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FALL 2026

MUCO 634 Seminar in Composition 鈥� CRN 4348 | Professor Eliot Britton

The Expanded Score: Notation, Performance, and Creative Practice in Contemporary Music

This creative graduate seminar examines how scores shape musical expression by organizing creative intention, collaboration, analysis, and performance across a range of contemporary practices. Contemporary scores may be organized through any combination of conventional notation, graphic systems, text, diagrams, studio-generated materials, electronics, software, rehearsal protocols, improvisation, or systems for coordinating performers, technologies, and processes. Managing and integrating these possibilities presents a growing challenge. Through critical listening, reading, analysis, discussion, and creative experiments, students will investigate how expanded scores shape interpretation, rehearsal, performance, and listening. They will also consider how these works are shaped by creative intent, available tools, cultural context, and performer agency. The seminar will encourage students to think critically about the aesthetic, social, cultural, and institutional assumptions embedded in different approaches to notation and scoring, and to consider how these questions might inform their own creative, analytical, or performance-based work. Repertoire and case studies may be drawn from contemporary instrumental and vocal music, works involving live electronics, recorded works, graphic and text scores, sound art, DAW-sessions, theatre-based composition, and hybrid research-creation projects. Students from composition, performance, theory, music technology, and related areas will develop projects suited to their interests and emerging practices. The course will be centred on creative and/or research-based project work, supported by seminar presentations, discussion, and workshop participation. Final projects may take the form of a notated score, analytical essay, project report, prototype, or hybrid creative work.

FALL 2026

MUGT 610 (001) Seminar - Music Education 鈥� CRN 4452 | Professor Isabelle Cossette

Breathing and Stress: From theory to practice

While respiration and stress are at the core of any living activities, including music making, they are very complex bodily functions that can be 鈥榠n the way鈥� at times. This course covers the theoretical underpinnings of the respiratory and stress response systems through a whole-person approach. It aims at exploring evidence-based solutions/applications to students鈥� current questions.

Class sessions are intended to foster students鈥� autonomous problem-solving and critical thinking skills and make them ready to find answers to their questions throughout their music careers. Thanks to an interdisciplinary perspective, this might apply to instrumental pedagogy, practicing strategies and a healthy lifestyle. Discussions based on readings (scientific textbooks and scholarly literature), lectures, online material, peer work, hands-on measurements and presentations will allow the students to share knowledge and strategies they can apply to practice.

Evaluation will include class preparation through readings and online discussions, written reflections, an annotated bibliography, oral presentation(s) and a research final project focusing on performance or pedagogical issues related to the student鈥檚 interests and class content.

FALL 2026

MUGT 612 (001) Seminar - Music Education 鈥� CRN 4454 | Professor Liliana Araujo

Research Methodologies in Music Performance, Music Pedagogy, and Applied Performance Science

This seminar offers a comprehensive exploration of research methodologies within the interdisciplinary areas of Music Performance, Pedagogy, and Science. The seminar equips participants with the theoretical foundations, practical skills, and critical perspectives necessary for designing and conducting creative, rigorous, and innovative research that responds to practical and meaningful questions in a range of music settings. Topics will include theoretical foundations of empirical research; quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method paradigms and methods; and ethical considerations. Activities will include interactive lectures, collaborative projects, and self-directed inquiry.

FALL 2026

MUHL 680 Seminar in Musicology 鈥� CRN 4471| Professor Julie Cumming

Women and Music in the Renaissance

We know with certainty the names of only a few women composers of polyphonic music in the Renaissance (1400-1600): Maddalena Casulana and Vittoria Aleotti are the best known. More names are gradually coming to light, as is information on the many ways in which women were involved in music during the period. We will look at women involved in the creation and performance of music as lyricists, nuns, singers, instrumentalists, courtesans, family members, and patrons. Topics will include the following.

• modern scholarly assumptions that have hidden women musicians from view
• social mores in the Renaissance that enabled and/or hindered women鈥檚 participation in music making, both in the home and in the larger public
• music attributed to women
• anonymous music that could have been by women
• music associated with nuns and female monasteries
• the complex figure of the courtesan musician, especially in Venice and Rome
• Renaissance ideas concerning sexuality and gender identity
• poetry by women that was set to music, and the nature of the 鈥渨oman鈥檚 voice鈥� in poetry and music
• patrons of music, including Isabella d鈥橢ste, Lucrezia Borgia, and members of the Este family of Ferrara
• the rise of professional women鈥檚 ensembles, such as the concerto di donne in Ferrara, Mantua, and Florence

Activities in the seminar will include: singing and analysis of works associated with women; presentations on individual musical works and readings; podcasts on articles; and a final paper, in several stages, each of which will receive feedback: development of a paper topic; power-point presentation for the class; the first draft of the final paper, and a final draft. Grading is based on the participation, presentations, podcasts, and the final paper.

FALL 2026

MUHL 681 Seminar in Musicology 鈥� CRN 4472 | Professor Roe-Min Kok

Music鈥檚 Colonial Legacies in an Age of Globalization

Many acknowledge the endurance of social inequities and inequalities in western art music, whether in institutional, freelance or other settings. Some of the deep-seated reasons for these issues stem from colonialism鈥檚 legacies, which have taken modern-day forms as a result of the uneven power dynamics engendered by globalization. This seminar examines the history of sociocultural biases in western art music using thinking tools from cultural studies, including postcolonial theories and related concepts such as neocolonialism, imperialism, coloniality, cultural hegemony, colonial gaze, articulation theory, etc. We will also study globalization, specifically the globalization of educational systems and its commodifying effects on music curricula, and on music institutions and their practices worldwide. Linking colonialism and globalization with gender, race, and ethnicity, case studies include Canadian Indigenous communities; former colonies such as India, Zimbabwe, South Africa, New Zealand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Singapore (British Empire); Haiti, Vietnam, and Algeria (French Empire); Latin American countries (Spanish empire), and Macau and Cape Verde (Portuguese Empire). Seminar members develop an informed awareness of why and how cultural ideologies continue in the field of western art music, and of methods by which solutions may be found. Final projects may focus on musical identities and cross-cultural negotiations in specific geographical locations, communities, and timeframes. Evaluation will be based on presentations about assigned readings, a final project proposal, a final project presentation, a final paper, and professionalism.

FALL 2026

MUHL 683 Seminar in Musicology 鈥� CRN 4473 | Professor Althea SullyCole

Ethnomusicology Graduate Survey

The main objective of this course is to present an introduction to the history of the cultural study of music from a transdisciplinary perspective. Ethnomusicology is a principal disciplinary focus as one of the primary arenas through which this area of study has been developed. However, we will also consider other disciplines and/or theoretical constructions, such as folkloristics and sound studies, that have played a role in this history. Consequently, debates concerning the geographical, historical and political contours through which power is granted to different forms of knowledge will also be central to this course. Further, we will critically consider the theorization of the relation between acoustics, technology, recording and archives, as has been central to the disciplines we are surveying. This course is intended to be the first half of a two-course series; whereas the first (this course) is focused on the history of the field, the second will focus on more recent developments. Evaluation will be based on 70% listening and participation and 30% research paper and reading summaries.

FALL 2026

MUMT 605 (001) Digital Sound Synthesis & Audio Process 鈥� CRN 4991 | Professor Philippe Depalle

Most digital sound synthesis methods and audio processing techniques are based on the spectral representation of sound signals. This seminar starts with a theoretical and practical study of spectral representation, spectral analysis, and spectral modification of sound signals. Digital sound synthesis and sound processing techniques are then presented as specific spectral modeling or alterations from which their capabilities, properties, and limitations are deduced. Techniques explored in this context include the phase-vocoder, additive synthesis, source-filter synthesis, and audio effects. Available Computer Music software and ad hoc pieces of software are used as examples and illustrations. Evaluation will be based on two assignments (25% each), one in-class presentation (15%), and a final project (35%).

FALL 2026

MUMT 617 (001) Cognitive Dynamics of Mus. Listening 鈥� CRN 4992 | Professor Stephen McAdams

Music theoretic, performance-related, psychophysical, and cognitive perspectives on contemporary musical materials and musical form will be surveyed and discussed. The main aim is to lay the groundwork for a theory of the dynamics of musical listening and experience. This seminar covers a variety of interdisciplinary topics concerning the conception, perception, and memory of contemporary musical materials, as well as the cognitive, emotional and aesthetic aspects of music listening in time. It will combine considerations of a compositional, music theoretic and cognitive psychological nature to attempt to understand these complex phenomena as they operate in real music listening, whether to recorded or to live music in a concert setting.

FALL 2026

MUMT 618 (001) Computational Modeling of Musical Acoustics 鈥� CRN 7756听| Professor Gary Scavone

Methods for discrete-time modeling of musical acoustic systems, with an emphasis on digital waveguide techniques. Delay-based audio effects, artificial reverberation, musical instrument models and physically-informed approaches to sound synthesis. Prior experience with differential equations, digital filters and Matlab is required. Evaluation will be based on weekly homework, in-class presentations, and a final course project.

FALL 2026

MUMT 621 (001) Mus. Info,Retr.,Acq.,Preserv. 鈥� CRN 4994听| Professor Ichiro Fujinaga

This seminar will investigate current research activities in the area of music information retrieval. The goal is to discover ways to efficiently find and retrieve musical information. Although the field is relatively new, it encompasses various music disciplines including music analysis, music education, music history, music theory, music psychology, and audio signal processing.

Each student will be expected to present various music information retrieval topics along with literature reviews. The final project may consist of software development, a theoretical paper, or an extended review paper. Class format will be presentations followed by discussions.

Potential topics include: Music databases, audio content analysis and search, music similarities, automatic music transcription, beat tracking, timbre recognition, speech / music separation, audio and music formats (MPEG-4/7/21, MP3, MEI, MusicXML), and machine learning for music information retrieval. Students will be evaluated on the quality of the presentations, written assignments, class participation, and the final project.

Evaluation will be based on assignments (50%), class participation (10%), and a final project (40%).

FALL 2026

MUTH 652 (001) Seminar in Music Theory 鈥� CRN 5107 | Professor Robert Hasegawa

Theorizing Twenty-First-Century Harmony

This seminar explores harmonic practice in music since 2000, analyzing musical works and developing theories rooted in acoustics and perception that recognize shared strategies across a wide range of genres. Topics to be explored include spectral and post-spectral techniques, microtonality and just intonation, improvised music, electroacoustic music, modality, and timbre/harmony interactions. Through our seminar meetings, we will seek to (1) develop broad-ranging, style-independent theoretical and analytical approaches, (2) explore the links between music cognition and contemporary harmonic practices, (3) categorize approaches to harmony across a wide variety of genres and map them according to their underlying principles, and (4) analyze recent musical works from various genres, developing detailed case studies as a testing ground for theoretical concepts. Coursework will include regular readings, analyses, presentations, and writing assignments as well as a final paper.

FALL 2026

MUTH 653 (001) Seminar in Music Theory 鈥� CRN 5108 | Professor Jon Wild

Analysis seminar: The music of Brahms

Participants will engage in in-depth score analysis of piano, chamber, and orchestral music by Johannes Brahms. Students should possess fluency in harmonic analysis, knowledge of chromatic procedures, and familiarity with multiple approaches to analysis. In addition to working on technical accuracy and plausibility, we will work on strategies for crafting an analytic narrative and participating in analytic conversation, emphasizing analytic interpretation. Your increased comfort with Brahms's specific musical language will transfer to broader analytic contexts. We will also study a small number of selected works by other composers that illustrate Brahms's influence in one way or another.

Students will share analytic work each week, respond to readings, lead presentations on compositions, and write a final analytic paper of 15鈥�20 pages (exclusive of musical examples) on a work of their choice subject to approval of the instructor.

FALL 2026

MUPP 690 (001) Performance Practice Seminar 鈥� CRN 5052听| Professor Danielle Gaudry

Wind Literature Masterworks

This seminar offers an engaging and comprehensive exploration of masterworks in the wind repertoire. Beginning with chamber wind music of the Renaissance, the course traces the evolution of wind literature to the present day, examining a rich spectrum of compositional languages and stylistic approaches that define the canon. Through close study of these cornerstone works, students will deepen their understanding of the repertoire while refining core musicianship skills.

For wind players and percussionists, the seminar provides valuable insight into repertoire central to their artistic practice, fostering more informed performance, interpretation, and stylistic awareness. Emphasis is placed on cultivating advanced score-reading, analytical listening, and critical thinking abilities through a range of activities, including guided readings, score analysis, dynamic class discussions, writing assignments of varying lengths, a research project, and class presentations.

FALL 2026

MUPP 691 (002) Performance Practice Seminar 鈥� CRN 5053 |听TBA

GLENN GOULD (1932鈥�1982): The Pianist on Performance, Repertoire, the Instrument, Technology, and the Future of Music

Almost forty鈥慺ive years will have passed in 2027 since the death of Glenn Gould, one week after his fiftieth birthday in 1982. The immense legacy of his writings, recordings, broadcasts, and carefully constructed public persona continues to provoke discussion and controversy among musicians in Western art music, for it remains inseparable from fundamental questions of performance practice.

Issues such as the use of piano versus harpsichord in Renaissance and Baroque repertoire, stylistic approach, tempo, ornamentation, performers鈥� agency in transforming canonic works, personal creativity in interpreting repertoire, the role of recording, and cultural self鈥慺ashioning are all areas in which Gould still challenges conventional thinking.

In this seminar, we will examine primary sources, studio recording off鈥憈akes, films, photographs, writings, and other materials from the Glenn Gould collection at Library and Archives Canada. We will also consider resources from the CBC, the National Film Board of Canada, Gould鈥檚 commercial recordings, and the extensive international scholarship surrounding this controversial yet undeniably influential figure in music performance. Participants will have access to a comprehensive bibliography of more than a thousand secondary sources鈥攎aterial unavailable in any other single location. The seminar will also feature substantial film and video content.

Participants will be responsible for a series of ongoing written tasks and oral presentations, on which their final evaluation will be based.

FALL 2026

MUPP 692 (001) Performance Practice Seminar 鈥� CRN 5054 | Professor Marina Thibeault

Exploration in Creative Processes and Performance Enhancement Techniques

This course explores artistic legacies and missions, approaches for effective practicing, rehearsal techniques, creative performance practice, and interdisciplinary connections. This weekly seminar comprises dynamic class discussions, workshops with guest presenter(s), and student projects. Its diverse content is aimed at developing skills and philosophical perspectives for the 21st century musician, and will be reflective of the student鈥檚 input.

Through this course, students will be led by their instructor to select a variety of topics identified in the first class and throughout the semester. Reading assignments will be related to the topics chosen together with the students. Students will be asked to choose a research topic for an article to be written individually or in teams of two or three - if their topics are comparable or complementary. Students will gain experience with public speaking by presenting their findings in a presentation of 15 minutes. Research writing skills will also be developed with a 8-10 pages article to be submitted by the penultimate class. Each article will be unique and meant to make a significant contribution for the music community.

FALL 2026

MUPP 693 (001) Performance Practice Seminar 鈥� CRN 5055 | Professor Fabrice Marandola

Artistic Research, Research Creation and Performance Practices

How can we reconcile creative practice with scholarly investigation in our own music making? This seminar explores the concepts of Artistic Research and Research-Creation in order to help performers and composers develop a deeper understanding of research practices grounded in music making. Although these approaches are relatively recent and continue to evolve, both emphasize practice-led inquiry conducted by artist-researchers.

This seminar combines theoretical and practical components, first examining key approaches and case studies, before shifting towards practical applications based on students鈥� individual projects. Through the design of a small-scale project, students will learn how to formulate a research question, select appropriate methodologies, document their practices and processes, and propose relevant outcomes. In addition, students will engage in simulated applications to arts and research council funding programs, offering a concrete context for translating artistic and intellectual ideas into clear, persuasive proposals.

Evaluation:

1. Preparation of course materials (readings and assignments) and active participation in class discussions (25%)
2. Development of a personal project presented in three formats:
   • Oral presentation (25%)
   • Simulated application to an arts or research funding body (25%)
   • Creative outcome (25%)

FALL 2026

MUPG 678 (001) Seminar in Performance Topics 2 鈥� CRN 5043 | Professor John Hollenbeck

Polyrhythm Practice

Polyrhythm鈥攖he simultaneous layering of multiple rhythmic patterns or pulses鈥攊s a central feature of both traditional and contemporary music. While it may seem abstract or difficult at first, polyrhythm is something we experience daily: your heartbeat, your breath, and your walking pace each follow distinct rhythms, yet you coordinate them effortlessly.

Polyrhythms are becoming increasingly prevalent across a wide spectrum of 21st-century music, from jazz and contemporary classical to electronic and popular genres. As such, the ability to confidently navigate complex rhythmic structures is an essential skill for today鈥檚 musicians.

Mastering polyrhythms can be a significant challenge and there are not a lot of opportunities or studies centered on this important practice. Many musicians are familiar with basic examples such as 3:2, which becomes intuitive over time through repeated exposure. This course is designed to expand that intuitive understanding across a broader range of polyrhythms鈥攆rom 2 to 9鈥攂y developing a structured and practical approach to internalizing them.

This is a group-based practice course focused on hands-on rhythmic training. Through repetition, conscious engagement, and subdivision-based exercises, students will gradually build fluency with a variety of polyrhythmic patterns.

If you play piano or drums, please contact Prof. John Hollenbeck in advance to confirm instrument availability.(Graduate students will have priority) Guitarists may need to provide their own amplifier.

This graduate seminar is open to all students (including UG) in any degree program and on any instrument, this course provides a focused and immersive experience in polyrhythms 鈥攁n essential toolset for the modern musician.

FALL 2026

MUPG 691 (001) Vocal Ornamentation 鈥� CRN 5046 | Professor Tracy Smith Bessette

Baroque Vocal Ornamentation

This seminar introduces the major treatises of the Baroque era (1600-1750) with emphasis on the practical application of vocal ornamentation for the modern performer. Through the study and discussion of both primary and secondary sources, students will observe and compare national styles. Evaluation will be based on active class discussions, one oral presentation in class and the performance of five pieces with ornamentation appropriate to the national style and time period of the work. One piece from each of the following will be presented: Italian Monody, German Baroque Recitative, English Baroque song or aria, French Baroque Aria or Air de cour, and Handel Opera Seria (da capo aria).

WINTER 2027

MUCO 635 Seminar in Composition 鈥� CRN 3634听| TBA

Composing Interactive Music: From Video Games to Art Installations

Designed for composers looking to expand their practice into dynamic and non-linear environments, this seminar investigates the theoretical and practical workflows of interactive music. Through the lens of diverse mediums鈥攕uch as video games, immersive art installations, music mapping, interactive film, and live performance鈥攚e will dissect how music adapts to real-time input.

Weekly sessions will balance the analysis and demonstration of existing works with hands-on experimentation in behavioral design and adaptive system tools. For their final project, students will conceive, design, and realize an interactive audio piece.

WINTER 2027

MUGT 613 (001) Seminar 鈥� Music Education 鈥� CRN 3640 | Professor Isabelle Cossette

Understanding the Performing Body

Through the lens of a whole-person approach, this seminar explores how the body works in (un)optimal and (un)healthy ways for music playing. Students will learn about the role and function of some of the main anatomical bodily systems and the associated physiological concepts relevant to music making. The main goal is to develop awareness and critical thinking skills so students may evaluate common beliefs and integrate scholarly literature, so students are better equipped to develop a sustainable, healthy music career.

Based on the students鈥� main interests, topics might include the nervous, musculoskeletal, cardiorespiratory, endocrine and auditory systems as well as nutrition, stress response, energy expenditure and some of the most common pathologies. Class activities will vary between lectures, peer-feedback sessions, students鈥� presentations and discussions, and hands-on work sessions.

Evaluation will be based on class preparation through readings and online discussions, written reflections, presentation(s), and scaffolded research steps in preparation for an evidence-based final blog project associated with the student鈥檚 interests and class content.

WINTER 2027

MUHL 680 (001) Seminar in Musicology - CRN 3708 | Professor David Brackett

Musical Genres in Theory and Practice

This seminar will provide an introduction to genre-related studies of music by presenting representative writings on music in conjunction with background readings from other disciplines. These readings will address questions both of genre as well as larger issues about the function of categories in human activity. he seminar may also serve as an introduction to current trends in the fields of popular music studies, communications/media studies, and interdisciplinary musicology. Coursework will consist of weekly reading/listening, participation in class discussions, weekly reading-response papers, a final paper and a 20-30 min. presentation based on this paper.

WINTER 2027

MUHL 682 (001) Seminar in Musicology 鈥� CRN 3709 | Professor Lloyd Whitesell

Musical Utopias

Sometimes it鈥檚 OK to have your head in the clouds and dream of a better existence. In this seminar we will consider utopian thought as expressed in music. Archetypes to be explored include romantic idylls, pastoral Edens, euphoric states, and speculative new ways of being, in genres ranging from symphonies and Lieder to film scores, Afrofuturist pop, and experimental sound art. How have musicians tried to capture the utopian imagination? Are they seeking to escape or transform reality? Approaches may cover readings from philosophy (music鈥檚 metaphysical powers), ecocriticism (our relation to the natural world), and ethnography of specific communities (e.g., queer world-making in dance club culture). Evaluation will be based on class participation, occasional short assignments, and a final paper/presentation.

WINTER 2027

MUHL 685 (001) Seminar in Musicology 鈥� CRN 3710 | Professor Steven Huebner

Topics in French Music 1875-1925

The seminar is organized in three units. The first centers on ideological context and covers the historiographical and critical issues raised by Jann Pasler鈥檚 The Composer as Citizen. The second unit focusses on recent approaches to fin-de-si猫cle m茅lodie, with examples by Gounod, Chabrier, Debussy, Faur茅, and Ravel. The third unit examines French music with a classical orientation that looks back to pre-Beethovenian models and considers critical categories such as pastiche and parody in this work. Participants will present readings to their colleagues in class and complete a research topic on any aspect of French music that they choose.

WINTER 2027

MUMT 620 (001) Gestural Control of Sound Synthesis 鈥� CRN 6803 | Professor Marcelo Wanderley

This seminar examines the use of computers as part of novel digital musical instruments, including physical gestures and actions, design and evaluation of new interfaces for musical expression, and mapping strategies between gestures and sounds. Evaluation will be based on summaries of papers, student presentation, project proposal, and a project presentation.

WINTER 2027

MUMT 622 (001) Time-Frequency & Parameter Rep. of Sounds 鈥� CRN 4185 | Professor Philippe Depalle

In this seminar the current trends of research on time-frequency representation and parametric modelling and their use in the context of musical and audio applications will be discussed. More specifically, time-frequency distribution, wavelets, matching pursuit, and sparse time-frequency representation will be introduced; and their comparative merits will be discussed. In a second part the use of parametric modelling as the analysis part of current sound synthesis techniques will be presented. Evaluation is based on in-class research literature presentations (48%), and on a final project (40% for the project), and 12% for its presentation.

WINTER 2027

MUSR 692 (001) Music Production Workshop 鈥� CRN 4270 | Professor Martha DeFrancisco

A Graduate Seminar for Performance and Sound Recording Students

The seminar focuses on the collaborative interaction between performing and recording partners during music recordings. It explores aesthetical questions of performance and recording, and it examines music performance issues in connection with the use of changing technological tools for recording and music production. Discussions are lead regarding the historical development of music production, and an updated analysis of current developments in the recording industry is provided.

The production sessions under the supervision of an expert music producer, realized as part of the seminar, help students acquire insight in the musical, technical and logistical processes that characterize professional music productions, giving both sides suitable tools to enhance their potential as recording artists in the 21^st century.

Evaluation will be based on in-class participation and presentations, individual work on the music productions as well as a final research paper or a completed Master of an own production project with a written description/analysis.

WINTER 2027

MUTH 656 (001) Seminar in Music Theory 鈥� CRN 4290 | TBA

Seminar description to follow.

WINTER 2027

MUTH 658 (001) History of Music Theory 1 鈥� CRN 4291 | Professor Peter Schubert

Scales and Modes from Plato to Playford

This course will focus on historical writings and modern scholarship about musical scales and modes from Greek Antiquity to the end of the seventeenth century. Topics include note nomenclature; tetrachords; the GPS; the LPS; genera, tuning; ratios; Aristoxenians v. Pythagoreans; just tuning; temperaments; solmization; harmoniai; tonoi; affinities; modes; church keys. A substantial portion of the course will focus on al-Farabi鈥檚 Great Book of Music newly translated by Prof. Alison Laywine. Readings will average ca. 90 pp. per week, and will include both primary and secondary sources. Evaluation is based on one short reading report (ca. 2鈥�3 pp) distributed to the class (15%); 2 quizzes on terms and concepts @ 20% each (40%); and a final paper, ca. 10 pp., (45%).

WINTER 2027

MUPP 690 (001) Performance Practice Seminar 鈥� CRN 4238 | Professor Elizaveta Miller

Les go没ts r茅unis

Historically informed approach to chamber music repertoire from the Baroque period in Italy, France and Germany, with an emphasis on the trio sonata.

Students will analyse, discuss, and perform different works for ensemble, and eventually try their hand at composing in a historically informed manner.

The seminar has an important performance component. This seminar is recommended for students of keyboard instruments, strings, flute, recorder, and oboe from the Modern and Early Music areas.

WINTER 2027

MUPP 691 (001) Performance Practice Seminar 鈥� CRN 4239 | Professor Stefano Algieri

The Great Singers

This seminar will focus on the great singers of the late-nineteenth century until present day.

With a working knowledge of Vocal Technique, participants will have an opportunity to independently research the distinguished singers鈥� lineage of their choosing, those who predated recordings until present day. Vocal Timbre, Vocal Treatises, Languages, and the Periods鈥� Styles and Conventions are among the points of reference.

Grading for this seminar will be based upon the quality of the students鈥� in-class research presentations; class-participation, including engagement with the in-class research presentations of fellow students, is important. With authorship credit given to each presenter, all in-class presentations will be emailed to Prof. Algieri and fellow students, either just before the in-class presentations or shortly thereafter. For these reasons, class-attendance is essential.

WINTER 2027

MUPP 692 (001) Performance Practice Seminar 鈥� CRN 4240 | Professor Isabelle Demers

J.S. Bach

Max Reger said that Bach was 鈥渢he Alpha and Omega of all music.鈥� This seminar will discuss the life and work of the great Leipzig cantor, with a special focus on performance practice and the various performing traditions associated with Bach, from the earliest recordings to modern-day renditions.

Grading will be based on class discussions, short assignments, as well as on a final class presentation and performance.

WINTER 2027

MUPP 693 (001) Performance Practice Seminar 鈥� CRN 4241 | Professor Fabrice Marandola

Experiments in New Music

This performance-based seminar explores a range of compositional approaches developed during the 20th and 21st centuries, including (but not limited to) chance composition, graphic notation, game-based works, open orchestration, minimalism, microtonality and musical theatre. Topics and works will include composers such as Andriessen, Brown, Cage, Cardew, Kagel, Kurt谩g, Lockwood, Oliveiros, Monk, Riley, Schafer, Stockhausen, Var猫se, Wolff, Zorn.

Students will discover and experiment different types of compositional approaches developed during the past 100 years and learn how to prepare and perform new pieces using unfamiliar compositional languages. Class sessions will combine lectures, discussions and chamber ensemble rehearsals. Each participant will present a solo or small chamber work in the form of a short lecture-recital form and actively contribute to the preparation and discussion of the works studied in the seminar. The course will culminate in a final public performance modeled on a Scratch Orchestra, emphasizing collaboration, experimentation, and collective creativity. The specific repertoire will be determined after the add/drop period, based on class enrollment and students鈥� input.

Evaluation will be based on:

1. Preparation of course materials (readings, listening assignments, arrangements, and performance preparation), participation in class discussions, and contribution to the final performance (70%)
2. A short lecture-recital (30 minutes), accompanied by a written paper of 10鈥�15 pages (30%)
3. A short lecture-recital (30 minutes), accompanied by a written paper of 10鈥�15 pages (30%)

WINTER 2027

MUPP 694 (001) Performance Practice Seminar 鈥� CRN 4242 | Professor M茅lanie L茅onard

Artistic Leadership

This seminar explores foundational leadership principles within the context of artistic direction. Participants will examine the essential qualities and competencies of effective leaders, with particular attention to their application in the artistic and musical fields.

The course addresses the scope of responsibilities of an artistic director, including defining an artistic vision, building a concert season, designing programs that reflect the core values of an organization or a self鈥憀ed career, public speaking, working with a board of directors, cultivating community presence, and developing the tools necessary to be an efficient and positive leader.

The format combines lectures by the professor, presentations by guest speakers, in鈥慶lass discussions, and pedagogical activities. Students are evaluated on their participation, written assignments, and oral presentations.

WINTER 2027

MUPG 565 (001) Topics in Performance 鈥� CRN 4208 | Professor Liliana Araujo

Mastering Mental skills in music performance

This course explores the psychological and emotional aspects of musical performance, equipping students with the mental skills needed to perform with confidence and focus. Informed by performance psychology, you will build a toolkit of psychological strategies that can be used to build confidence, to manage emotional and physical states, to practice more efficiently, to improve concentration and focus, and prepare for auditions and performance experiences. Activities will include individual and group practice of psychological techniques, development of an individual mental training plan, reflection and peer feedback, problem-solving activities, interactive seminars, and independent study. You are encouraged to bring your instrument to class as appropriate, and to integrate mental skills training into your practice.

WINTER 2027

MUPG 590 (001) Vocal Styles and Conventions 鈥� CRN 4208 | TBA

This seminar emphasizes vocal performance practices through practical application: text, language, inflection, pronunciation and interpretation, considered with the individuality of each student鈥檚 voice and technical development. After examining historical treatises, students will discuss and present musical selections using modern performance standards while remaining true to the stylistic demands of each period.

WINTER 2027

MUPG 677 (088) Seminar in Performance Topics 1 鈥� CRN 4228 | Professor Jean-Michel Pilc

Improvisation in All Languages

The goal of this seminar is the acquisition of fluency in improvisation, in all musical idioms (classical, jazz, pop, world etc.) and on all instruments. More generally, it will address the subject of how to make music in a natural and idiomatic way, regardless of the style.

The process at work will be based on the way spoken language is learnt and mastered, and also rooted in my own experience discovering music, improvising, and learning jazz and other kinds of music through oral tradition. We will show that improvisation, often and wrongly seen as the difference between classical and jazz, is, on the contrary, the main bridge between all styles of music, and the essential ability to perceive and express music organically, naturally and spontaneously, and to communicate musical ideas instantaneously when playing the instrument - the latter being, in the spoken language analogy, the musician鈥檚 鈥渟peech organ.鈥�

We will explore the specificities of each musical idiom 鈥� its own 鈥渨ords鈥�, rhythms, accents etc. 鈥� and will learn how to develop practicing methods and a personal approach by deep listening, imitation, playing along, manipulation, trial and error, self-editing, assimilation and evolution through time. "Fluency tests" will be used and experimented with, as well as exercises devised to become better at these tests. Hence we will develop the ability to fully experience the musical act and speak the language of music freely and meaningfully at the instrument, while still being creative away from it.

Many other topics will be covered, such as ear training and tuning, the 3 鈥渂ookends鈥� of music (rhythm, melody, and bass), feeling, tempo, swing and groove, phrasing and articulation, internalization, and using the multitasking ability of the human brain in order to become a successful improviser / instant composer / storyteller. We will draw inspiration from many different styles of music, and the students will be exposed to a wide selection of musical pieces (from recordings and also from live performances by teacher and students).

Taking example on masters such as Mozart or Charlie Parker, we will realize that improviser, composer, interpreter and performer are actually different sides of the same entity; and also, transcending the clich茅 of 鈥渃lassical player who can鈥檛 play jazz鈥� (or vice versa), we will discover that the many languages of music can be understood and spoken by all those who are willing to embrace their authenticity and their richness.

This class, like any language learning experience, will require the active participation of each student, as a listener, performer, and practitioner. Evaluation will be based on the participation, progress, motivation and creative energy of each student during the seminar, as well as on presentations and special projects by students, which will be an essential component of the seminar. 2 assessments will be made (mid-term and end of term).

WINTER 2027

MUPG 677 (390) Seminar in Performance Topics 1 鈥� CRN 4230 | Professor Darrell Green

Introduction To The Drum Set As Applied To Jazz Drumming

The history of Jazz from the perspective of the drums, exploring the evolution of jazz drumming, the intersection of culture and community, and how the drum set has shaped Jazz and popular music from the early 1900s to the present. This exploration will be through literature, audio/video recordings, and interviews. Upon completion of this course, the student will understand the origin of jazz drumming, be able to distinguish between the varying rhythmic styles of drumming throughout the 19th century and know their importance to the evolution of the music. We will identify significant historical figures in jazz drum history and their contributions. Course requirements include assigned readings, listening, analysis, class discussions, a midterm exam, and a final exam.