Music department gets approval for doctoral program

By Dan Heuchert

"We're ready to break out the champagne," said department chair Judith Shatin, after getting the final go-ahead for the University to launch the state's first doctoral program in music. Word came on March 21, when the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia voted its approval.

"We're really excited that it happened at this particular moment," she said. "We have excellent faculty in place, and a number of students have been asking about this program. ... In addition to providing an opportunity for students in the commonwealth to remain in state, it enables faculty to work with a full range of students. It allows us to get in a lot more depth in our subject matter."

The program will begin admitting students in fall 2001, at least initially hoping to enroll about six per year. There will be two areas of emphasis: music composition, and critical and comparative studies in music. The program will feature collaborative relationships with other fields, including anthropology, psychology and engineering.

Over the past decade, the music department has grown beyond a traditional emphasis on the history and theory of Western art music. According to its formal proposal, new areas of exploration include "the cultural context of music, ranging from American to European to African and beyond; its theoretical basis; its creative and performance aspects; and its relation to new technologies."

"Instead of looking at Western music and everything else as something other, we're looking at all music in relation to the culture it is formed by," Shatin said.

The department also features the Virginia Center for Computer Music, established in 1987, which supports original work in composition and software development.

Last week's final approval came after eight years of planning and development, and two years of fund raising. The proposal required approvals from the department, the College of Arts & Science's curriculum committee and faculty, the Faculty Senate, the Board of Visitors and the State Council.