Music Performance: Keyboard Major

Conservatory Admission
(440) 826-2368, music@bw.edu

OVERVIEW

Explore your artistic expression and achieve instrumental mastery that can help you prepare for a successful career in music.

Baldwin Wallace's keyboard performance major includes studies in piano, organ and harpsichord. It is a rigorous program that combines comprehensive coursework with private lessons and extensive performance experiences.

Small class sizes, individual attention and faculty mentoring are inherent to the program. BW's faculty-student ratio is 7:1 for the Conservatory of Performing Arts.

Baldwin Wallace faculty are established professionals with real-world experience, impressive credentials and networking connections. They're published composers, authors, musicians and researchers dedicated to your personal and professional success.

Both in the classroom and in the studio, they'll help you develop strong technical, artistic, analytical and entrepreneurial skills. You'll receive outstanding preparation for graduate school studies and career opportunities.

BW has an active role in Northeast Ohio's vibrant arts community. The University's 20-minute proximity to Cleveland puts you within easy access to the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra, Great Lakes Theater Festival, Playhouse Square and more.

BW's undergraduate-only Conservatory provides students with valuable opportunities to perform, compose, conduct, teach and manage. Alumni can be found at top graduate schools and employed with renowned organizations.
BW's Conservatory of Performing Arts faculty are established professionals with real-world experience, impressive credentials and networking connections. They bring decades of experiences to the classroom, studio and clinical settings. Pictured here is Sungeun Kim, who is among BW's renowned pianist faculty members.
BW's Conservatory of Performing Arts is honored to be designated as an All-Steinway School, an elite classification that speaks to the quality of the student experience.
Striking Boesel Musical Arts Center is a four-building complex that houses 50 soundproofed practice rooms, instructional space, practice studios and impressive rehearsal halls that can accommodate the latest technologies for teaching and performance.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Music educator
Chamber musician
Orchestral musician
Conductor
Music business executive
Arts administrator
Private teacher
Concert soloist
Church or theatre musician or director

ALL-STEINWAY SCHOOL

The Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Performing Arts is one of just 16 conservatories worldwide that has achieved classification as an All-Steinway School. The 88 Steinway pianos in the Conservatory elevate the student learning experience by having lessons and performance opportunities on the same quality instruments that are the standard in concert halls worldwide.

VIBRANT FACILITY ENGAGES STUDENTS

Striking Boesel Musical Arts Center is a picturesque four-building complex that houses the BW Conservatory of Performing Arts. It's a seamless blend of historic architecture and modern design. The facility houses 50 soundproofed practice rooms, instructional space, practice studios and impressive rehearsal halls that can accommodate the latest technologies for teaching and performance.

EXCEPTIONAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES

Innovation, excellence and outstanding hands-on learning and performance opportunities make the BW Conservatory a proven choice for students nationwide. The undergraduate-only Conservatory provides an exceptional learning environment for students to take lead roles in performing, conducting, managing and teaching. Alumni can be found at top graduate schools and working with the best orchestras, operas and theatres. Other alumni are employed in rewarding positions in teaching, arts management and music therapy.

CURRICULUM

Rigorous coursework coupled with intensive and extensive practical experiences provide comprehensive learning.

You'll study music theory, history and literature, form and analysis, tonal harmony, Solfège and more. You'll learn to apply critical thinking, creativity and technical skills to your work.

Outside the classroom, you'll take private lessons and participate in rehearsals and performances with a major ensemble, as well as other performance activities.The culmination of your studies is a full-length recital program held during your senior year.

BW's keyboard performance program offers an outstanding foundation for graduate school. It can be studied as a single major or companion field of study for a double major.

The music performance: keyboard major prepares students to:

Demonstrate the ability to learn and perform works independently with musical accuracy (rhythm and pitches), stylistic awareness, musical insight, and technical proficiency appropriate to the student's level and degree program
Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate performances
Demonstrate the ability to teach beginning piano/organ students of all ages

Collaborative Piano Music Emphasis

The Baldwin Wallace keyboard program offers the collaborative piano emphasis to piano primary students who might be interested in pursuing collaborative piano as one of their career options.

Course Descriptions

Course descriptions, requirements for the major and additional information can be found in the University Catalog.

STUDENT EXPERIENCES

Student success is a top priority. Small class sizes, individual attention and faculty mentoring are at the core of BW Conservatory programs.

Experiential learning bridges classroom study with real-world opportunities. As an instrumental performance major, you'll have numerous opportunities to demonstrate your musicianship:

Regular studio classes
Departmental recitals
Conservatory convocations
Guest master classes
BW concerts
BW opera and music theatre pit ensembles
Semester juries
Required degree recitals
Annual concerto competition

With more than 325 events a year, the Conservatory offers an impressive array of performance opportunities.

Competitive auditions are held for positions in BW's Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Motet Choir and University Choir. Other impressive large ensembles include the Symphonic Band, BW Singers and Women's Choir.

IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES

The BW Conservatory has outstanding campus performance traditions and collaborations with regional and national organizations. A few examples include:

Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival
The three-day campus event is the oldest collegiate Bach Festival in the country. It features lectures, BW performance groups, faculty members and renowned professional soloists and musicians. Baldwin Wallace students consider the unusual opportunity of participating, as colleagues, with world-class professionals a high point in their performing experience. The festival is evolving to include year-round events, such as Bach Haus, that explore Bach's influence on a broad spectrum of music.
FOCUS Festival of Contemporary Music
The biennial festival features the music of a contemporary composer who visits Baldwin Wallace for a week-long residency. At the conclusion of the week's rehearsals and symposia, the composer's music is performed in a series of concerts, including large ensembles and chamber groups.

LEARNING RESOURCES

At Baldwin Wallace, student learning experiences are enhanced by exceptional resources that include:

Riemenschneider Bach Institute
The institute houses rare items related to J.S. Bach and his circle, as well as historical reference materials, scores and a collection of classic recordings. It has one of the nation's most impressive holdings of Baroque manuscripts and first editions. It attracts scholars from around the world.
Ferne Patterson Jones Memorial Music Library
A valuable campus resource, the library offers 18,000 scores, 7,000 books, and more than 10,000 sound and video recordings. Online resources to which the library subscribes include over one million tracks of streaming audio and video. Help with research is available by appointment, on a walk-in basis or through email.