Studying Music at Kenyon
Learning how to listen to and study music can expand and enrich students’ interior lives, making music individually enhances creativity, and making music together touches the communal aspects of life. Music classes, including ethnomusicology, musicology, music theory and applied study, emphasize the interconnectedness of listening, creativity and critical thinking by which students become articulate practitioners of the musical arts.
Featured Courses
Union of Music and Dance
Music and dance are inexorably linked. This interdisciplinary class co-taught by professors of dance and of music explores the historical intersections of both art forms. Students will learn how composers and choreographers dialogue with each other in works ranging from Lully and Petipa to Philip Glass and Mark Morris.
Music, Human Rights and Cultural Rights
What roles does music play in notions of human rights? Who owns music? Who has the right to transform it? Using case studies from a variety of music cultures, we will explore topics such as music censorship, music and warfare, music and disability, and music and AIDS awareness, among others.
Music and Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century
Entrepreneurship lies at the heart of the liberal arts. In music, entrepreneurial thinking means answering the question: how do we as musicians bring audiences in? Incorporating class visits from Kenyon alumni finding success in the field, you’ll identify and develop skills vital for a career in the music industry.
Asian Music Ensemble
MUSC 485: Asian Music Ensemble Kenyon is one of few colleges to offer Sundanese gamelan degung, a traditional Indonesian ensemble incorporating various instruments. You’ll be introduced to basic and advanced instrumental techniques and receive coaching in musicianship and ensemble skills, culminating in public performance. No musical experience required!
Kenyon awards scholarships of $15,000 per year, renewable every year, for exemplary ability in music.
Faculty Spotlight
"Goong: Sound Through Fire," a new documentary by Professor of Music and Anthropology Maria Mendonça that follows the creation of a gong for Kenyon’s Indonesian gamelan ensemble, was selected for the NAFA International Ethnographic Film Festival and the Ierapetra International Documentary Film Festival where it received the Michel Foucre Award for Best Direction.
Ready to play?
With numerous ensembles to choose from and superb music facilities to perfect their craft, Kenyon music students don’t miss a beat.
Storer Hall
Kenyon College
Gambier, Ohio 43022