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About the Major

Hamilton’s music concentration is very flexible and the music community vibrant, with abundant opportunities for students to create and perform. In addition to courses in music theory and history, private lessons, and various ensembles, the curriculum includes courses in world music, music and film, folk and country music, opera, the history of jazz, jazz arranging, composition, conducting, and music technology. Students can explore the state-of-the-art digital music studio, play in our Javanese gamelan, or hear legendary musicians share their experiences in our Fillius Jazz Archive.

Students Will Learn To:

  • Demonstrate active listening skills from among a wide variety of musical experiences and practices
  • Make links between various musical styles and their historical and cultural contexts
  • Demonstrate proficiency in various theories of music
  • Display skills in making music through performance, composition, recording, or production

A Sampling of Courses

Doc Woods conducting

Conducting

The elements of conducting, including baton technique, aural perception, rehearsal techniques and score study (both instrumental and choral).

Explore these select courses:

A study of how to listen to music and get the most out of it. Consideration of approaches to listening to Western art music, film music, jazz, popular music, and selected gamelan and African musics. Focus on strategies of active listening and learning a vocabulary for discussing musical perceptions in various kinds of music. Does not include study of musical notation.

The study of music through lessons in voice, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, horn, trumpet, trombone, euphonium, tuba, piano, organ, harp, percussion, classical guitar, jazz/contemporary guitar, folk guitar, violin, viola, cello, and contrabass. Hour tutorial for one-half credit. Based on evaluation of Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. A fee is charged.

This course explores the nature of silence in literature and music as a way to understand how sound, or lack thereof, came to shape modern Europe. We will discuss the history of silence as a philosophical concept, as a response to crisis, alienation and negation, gendered muteness, as well as the aesthetics of dissonance. Literary and musical selections include Boethius, Dante, Petrarch, Gaspara Stampa, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Robert Musil, Arnold Schoenberg, Theodor Adorno, Eugenio Montale, Anna Banti, Alda Merini,  Luigi Nono, Ingeborg Bachmann, George Steiner. 

The theoretical designs used in combo, big band and third-stream writing. Coverage of jazz scales, chords, voicings, ranges and tonal properties. Students are expected to compose and copy the parts to three compositions, one of which will be read and recorded.

Intensive study of music theory topics, analytical techniques, and compositional approaches applied to common musical forms and styles from different traditions, including Western classical music, popular, jazz, film, theater, and selected world music. Selected repertoire will emphasize 20th- and 21st-century practices.

Meet Our Faculty

Heather Buchman

Chair and Professor of Music, Associate Chair of Dance and Movement Studies

hbuchman@hamilton.edu

orchestral repertoire and conducting; ballet and opera conducting; trombone and low brass; solo performance; 20th- and 21st-century music

Alex Bádue

Assistant Professor of Music

abadue@hamilton.edu

musical theater, popular music, Latin American music, 20th- and 21st-century music, and popular-classical crossovers

Charlotte Botha

Assistant Professor of Music

cbotha@hamilton.edu

Choral repertoire and conducting; phonetic transcription of Afrikaans choral music; group vocal technique; choregie and interdisciplinary ensemble performance; text-painting in a cappella music; children’s choir composition; equity, diversity and inclusion in the choral literature canon

Ryan Carter

Associate Professor of Music

rccarter@hamilton.edu

acoustic and electro-acoustic composition; post-tonal analysis; audio programming; algorithmic composition; mobile platform development of audio applications

Lydia Hamessley

Eugene M. Tobin Distinguished Professor of Music

lhamessl@hamilton.edu

Dolly Parton; American folk and traditional musics; banjo, music and film; medieval and renaissance music; music and gender

Victoria Nieto

Visiting Assistant Professor of Music

vnietobe@hamilton.edu

Latin American choral music Community choirs Venezuelan choral music

Monk Rowe

Joe Williams Director of the Fillius Jazz Archive and Lecturer in Music (Saxophone)

mrowe@hamilton.edu

jazz history, music composition

Michael Woods

Margaret Bundy Scott Professor of Music

mwoods@hamilton.edu

jazz, composition, inspiring student growth, and revealing music's secrets

Rick Balestra

Lecturer in Music (Jazz Guitar)

rbalestr@hamilton.edu

jazz guitar

Suzanne Beevers

Lecturer in Music (Violoncello)

sbeevers@hamilton.edu

violoncello

Stephen Best

Lecturer in Music (Keyboard and Organ; Keyboard Harmony)

sbest@hamilton.edu

keyboard and organ; keyboard harmony

flute

Michael Cirmo

Lecturer in Music (Percussion)

mcirmo@hamilton.edu

percussion

Adam Dudding

Lecturer in Music (Folk Guitar)

adudding@hamilton.edu

folk guitar

Jon Garland

Lecturer in Music (Horn)

jgarland@hamilton.edu

voice

Marshall Henry

Lecturer in Music (bass)

mhenry@hamilton.edu

bass

Jessica King

Lecturer in Music (Bassoon)

jmking@hamilton.edu

Bassoon

Allan Kolsky

Lecturer in Music (Clarinet)

akolsky@hamilton.edu

clarinet

oboe

Tom McGrath

Lecturer in Music (Percussion)

tmcgrath@hamilton.edu

Ken Meyer

Lecturer in Music (Guitar)

krmeyer@hamilton.edu

classical guitar, fingerstyle guitar, solo and chamber music performance, guitar pedagogy, 20th-21st century music

Rick Montalbano

Lecturer in Music (Jazz Piano)

rmontalb@hamilton.edu

jazz piano

piano

voice

Colleen Roberts Pellman

Lecturer in Music (Piano), Student Pianist Coach

cpellman@hamilton.edu

piano

John Raschella

Lecturer in Music (Trumpet)

jraschel@hamilton.edu

trumpet

Sar-Shalom Strong

Lecturer in Music (Piano) and Coordinator of Staff Pianists

sstrong@hamilton.edu

piano

Tina Toglia

Lecturer in Music (Piano)

ttoglia@gmail.com

piano

Ubaldo Valli

Lecturer in Music (violin and viola)

uvalli@hamilton.edu

violin and viola

Sharon West

Lecturer in Music (Voice)

skwest@hamilton.edu

voice

harp

Explore Hamilton Stories

Band Club

Band Club: Where Everyone Has a Voice

Applause rumbled as the Tolles Pavilion shook. My vision readjusted past the blazing bright lights as I scanned the crowd. Joyful eyes and smiles. Raised arms and cheers. I don’t remember breathing in those moments, but I remember what I felt. I was in a state of pure wonderment as I fixed the microphone back to the stand.

Heather Buchman conducting Symphoria 2022

Buchman Conducts World Premiere of Marion Bauer's Symphony No. 1

Heather Buchman is the Carolyn C. and David M. Ellis ’38 Distinguished Professor of Music and director of the Hamilton College Orchestra and the Chamber Music program. But it was through her other role — guest conductor for Symphoria, Syracuse’s professional orchestra — that she received a recent distinction.

Adam Dudding album cover Ain't All About You

Dudding Releases Double Album

Lecturer in Music Adam Dudding recently released a rock ’n’ roll double album featuring 22 of his songs. Ain’t All About You is available online now.

Careers After Hamilton

Hamilton graduates who concentrated in music are pursuing careers in a variety of fields, including:

  • Sound Design, WHYY-FM, Philadelphia
  • Director of Finance, American Composers Forum
  • Professor of Music and Music Technology, California State University San Marcos
  • Conductor/Artistic Director, Indianapolis Opera
  • Pediatric Dentist
  • Violinist, American Ballet Theatre
  • Senior Manager Digital Products, Los Angeles Times
  • Executive Director, New Hampshire Humanities Council
  • Assistant Professor of Music-Voice, Crane School of Music
  • Senior Vice President, Bank of America

Contact

Department Name

Music Department

Contact Name

Lydia Hamessley, Chair

Office Location
198 College Hill Road
Clinton, NY 13323

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