Department of Music Theory, History, and Composition
Swope Music Building and the Performing Arts Center
West Chester University
West Chester, PA 19383
610-436-2739
Department of Music Theory, History, and Composition
Dr. Silverman, Chairperson
Dr. Martin, Graduate Coordinator
Return to Wells School of Music Information
Mission Statement
The mission of the Wells School of Music is to provide an inclusive, world-class education by engaging students in diverse and evolving degree programs that further artistic excellence and help students become valuable contributors to a greater society.
Vision Statement
The Wells School of Music will continue to develop quality and innovative programs to ensure student success. We will strive to build our standing as a cultural resource that begins in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and extends throughout the nation. Through performance and scholarship at the highest levels, our faculty will build national and international reputations that reflect on and contribute to the university community. As respected musicians, scholars, composers, performers, educators, and music therapists, our graduates will enter their respective fields with an entrepreneurial spirit that will foster innovation to meet the ever-changing landscape in the world of music.
All applicants to one of West Chester University’s graduate programs will be held to the graduate admissions requirements. When applicable, additional requirements for admission into specific department program(s) may be listed below.
Admission Requirements for the Master of Music with a Concentration in History and Literature
In addition to the general requirements for admission to degree programs in music, music history and literature applicants must submit a writing sample and must take the Wells School of Music Graduate Admission Test prior to beginning course work in music history.
Admission Requirements for the Master of Music with a Concentration in Theory and Composition
In addition to the general requirements for admission to degree programs in music, theory/composition applicants must:
- Submit one of the following: either (1) scores and recordings of three compositions or (2) two music theory writing samples. Digital submissions should be sent by email to the chairperson of the Department of Music Theory, History, and Composition.
- Schedule an interview with a faculty committee appointed by the chairperson of the Department of Music Theory, History, and Composition.
All graduate students are held to the academic policies and procedures outlined in the graduate catalog. Students are encouraged to review departmental handbooks for program tips, suggested course sequences, and explanations of procedures. When applicable, additional policies for specific department programs may be listed below.
Professors
Robert C. Maggio (1991)
B.A., Yale University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Julian Onderdonk (2001)
B.A., Bowdoin College; M.A., Ph.D., New York University
Mark T. Rimple (2000)
B.Mus., University of the Arts; M.Mus., D.M.A., Temple University
Alexander Rozin (2002)
B.A., University of California, Berkeley; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Adam B. Silverman (2008)
Chairperson, Music Theory, History, and Composition
B.M., University of Miami; M.M., M.M.A., D.M.A., Yale University
Associate Professors
Jacob Cooper (2014)
B.A., Amherst College; M.A., A.D., D.M.A., Yale University
Hayoung Heidi Lee (2013)
B.A., M.A., University of Washington; Ph.D., Stanford University
Assistant Professors
Devin T. Arne (2022)
B.M., Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University; M.M., McGill University; D.M.A., Arizona State University
Jordan Stokes (2018)
B.A., Yale University; Ph.D., CUNY Graduate Center
MHL
MHL 501. Style Form & Genre - A Review. 3 Credits.
An introduction to the study of music at the graduate level designed as a survey of Western art music with emphasis on fundamental considerations of form, style, and genre. This course is intended primarily for graduate music students who have scored below 70 on the music history graduate admission test.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Spring & Summer.
MHL 510. Collegium Musicum. 1 Credit.
A chamber ensemble specializing in the use of authentic instruments and performance techniques in the music of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque eras. Open by audition.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.
Repeatable for Credit.
MHL 520. Music History for Music Educators. 3 Credits.
The course is designed to help music educators explore music historical topics in depth and synthesize what they have learned into lessons that can be used in the classroom. The course is defined by method rather than by content: students will learn about a variety of topics in a series of detailed case studies and then synthesize this knowledge into lessons aimed at a variety of age ranges. The historical topics covered will change from semester to semester. The focus of the course is on history--it allows students to practice applying their existing pedagogical skills to the historical content.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Summer.
MHL 610. Topics in Medieval Music. 3 Credits.
Exploration of selected topics in medieval music. Specific topics deal with various aspects of music and musical development during this period. The specific topics and their number will vary with each offering of the course. Taught as a seminar with emphasis placed on student participation and research.
MHL 611. Topics in Renaissance Music. 3 Credits.
Exploration of selected topics in fifteenth and sixteenth-century music. Specific topics deal with various aspects of music and music development during this historical epoch. The specific topics and their number will vary with each offering of the course. Taught as a seminar with emphasis placed on student participation and research.
MHL 612. Topics in Baroque Music. 3 Credits.
Exploration of selected topics in the history of music in the baroque period. Specific topics deal with various aspects of music and musical development during this historical epoch. The specific topics and their number will vary with each offering of the course. Taught as a seminar with emphasis placed on student participation and research.
MHL 613. Topics in Music from 1750 to 1810. 3 Credits.
Exploration of selected topics in the history of music in the classic period. Specific topics deal with various aspects of music and musical development during this historical epoch. The specific topics and their number will vary with each offering of the course. Taught as a seminar with emphasis placed on student participation and research.
MHL 614. Topics in Music from 1810 to 1880. 3 Credits.
Exploration of selected topics in the history of music in the earlier nineteenth century. Specific topics deal with various aspects of music and musical development during this historical epoch. The specific topics and their number will vary with each offering of the course. Taught as a seminar with emphasis placed on student participation and research.
MHL 615. Topics in Music from 1880 to Present. 3 Credits.
Exploration of selected topics in the history of music from the late Romantic to the Present. Specific topics deal with various aspects of music and musical development during this historical epoch. The specific topics and their number will vary with each offering of the course. Taught as a seminar with emphasis placed on student participation and research.
MHL 620. World Music. 3 Credits.
An introduction to the study of tribal, folk, popular, and oriental music and ethnomusicological methodology. Open to music majors and nonmusic majors without prerequisites.
Typically offered in Spring.
MHL 622. History of Jazz. 3 Credits.
A survey of the history of jazz, including representative performers and their music.
Typically offered in Fall.
MHL 654. History of Opera. 3 Credits.
The composers and their major contributions to the various schools of opera.
Typically offered in Spring.
MHL 655. History Of Orchestral Music. 3 Credits.
How the symphony orchestra developed from the Baroque period to the present in its function, literature, instrumentation, and performance practices.
MHL 659. Topics In American Music. 3 Credits.
Exploration of selected topics in the history of music in America from 1620 to the present.
MHL 679. Topics In Music History I. 3 Credits.
Contact department for more information about this course.
Repeatable for Credit.
MHL 681. Independent Study In Music. 3 Credits.
Contact department for more information about this course.
Repeatable for Credit.
MHL 682. Independent Study In Music. 2 Credits.
Contact department for more information about this course.
Repeatable for Credit.
MHL 683. Independent Study In Music. 3 Credits.
Contact department for more information about this course.
Repeatable for Credit.
MHL 698. Directed Research In Musicology. 3 Credits.
This course is designed to assist the graduate music history major to focus research pursuits toward formulation of a potentially successful thesis topic.
MMU
MMU 699. Thesis. 3 Credits.
Thesis in Music History, Theory, or Composition.
MTC
MTC 512. Composition I. 3 Credits.
Exploration of basic compositional principles with a focus on the development of student's individual musical interests. Students write short pieces, each elaborated over a period of several weeks, exploring different principles of instrumental texture (e.g. monody, homophony, polyphony) and formal design (e.g. theme and variations, motivic development, song, dance forms). Works in progress are evaluated by peer and instructor critiques of Sibelius or Finale files.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.
MTC 513. Composition II. 3 Credits.
Individual lessons in free composition. Participation in weekly composition seminar. Student and assigned instructor design a project (or two) relating to student's needs and interests. Students participate in seminar and in a final composition concert at the end of the semester. Students are asked to perform and/or coordinate performance/reading of project for faculty and peers.
Pre / Co requisites: MTC 513 requires prerequisite of MTC 512.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.
MTC 514. Composition III. 3 Credits.
Individual lessons in free composition. Participation in weekly composition seminar. Student and assigned instructor design a project (or two) relating to student's needs and interests. Students participate in seminar and in a final composition concert at the end of the semester. Students are asked to perform and/or coordinate performance/reading of project for faculty and peers.
Pre / Co requisites: MTC 514 requires prerequisite of MTC 513.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.
MTC 517. Advanced Computer Music. 3 Credits.
Materials and techniques of electronic music and their use in composition. Laboratory experience in the composition of electronic music.
Consent: Permission of the Department required to add.
Typically offered in Spring.
MTC 518. Teaching Code and Computerized Music Making. 3 Credits.
Foundational concepts of music theory, perception, technology, and composition through basic coding in ChucK (an open-sourced, cross-platform audio processing language) with the goal of implementing this technology in the classroom.
Pre / Co requisites: MTC 518 requires a prerequisite of MTC 591 or a placement exam.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Summer.
MTC 541. Advanced Orchestration. 3 Credits.
Original composition or arrangement for orchestra.
Typically offered in Fall.
MTC 542. Music Analysis. 3 Credits.
This course presents an overview of major trends in music analysis including formal analysis, motivic analysis, Roman numeral analysis, set theory, Schenkerian analysis, reductive techniques, theories of music perception, and theories of rhythm and meter. Music examined includes that of the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras, as well as early music. atonality, jazz, Broadway, and popular music. Primary goals of the course are to develop students' abilities to read music analyses critically and to develop and improve scholarly prose.
Typically offered in Fall.
MTC 544. 16th Century Counterpoint. 3 Credits.
A detailed understanding of the polyphonic textures of renaissance sacred music and how characteristic practices have distinguished genre and shaped western musical values.
Typically offered in Fall.
MTC 545. 18th Century Counterpoint. 3 Credits.
This class is a compositional and analytical style study of 18th century counterpoint. We will cover dissonance treatment, imitation, invertible counterpoint, figured bass, and several genres including chorale prelude, invention, canon, and fugue. We will also study rhetoric, contrapuntal schemata, and partimento.
Typically offered in Spring.
MTC 561. Jazz Harmony and Arranging. 3 Credits.
Jazz/popular harmony and arranging techniques, including contemporary chord symbols and terminology, and basic voicing for brass, reed and rhythm sections.
Typically offered in Fall.
MTC 579. Music Theory and Composition Seminar. 1-3 Credits.
Special topics seminar designed to meet specific needs of music majors in the area of theory research.
MTC 591. Music Theory Review. 3 Credits.
Graduate level review of tonal harmony.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall.
MTC 681. Independent Study in Music. 1 Credit.
Individual research under the guidance of a faculty member.
Consent: Permission of the Department required to add.
Repeatable for Credit.
MTC 682. Independent Study in Music. 2 Credits.
Individual research under the guidance of a faculty member.
Consent: Permission of the Department required to add.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.
Repeatable for Credit.
MTC 683. Independent Study in Music. 3 Credits.
Individual research under the guidance of a faculty member.
Consent: Permission of the Department required to add.
MTC 697. Thesis. 3 Credits.
Private instruction for Masters Thesis.
MTC 698. Research Report. 1 Credit.
Contact department for more information about this course.
MTC 699. Musical Composition. 3 Credits.
Private instruction, for graduate majors in composition only.
MWS
MWS 536. Contemp Applics Of Keyboard Synthesizers. 3 Credits.
A hands-on workshop involving programming techniques for synthesizers and the study of MIDI networks. Performance and composition will be emphasized.
