The Music Department at UC Santa Cruz offers two undergraduate degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in Music (B.A.) and a Bachelor of Music (B.M.). The B.A. degree offers a uniquely diverse curriculum, with the option of completing a concentration in Contemporary Practices, Global Music, or Western Art Music. The B.M. degree is designed for students who intend to pursue a career in music performance. The department also offers minors in Electronic Music, Jazz, Spontaneous Composition and Improvisation, and Western Art Music, providing more access for music students and students in other disciplines to engage with music during their studies at UCSC. Both the B.A. and B.M. degrees are distinctive in that they integrate elements of performance, theory, composition, literature, and history & culture. Music students leave UCSC prepared for graduate studies and music careers in performance, teaching, and the digital arts.

Course Requirements

The Jazz, Spontaneous Composition, and Improvisation minor focuses on the study of the history, theory, and performance of jazz and other improvised music. In addition, students may be introduced to musical styles that have had profound influences on the uniquely American art form of jazz: folk and popular music of Africa, Europe, South Asia and the United States and Western classical music. The Jazz, Spontaneous Composition, and Improvisation minor is limited to students who have sufficient performance proficiency to pass auditions for entry into the jazz ensembles.

Learning Experience

Students will encounter a rich variety of performance opportunities. Specifically, students engage with music:

✔ as a cultural practice in ensembles focusing on musical traditions from all over the globe;

✔ temporally in ensembles based on Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, contemporary, experimental, and popular idioms to deepen their understanding of performance practices;

✔ technologically in electronic music ensembles and workshops, using innovative technologies;

✔ collaboratively in seminars geared towards student composition and improvisation.

Music facilities include a number of performance venues as well as classrooms and teaching studios outfitted with advanced audio-visual technology and with state-of-the-art digital audio, video, and recording systems.

✔ 396-seat Recital Hall

✔ 13 teaching studios

✔ 20 practice rooms

✔ 5 classrooms

✔ Recording studio

✔ Gamelan studio

✔ Ensemble rehearsal room

✔ 60-seat performance studio

✔ Music library

✔ Percussion studio

✔ Office space

Study and Research Opportunities

✔ Students at UC Santa Cruz have extraordinary performance, composition, and professionalization opportunities.

✔ All instrument and voice faculty are celebrated professional musicians, who provide unparalleled guidance for students in performance and professional development.

✔ Ensemble courses culminate in end-of-quarter performances, providing students with regular performance opportunities in a world-class Recital Hall.

✔ The Electronic Music minor provides hands-on opportunities for students to learn a variety of techniques related to electronic sound production, composition, and recording in a state-of-the-art studio facility.

✔ The Opera Program allows undergraduate and graduate students to be involved in every step of a major production, from concept and design considerations to marketing and arts management.