus allows you to get from class to class in just a few minutes without running at breakneck speed. The cost of a Fullerton education in music is as reasonable as you will find nearly anywhere, and truly exceptional when weighed against the high quality of the educational experience: the faculty, the academic and performance opportunities, and the facilities. Read More

What sets Cal State Fullerton’s Music Department apart?

High, nationally recognized standards – Cal State Fullerton’s Department of Music has been fully and continuously accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music since 1966.

Individual attention – Students receive a great deal of one-on-one and small group attention in a Music Department that is large enough (a little over 400 majors) to provide extraordinary opportunities, but small enough to ensure that all music majors have a high quality, individualized experience. It is rare to have a music major class with more than 25 students in it, and many junior- and senior-level classes are much smaller. Fullerton music professors certainly know all their students by name, and work to achieve a nurturing and high achieving musical environment for all. The average student-faculty ratio is less than 15-to-1 for all music classes, and is usually smaller for upper division and graduate music major classes.

Master classes and guest soloists with world renowned musicians – Since the opening of the University’s architecturally magnificent and acoustically superb Meng Concert Hall in 2006, the Music Department has been joined by dozens of world class musicians who have come to campus to teach, coach, and perform with students in master classes and with student ensembles. A partial list of recent guest performers and educators includes Deborah Voigt, Evelyn Glennie, Gary Graffman, David Maslanka, Branford Marsalis, Morton Lauridsen, Pancho Sanchez, Richard Stoltzman, Bernard Greenhouse, the St. Petersburg Quartet and the Atlantic Brass.

Cal State Fullerton student music groups tour – In the Spring of 2007, the University Wind Symphony toured throughout South Korea. The Chamber Choir and Orchestra toured Eastern Europe in May-June 2008, responding to invitations to perform in the Bojnice, Slovakia Summer Cultural Festival and the Camerata Nova Festival (Czech Republic), as well as a concert in Budapest’s world-famous Liszt Academy. Fullerton’s jazz ensembles and combos regularly attend and place well in top jazz festivals such as those in Monterey and Reno. The University Chamber Singers have recently performed with the Boston Pops, Andrea Bocelli, and for a recording utilized in an opera of composer Eric Whitacre.

What undergraduate degree programs are offered?

The Music Department offers Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music degrees. Within one of these degrees, you will pursue a concentration in Liberal Arts, Music History and Theory, Music Education, Performance, Composition, Accompanying, or Jazz and Commercial Music.

B.A. Liberal Arts – This concentration is particularly appropriate for a student who wishes to obtain a solid liberal arts education with a specialization in music, as well as for students who wish to pursue careers in the music industry other than performance and teaching.

B.A. History and Literature – This concentration allows students to delve deeply into music history and theory, providing excellent preparation for those considering advanced degrees in musicology or music theory.

B.A. Music Education – Emphases in instrumental, choral, and general/elementary music are designed to provide comprehensive, rigorous preparation for Fullerton’s highly regarded credential program and ultimately for teaching in the California public schools. A separate emphasis in piano pedagogy provides thorough preparation for students intending to provide individual and group piano instruction.

B.M. – The Bachelor of Music degree program provides training for highly gifted students who show promise and capability of becoming professional performers and composers. Concentrations in this degree program include Composition, Orchestral Instruments, Classical Guitar, Keyboard, Accompanying, Voice, and Jazz and Commercial Music.

What are the degree program requirements?
The Cal State Fullerton Music Department offers an exceptionally well-developed, focused curriculum. Faculty and students take both musical performance and academic music study very seriously, with impressive results. All undergraduate students take a common core curriculum, with additional requirements and electives in each separate concentration and emphasis. A typical semester for a Fullerton undergraduate in music looks something like this:

Music theory (3 units)
Music history and literature (2-3 units)
Class piano (except keyboard majors) (I unit)
Applied (private) lesson (1-2 units)
Major performance ensemble (1 unit)
General education coursework (3-6 units)

More Information in the University Catalog

What advanced degrees are available?
The Music Department offers Master of Music and Master of Arts degrees at the graduate level. For those who intend to pursue advanced degrees beyond the master’s level, the Master of Music normally leads to the D.M.A, and the Master of Arts normally leads to the Ph.D.

The Master of Music degree provides an avenue of graduate study for the superior performer or highly creative composer in a program custom tailored to each student’s demonstrated talent professional goals.
The Master of Arts in Music degree offers three options: music history and literature; music education; and piano pedagogy. All three degree options provide for breadth and flexibility of advanced study as well as concentrated work in the area of specialization. This degree is for students preparing for college teaching or for teachers and supervisors of music at the elementary or secondary level, or for teachers of private piano studios. More Information on both in the University Catalog.

Can I minor in music?
Students whose majors are in other fields can pursue a minor in music. The minor consists of 20 units of music coursework, divided into three categories: Theory of Music, Music History and Literature, and Applied Techniques. A full-time faculty member is assigned to advise Music Minors.
More Information in the University Catalog.

What performance ensembles are offered?
The Cal State Fullerton Music Department provides many outstanding ensemble opportunities. Performance ensembles are open to all music majors, minors, and non-majors based on audition or permission of instructor. Here's a partial list of the many performance opportunities.

What other groups are there for music students?
Music majors can join the Music Department’s local chapters of national music fraternities, Mu Phi Epsilon or Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. The Department also sponsors a chapter of the national music honor society Pi Kappa Lambda. Other student organizations related to music or affiliated with musical organizations outside the Music Department include:

• American Choral Directors Association
• Arts Inter-Club Council
• California Music Educators Association
• Composers Forum
• International Association of Jazz Education
• Music Educators National Conference
• National Band Association
• Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association
• Symphony Orchestra Student Association

Whether you live on, near, or away from campus, there are many other student clubs, activities, and organizations on campus in which to become involved.

What should I do to prepare to be a music major?
In addition to being admitted to the University, all Music majors must be accepted on the basis of an audition. Generally music students have studied their major instrument with a private teacher for some time prior to the audition. Read More about auditions, including repertoire requirements and dates.

Are scholarships available for music majors?
Scholarships are awarded to music students based on the audition that you will play or sing for admission to the Music Department. More Information.

Who provides advisement for me?
For each music major, academic advisement is provided every semester by a full-time music faculty member who is very familiar with your field of study. Additional advising is available in the Academic Advisement Center. New students register for their first semester of classes during their New Student Orientation event on campus.

How can I learn more about Fullerton’s Music Department?
First, complete our online Interest Form to get into the Fullerton Music loop. We will see that you receive further information and even some passes to our musical events. After that, the best way to learn more about us is to get to know us! Please come to our concerts and hear our students and faculty perform. Get to know some of our instructors. If you’d like to come and visit some rehearsals and classes, let us know, and we’ll make the arrangements; for this or any more detailed information or advice, please contact our new student advisor, Prof. Kimo Furumoto.