MA in Music
Welcome to the Music Department
The Music Department offers courses of study leading to the degrees of Master of Arts, Doctor of Musical Arts, and Doctor of Philosophy.
All programs are designed with an emphasis upon music within its interdisciplinary, cultural, and intellectual context. Our programs combine the comprehensive study of music literature, historical styles, and performance practices with the most recent analytical methodologies.
In addition to more conventional degree programs (Musicology, Performance, Composition), the Department of Music offers a degree in Historical Performance Practices, supported by a large collection of period instruments—harpsichords, a fortepiano, chamber organ, and various string/wind instruments—and the longstanding, internationally recognized departmental journal, Performance Practice Review.
The department also sponsors a public concert series that includes weekly faculty, guest artist, and student recitals.
Chair: Robert Zappulla
251 E. 10th Street • Claremont, CA 91711 • 909-607-3289 • Fax 909-607-3694
Robert Zappulla
Professor of Music
Fred W. Smith and Grace Hobson Smith Chair in Music
Chair, Department of Music
Programs
Music Department Faculty
Robert Zappulla
Professor of Music
Fred W. Smith and Grace Hobson Smith Chair in Music
Chair, Department of Music
Research Interests
Harpsichord, Historical performance practices, Baroque music
Jenny Soonjin Kim
Assistant Professor of Practice
Research Interests
Piano, Fortepiano, 18th & 19th-century performance practices, 20th century atonal piano compositions, digital keyboard laboratory, the board of directors of Los Angeles Master Chorale: Education Committee and Gala Host Committee
Mark Howard
Visiting Assistant Professor
Research Interests
Jean-Philippe Rameau, French Baroque Music, the History of Music Theory, Piano Music, and Opera
Extended Faculty
William Alves
Harvey Mudd College
Research Interests
Traditional music around the world, Indonesian gamelan, computer music, abstract animation and visual music, and alternate tuning systems
Myriam Chancy
Scripps College
Research Interests
African diaspora with specialization in its literature
C. Joti Rockwell
Pomona College
Research Interests
Music theory and analysis, 20th-century American popular music, Mathematical models of music
Studio Faculty
Esther Back
Adjunct Professor of Music
Research Interests
Baroque/modern cello, Violoncello piccolo (5-string cello), Viola da gamba, French Baroque music, The music of Louis De Caix d’Hervelois, Cello ensemble music, Early ensemble music, Historical performance practices, Performance-practice issues in J.S. Bach’s cello suites, String pedagogy
Gayle Blankenburg
Adjunct Professor of Music
Research Interests
Piano, Modern music and chamber music of all eras
Helene Quintana
Adjunct Professor of Music
Research Interests
Vocal performance, Opera, Oratorio. Song literature and Diction. Voice instruction, Recital preparation. Harpsichord, Choral and orchestral conducting.
David Rentz
Adjunct Professor of Music
Research Interests
Conducting, Composition, Contemporary Music, World-Premiere Chamber Operas, Choral and orchestral performance practices
Carey Robertson
Adjunct Professor of Music
Research Interests
Organ
Nadia Shpachenko
Adjunct Professor of Music
Research Interests
Piano, Toy piano, Harpsichord, PercussionPiano, Contemporary music, Piano performance practices
Marek Szpakiewicz
Adjunct Professor of Music
Research Interests
Violoncello, Chamber music, Film orchestration
Jaap ter Linden
Adjunct Professor of Music
Research Interests
Baroque cello, Conducting, Gamba, Historical performance practices
Margaret Thornhill
Adjunct Professor of Music
Research Interests
Clarinet, Chamber Music
Camelia Voin
Adjunct Professor of Music
Research Interests
Vocal performance, Opera, Studio instruction (applied voice), Voice class, Song literature and diction, Music theory, and Music history
Edward Zeliff
Adjunct Professor of Music
Research Interests
Composition, Conducting, Piano
Current Graduate Students
Dissertations in Progress
Kenneth Cotich
PhD Candidate
Dissertation Title
MicroFest and the Guitar: A Legacy of Microtonal Guitar Works Premiered at MicroFest 1997-2018
Dissertation Committee
Nancy van Deusen (chair), Bill Alves, Robert Zappulla
Graduate Students
Ying Han
DMA Student
Research Interests
Piano Performance, Historical Instrument Performance, Chamber Music
Yuzhou Huang
DMA Student
Research Interests
Piano Performance of Classical and Jazz, Collaborative Piano, Piano Pedagogy
David Isaacs
DMA Student
Research Interests
Historical Performance Practices, vihuela da mano, Baroque guitar, J.S. Bach, historically informed arranging
Anderson Isiagu
PhD Student, Musicology
Research Interests
African Music Composition – Aspects of Incompatibility with Western Music Harmonic Principles
Yamille Jaievsky
PhD Student
Research Interests
Musicology, Topology, Negative Harmony, Historical Performance Practices.
Beth Mays
PhD Student
Research Interests
21st Century Music, Renaissance and Early Music, Handbell Music
Robert Normandie
PhD Student, Musicology
Research Interests
20th Century music, Claude Debussy, film music, composition, 19th Century guitar
Steven Ottományi
PhD Student, Musicology
Research Interests
Performance practice, chant performance practice, modal theory, music of the California missions, Mexican Renaissance and Classical era choral music
Syrina Robinson
MA Student
Research Interests
Baroque Flute, Historical Performance Practices, J.S. Bach, Romanticism
Michael Stanley
DMA Student
Research Interests
Music of Underrepresented Composers, Historical Performance Practice, History of the Orchestra, History of Conducting
Pin Fei Tang
PhD Student
Research Interests
Music
Rebecca Holman Williams
PhD Student, Musicology
Research Interests
Pedagogy, music pedagogy, transdisciplinary studies
Music Department Facilities
The Music Department facilities encompass a wide array of options for students, including practice spaces, pianos, and two double-manual harpsichords. In addition, students studying with Scripps and Pomona College faculty members have access to those schools’ practice facilites.
Music Department Videos
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