B.A. Music
Concordia University, Nebraska’s music program exists to prepare students to glorify God through the study, performance and teaching of music in the church and the world.
The Bachelor of Arts in Music serves students who seek a broad program of general education rather than intense specialization in their undergraduate years. Students in this program choose a concentration in one of the following:
- Church music
- Composition
- Conducting
- General studies
- Performance
When you major in music at Concordia, you will:
- Perform music (lots of it!).
- Compose music (by creating music, you learn it from the inside out, so to speak).
- Analyze music (you learn music much faster if you understand what makes it tick).
- Learn how music is a part of history, culture and religion.
Make great music and lifelong friendships!
Program Highlights
Why Study music at Concordia?
- Experienced faculty. We are performers, conductors, clinicians, authors and composers. Nearly all faculty members have a master’s degree, and many have doctorates.
- Skilled teachers. Every full-time music professor has received at least one teaching award.
- Outstanding ensembles. Three of our ensembles tour nationally, and there are lots of opportunities to perform.
- Nurturing environment. Our professors don’t just teach students; they mentor them. There is a lot to learn in four years, but you’ll do it in a supportive environment with lots of encouragement from your professors and other students.
Learn more about Concordia Nebraska's music program
MEET OUR EXPERT FACULTY
As experts in music, our faculty and instructors bring years of experience to the classroom.
Meet our students
Being part of the music program at Concordia is like finding my second home. All the students and professors are so welcoming and encouraging, and they want to make sure you as an individual improve and grow in both your personal skills and your ensemble skills. It truly is a wonderful program to be a part of.
Accreditation
Concordia University, Nebraska is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, a regional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Concordia University, Nebraska is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music.
Degree Goals
A music graduate from Concordia University, Nebraska will be able to:
- Perform music.
- Create music.
- Analyze music.
- Understand music in its historical, cultural and religious context.
Music Minors
- Church Music
- Music
Career Outcomes
Performer
- Perform for audiences as a solo performer or as part of an ensemble
- Market your music through social media, websites and other mediums
Composer
- Create new instrumental and/or vocal compositions
- Sell your music to publishers or on commission, or market it yourself
Conductor
- Lead and direct orchestras, choirs or other musical groups
- Interpret and bring musical scores to life through rehearsals and performances
Music Teacher
- Teach general classroom music in a school
- Direct ensembles and teach instrumental and vocal music lessions
FAQs
Students at Concordia can perform in ensembles, regardless of major. It is possible to join both the top instrumental ensemble and the top vocal ensemble, because they rehearse at different times of day and tour at different times of the year. Severla of our ensembles tour regionally, nationally and internationally.
Concordia's main performance venue is the Borland Center for Music and Theatre's Recital Hall, a beautiful space that contains a Casavant pipe organ and a 9-ft. Steinway grand piano.
The innovative Borland Center for Music and Theatre at Concordia University, Nebraska is home to enhanced practice rooms, performance spaces and acoustics to inspire your creativity, refine your musical abilities and prepare you to create music that can transform lives. The Borland Center features:
- A recital hall containing a 3-manual, 38-rank Casavant organ and a Steinway Model D 9-foot concert grand piano
- 3 ensemble rehearsal rooms
- 11 teaching studios
- 22 practice rooms
- A percussion studio
- A piano lab
- A black box theater
- A soundproof recording studio
Organ students also have access to the 3-manual, 47-rank organ by Orgelbau Kuhn of Männedorf (Switzerland) in Weller Chapel and to the 3-manual, 50-rank Schlicker organ at St. John Lutheran Church, across the street from Concordia.
Each year, in addition to other financial aid such as academic scholarships, grants and loans, Concordia University, Nebraska awards talent-based scholarships in voice, piano, organ, brass, woodwinds, percussion, strings and guitar.
A limited number of full-tuition scholarships are awarded every year to students intending to major in music and who demonstrate outstanding musical skill and potential. There are also scholarships, in variable amounts, awarded every year to music majors and to other students who intend to participate in music. These scholarships are available to music majors as well as non-music majors.
Learn more about the music scholarships available.
More than you might expect. The most obvious choices are in the field of music: performing, composing, conducting, teaching, arts management, music production, broadcasting, music publishing, music librarianship and many others. But the skills learned as a music major are also readily transferable to other fields: the daily discipline of practicing, a striving for perfection of expression, the detailed analytical skill needed both to interpret music and to learn it efficiently, the organization required to cram many things into one’s day, the communication skills needed to rehearse music with others and the sense of wonder at a performance well done, to name a few. Medical schools often love music majors because they know these students have succeeded at something hard and have enough self-discipline and drive to follow through when they encounter difficulties.
The B.A. in music works well with a second major or a minor outside music. Popular combinations include music and a science field, music and history, music and English, or music and a preprofessional area, such as pre-seminary or pre-deaconess.
The B.Mus. is a professional music degree and requires more courses in music (including church music) than the B.A. The B.Mus. leads to certification as a director of parish music in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod; the B.A. does not. The B.A. is often selected by students pursuing a second major outside music or who plan to attend seminary to become a pastor or deaconess (though some of these do choose the B.Mus.).
Related Programs
Church Music
A degree in church music from Concordia University, Nebraska prepares you to direct a comprehensive music program in a church. The degree also leads to rostered status in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod as a director of parish music for individuals who are members of an LCMS congregation.
Music Education/Vocal Music Education
A degree in music education from Concordia University, Nebraska prepares you to teach vocal and instrumental music to students in Lutheran, Christian, private or public schools. This degree leads to a teaching endorsement (PK–12) in the state of Nebraska.
Secondary Education
With a degree in secondary education from Concordia University, Nebraska, you will be equipped to teach grades 7-12, encouraging intellectual and emotional growth at a critical time in the lives of your students. You’ll engage in rich coursework, collaborate with faculty and gain invaluable experience first shadowing a professional teacher and then teaching in your own high school classroom.
1 Recent graduates attending graduate school or employed within six months of graduation.
2Average Class Size for Representative Subject Most Aligned with Major, Over Last 5 Years.