From the chair

Music is a powerful art that can literally shape the brain. Studying music is not just about learning from a classical repertory and theoretical point of view, nor is it only about understanding the technology behind a sound synthesis system. It's about opening your ears and your mind, sharing knowledge and experiences, understanding the history, heritage and integrity of music, and about improvising, composing, and creating new music for the world of tomorrow.

Concordia Music students come from Montreal, all of Canada, the USA, and from all over the world--Europe, Japan, Central and South America, etc. We have produced many fine musicians over many years. A high proportion of Concordia music alumni compose; many perform, and produce highly original CD’s. Other alumni have played at Carnegie Hall, and at the Montreal International Jazz Festival; are members of Arcade Fire; have been medalists in international competitions; have gone on to graduate studies, and won competitive Canadian government research grants (SSHRC); and are soloists in varied musical groups. Still others teach, or work in arts administration, and/or pursue other music/arts-related careers.

Our faculty members are world-renowned in their respective practices, which range from classical, contemporary and jazz composition and performance, to electroacoustics and sound recording expertise, to research in the psychology and neuroscience of music, to transdisciplinary collaborative arts. Concordia has been rated the leading Faculty of Fine Arts in all of Canada. We are home to the beautiful Oscar Peterson Concert Hall. There is tremendous potential here for students to be involved with other arts ranging from dance, theatre, and cinema, through a wide range of visual arts, to intermedia cyber-arts, and many others. Music department faculty members organize high-quality extra-curricular events that further nourish the students’ artistic and professional growth, such as conferences, special performances, research talks, vocal symposia, and more.

The Music department team works very hard with each student to realize individual dreams. Most of our students want to become professional musicians, of course. Some of our students, though, aim for careers in music therapy, the music industry, or other fields. The structure of our undergraduate music programs is such that students can pursue minors in business, psychology, or other disciplines in order to prepare for such choices. (Students must apply separately to the appropriate departments for such minors, and must be accepted on those departments’ own terms.) The music department puts effort into community links and international responsibility. We do performances in local colleges, seniors’ residences, and other such institutions. We have hosted the yearly classical Guitar Montréal festival/competition for six years, and the internationally renowned Suzuki Institute summer intensive (for classical strings) for 30 years. Most recently we have become involved with creating conferences about the inter-relationship of the arts with the global economy, emerging technologies, science, and environmental challenges.

The Music department is housed on Concordia’s downtown Sir George Williams campus, in spacious quarters with beautiful state-of-the-art equipment. If you come to Montreal, contact us to pre-arrange a visit in the glistening MB tower, 8th floor. In the open lounge, feel free to speak to our students about their experiences here at Concordia Music. They are an amazing group of young musicians, who, in choosing Concordia, have chosen “the path less travelled by”, a path that will make all the difference to their artistic originality, their collaborative potential, and their futures.

We hope your musical future will include Concordia Music.

Christine Beckett, Ph.D., Acting Chair, Music, 2011 - 2013