Thanks in part to its reputation as one of the top-rated music schools in the country, the number of students enrolling in the University of Oregon’s School of Music has nearly doubled in the past decade.
More than 1,000 students each year are now involved in the school’s music ensembles and classes. With practice rooms filling quickly, music school Dean Brad Foley may just have to practice his saxophone outdoors.
“The school has grown tremendously,” Foley said. “The feeling seems to be that we have maxed out this space. We have a number of faculty sharing offices this year, more than in the past.”
Foley says that finding new donors and raising capital for new music school facilities will continue to be a top priority this year.
Music performance senior Rose Whitmore said she is glad the school is working to expand.
“I applaud them. It’s high time,” she said. “People practice in the elevators, in the bathrooms and out on the lawn when it’s not raining.”
Despite some growing pains, the University has one of the leading music schools in the West. It is the only school in the state that has a full compliment of degree programs for undergraduate and graduate students, and one of only a handful of schools in the west that offers doctorate degrees.
The school also offers a very flexible music minor that is popular among students training to be teachers or for students who just love music. Non-majors can join music ensembles like choirs and jazz bands and take courses like History of Rock Music, History of Opera, European Folk Music, or Music of India.
“It is a wonderful music school,” Whitmore said. “It’s a friendly place. The professors are kind, and the students help each other out.”
Assistant Dean Robert Hurwitz attributes much of the school’s success to its strong tradition of helping students develop fundamental music skills. Teaching basic skills that allow students to match pitch, hear harmonies, feel rhythm patterns and perform in tune inspires Hurwitz, who is also a music theory professor.
“I take great pleasure out of those courses,” he said. “It’s almost like setting up calisthenics for a student — developing some musical muscles.”
While students at the School of Music are as varied as the notes they play or sing, Hurwitz said dedication is universal among them.
“The strongest of our students have a real passion for what they are doing. They can’t escape it,” he said. “They just have to be doing music all the time, and when they take a break from it, they go and talk to other people about music.”
The music school produces more than 150 concerts per year and sponsors several festivals, including the Grammy Award-winning Oregon Bach Festival, the Oregon Jazz Celebration and the Music Today Festival. It also hosts world-class visiting artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Yo-Yo Ma and Milton Babbitt.
The school’s concert venue, Beall Hall (pronounced “bell”), is considered by world-class musicians to be one of the finest concert halls in the nation. With 540 seats, it is big enough to mount productions by large ensembles, and according to Hurwitz, its extraordinary acoustics make it especially good for small groups like chamber ensembles, small choirs, string quartets or small orchestras.
“It underwent a number of major remodels, and it is now a gem,” he said. “It’s just visually stunning when you see it.”
Members of the University of Oregon’s School of Music, including Dean Foley on the saxophone, will be performing in the Fall Prelude Concert at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15, in Beall Hall.