Celebrating 20 Years of Momentum

For generations, patrons, alumni, donors, students, faculty, staff, and friends have helped shape music at Michigan State University. As we celebrate 20 years as the MSU College of Music, we also honor more than 160 years of music as an integral part of the university experience.

Since becoming an independent college in 2007, the College of Music has expanded academic programs, strengthened its faculty, enhanced its facilities, and created new opportunities for students to grow as artists, scholars, educators, and leaders. This momentum has positioned the College to innovate, respond to the evolving needs of the music profession, and prepare graduates for meaningful lives in music.

Throughout this anniversary year, we celebrate the people, partnerships, and shared commitment that have shaped the College’s success while looking ahead to a future defined by continued innovation, artistic excellence, and community impact.

20 Years as a College. Generations of Musical Excellence.

Music for Today’s World

Since the College of Music designation in 2007, greater independence allowed the evolution of programs and curriculum. Music Theory and Musicology, for example, have innovated their curriculums by moving beyond the Western Canon and expanding to include new voices from the history of music. This inclusion broadens perspectives and prepares graduates for expansive career opportunities.

At the same time, the College of Music has fostered tremendous growth in career readiness. Our Running Start program includes one-on-one counseling, paid internships, and myriad opportunities for growth and preparation through workshops and master classes with musicians leading successful portfolio careers. Strong partnerships with organizations like the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, for example, give students the chance to explore where they want to take their careers and give them the tools to get there.

Through this type of dedicated mentoring combined with exceptional performance opportunities and a robust calendar of concerts, students develop entrepreneurial thinking, engage with emerging technologies, and participate in diverse and multi-genre musical experiences. A major emphasis that has evolved over the past 20 years is the focus on musician health and wellness. Through connections with experts and resources brought directly to students in the college, mental health, hearing testing, and musculoskeletal health are built into the daily lives of music students.

Reach and Community Impact

Over the past two decades, the MSU College of Music has broadened its impact beyond campus through expanded outreach, partnerships, and scholarly activity. Creative endeavors abound within our student body and faculty, and at the MSU Community Music Schools in East Lansing and Detroit, music education flourishes in communities across the region. The schools also provide valuable internship experiences for MSU students. Through service, research, and creative activity, the College contributes to the cultural vitality locally, nationally, and internationally.

Momentum Toward the Future

Over the past 20 years, Jazz Studies has become one of the leading collegiate jazz programs in the nation. In Music Education, the College of Music has become a major resource for expertise in early childhood music education and innovative thinking in inclusion and neurodiversity topics in music classrooms. Composition faculty success – including high-level premieres around the world and several technology innovations – has led to a robust and successful student body that receives excellent mentoring. These are but a few of the areas providing momentum.

One specific example is the installation in 2026 of a new array of ambisonic speakers in Eichler Hall. Featuring a spatial audio sound system that is the largest in the United States, it has 146 Genelec speakers and high-tech algorithms that create a 360-degree listening sphere. It is a space for immersive sound experiences and a multidisciplinary research tool for exploring advances in acoustics, sonic ecology, health and wellness, manufacturing and occupational safety training, and more. It is a prime example of opportunities realized with the designation as a college and momentum toward the future that is deeply felt within our walls.

The 20th anniversary of Music’s designation as a college aligns with a clear vision for the future outlined in the university’s  “Uncommon Will. Far Better World.” campaign. This effort strengthens scholarships and fellowships to attract outstanding talent and reduce barriers to access. It invests in distinguished faculty and expands innovative programs that prepare students for evolving musical careers. Together, these initiatives will deepen the College’s impact, ensuring the upward trajectory of the past twenty years continues for generations to come.