A wide variety of performance opportunities await our students each year, with orchestras, bands, choirs and opera, jazz nonets and combos, small ensembles, and more.
A variety of programs and initiatives operate continuously or annually to enhance learning experiences and help students prepare for their future in music.
The MSU College of Music supports and challenges students, values innovation and creativity, and helps every community member achieve professional excellence.
Students in the woodwind area of the MSU College of Music will find a full-time, performance-oriented faculty member devoted to each woodwind instrument. All faculty bring extensive experience as soloists and inform their instruction through an active performance schedule with national and international orchestras in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Toronto, and elsewhere.
Each studio has its own studio class that consists of a performance forum or discussion on various topics ranging from style and periods of music to reed making.
Diverse opportunities exist for chamber music and solo performance, as well as to participate in the college’s symphony and concert orchestras, and wind, symphony and concert bands. A wealth of guest artists visit campus for master classes, lectures and performances, in keeping with the area’s focus on mentorship and professional performance.
The woodwind area at MSU is led by a faculty of experienced and active soloists and performers who foster a dynamic, supportive environment focused on nurturing the highest level of artistry in each student.
Saxophonist Nicolas Prost and jazz pianist Sébastien Paindestre present “At the Border of Jazz,” blending classical precision and jazz spontaneity with works by Shorter, D’Rivera, Marsalis, and others, featuring pieces written exclusively for the duo.
The Covert Ensemble, featuring saxophonists Dave Camwell and Kateřina Pavlíková with pianist Tingting Yao, will perform three specially commissioned works and conclude with Pavlíková’s arrangement of Smetana’s “Dance of the Comedians.”
Music student earns endowed award as top graduating senior.