The Senior Program

The Senior Program is a culminating experience in which senior music majors integrate and build on their first three years of study through a one-semester, in-depth study of a topic with a faculty advisor. The Honors Senior Project, open by invitation only, is a two-semester creative and intellectual effort carried out under the close supervision of at least one faculty member. These honors projects may be either performance- or research-based.

(Past topics have included analysis of Beethoven piano sonatas, editing Renaissance manuscripts, orchestration projects, and a study of jazz drumming styles.) More than one student may work within the same general topic. In addition to intensive work with the faculty member leading the topic, all students in Mus 452 will meet as a group with members of the department regularly throughout the semester.

Recent projects in music include:

• Interface: A Work for Vibraphone and Orchestra
• A Handful of Joy
• Rock Voices USA: Accessibility and Post-Colonialism in an Amateur Rock Choir
• A Melody for the Monsters, A Novel in Sound
• Ethel Smyth: Her Life and Work
• Study in Electric Grooves
• A paper on the notion of fate in symphonic music of the 19th century
• Music composed for Jazz Ensemble
• Exploring the Hardware Limitations of 8 Bit Video Games through MIDI Composition and Sound Design in Logic Pro
• Composition, Music for a production of Too Close to the Sun, a play by Kullen Burnet
• Sounds of Political Ideologies: A Comparative Study of National Anthems from East and Southeast Asia