Music

The Wesleyan University Music Department provides a unique and pioneering environment for the study, performance, and composition of music that engages the breadth and diversity of the world's musics and technologies. As a fundamental part of one of the nation's leading liberal arts institutions, the department has enjoyed an international reputation for innovation and excellence, attracting students from around the globe since the inception of its visionary World Music Program six decades ago.

We are especially pleased to welcome our five new full-time Assistant Professors: Alcee Chriss (University Organist); John Dankwa (African Music and Ethnomusicology); Saida Daukeyeva (Central Asian Music and Ethnomusicology); Darius Jones (Improvisation and Composition); and James Praznik (Technical Director). They join our thirteen other full-time faculty: Jane Alden (Musicology), B. Balasubrahmaniyan (South Indian Music), Neely Bruce (Theory, Composition), Eric Charry (Ethnomusicology), Roger Mathew Grant (Theory), I. Harjito (Javanese Gamelan), Jay Hoggard (African American Music), Ron Kuivila (Composition), Paula Matthusen (Composition), David Nelson (South Indian Music), Nadya Potemkina (Orchestra and Choir Conductor), Sumarsam (Ethnomusicology, Javanese Gamelan), Su Zheng (Ethnomusicology).

The arts are represented by the Music, Art and Art History, Dance, Theater, and College of Film and the Moving Image. The Center for the Arts (CFA) provides many venues for performances, and our campus as a whole offers a rich and creative interdisciplinary environment. Our music festivals and concerts have featured Max Roach, Akua Dixon, David Murray, Odetta, Pete Seeger, Kronos Quartet, Bang on a Can All-Stars, David Krakauer and Klezmer Madness, the Afro-Cuban All-Stars, Midori, Shanghai Quartet, Tokyo String Quartet, Wu Man, Zakir Hussain, Toumani Diabate, Hugh Masekela, and Boukman Eksperyans.     

The World Instrument Collection, World Music Archives, and Music Library (Scores and Recordings) provide unique resources for the study of music from a global perspective. Music and media technology facilities include several recording and experimental music studios, the Digital Design Commons, and the David Tudor Collection of electronic musical instruments and instrumentation.