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The Music Department is the center of musical life at the University of Virginia and a vital part of the Charlottesville community. We offer students opportunities to study music performance, composition, technology, musicology, theory, and ethnomusicology. Our undergraduate programs are open equally to music majors and non-majors, and our graduate program welcomes students from diverse musical and academic backgrounds. Each year we present over 200 public events, from student recitals to faculty ensemble performances to concerts and lectures by world-famous guests. Every semester our courses enroll over 1000 students from all over the university, some who plan professional careers in music and others who combine their musical interests with studies in other areas.
The department’s fifty faculty are nationally and internationally renowned for their expertise, and include some of the most popular teachers at the university. They have received many prestigious grants and awards, performed around the world with celebrated artists, and produced numerous successful compositions, recordings, books, and articles. Their course offerings include more than fifteen performing ensembles, private lessons in all the major instruments and voice, and classes in composition, music technology, classical music, film music, multimedia, world music, ethnography, jazz, folk music, and popular music of many kinds.
The Department has three splendid facilities. Located on the university’s central Lawn, Old Cabell Hall houses one of the finest historic auditoriums in the United States along with rehearsal and practice spaces, classrooms, faculty offices, a digital music studio, and the largest music library in Virginia. The spectacular Hunter Smith Band Building is located next to the Art and Drama departments on the university’s Arts Grounds, and features state-of-the-art rehearsal and practice spaces for the department’s band program and more. Wilson Hall houses a cluster of our music technology studios including a recording studio, an interdisciplinary maker space, and an interactive music lab.
This website is your gateway to learning more about the department’s events, faculty, and programs. We invite to you to explore, discover, and participate!
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Department Administration
Chair and Faculty Program Directors
Chair – Ted Coffey (ejc3q@virginia.edu), Professor of Composition & Computer Technologies
Director of Graduate Studies – Matthew Burtner (musicdgs@virginia.edu), Eleanor Shea Professor of Music of Composition & Computer Technologies
Director of Undergraduate Programs – Fred Maus (musicdup@virginia.edu), Associate Professor of Critical & Comparative Studies
Director of Performance – Kelly Sulick (musicdop@virginia.edu), Associate Professor, Principal Violin II of the Charlottesville Symphony
Administrative Staff
Department Finance and Administration Manager – Kim Turner (kdt4d@virginia.edu)
Director of Promotions – Marcy Day (marcy@virginia.edu)
Director of Music Production – Joel Jacobus (oldcabell@virginia.edu)
Technical Director of Composition & Computer Technologies – Alex Christie (acc3xp@virginia.edu)
Administrative Coordinator – Leslie Walker (leslietwalker@virginia.edu)
Assistant to the Chair & Academic Programs Coordinator – Tina Knight (trk4n@virginia.edu)
Fiscal Assistant and Event Coordinator – Katelyn Rupe (ucd4cp@virginia.edu)