Our concentration in Community Music takes your love for music and teaches you how it relates to the world around you, inspiring you to become an engaged and educated musician. Students in this concentration develop personal and collaborative musical skills through creative participatory experiences. In addition to addressing multi-genre music experiences and methods, Community Music offers the opportunity for interdisciplinary study in collaboration with other faculties and departments.

This program is designed to give you a well-rounded musical education with the freedom to choose electives in a variety of subjects, both in music and outside of music.

As a Comprehensive music student, you’ll study your instrument or voice for all 4 years, with weekly 1-hour lessons each year, and participate in at least 1 instrumental or vocal ensemble each year. You will also complete 4 courses in music history and theory, and 2 courses in post-tonal analysis.

In addition to the core courses required for all BMus students, you will choose electives to create a program tailored to your specific musical interests. You can take as many as 6 credits (12 one-term courses) in subjects outside music, which means you can also complete a minor or option in the faculties of Arts, Science or Business.

In this program, you’ll be required to write works for various ensembles and participate in a contemporary music masterclass. In your second year, you must submit a portfolio of your work to the contemporary music faculty. Upon approval, you can enrol in third- and fourth-year composition courses. From second to fourth year, you’ll study one-on-one with faculty members, and in your final year, you’ll write an extended work as your graduation composition.

In this program, you’ll be required to write works for various ensembles and participate in a contemporary music masterclass. In your second year, you must submit a portfolio of your work to the contemporary music faculty and pass an improvisation audition. Upon approval, you can enrol in third- and fourth-year composition courses. From second to fourth year, you’ll study one-on-one with faculty members, but in your third and fourth years, your studio instruction is divided between a composition instructor and an improvisation instructor.

All composition/improvisation majors are required to regularly participate in improvisational ensemble performances and recitals, and during your fourth year you’ll give a full-length formal improvisational recital, in which you will include at least one of your original compositions.

If you wish to pursue a career in teaching music at the elementary or secondary level, our Music Education program combines the core music credits of the BMus program with instruction in conducting, instrumental and choral techniques, instruction in the methods, and materials and philosophy of music education. It also leaves room for you to study a second teaching subject.

Music Education courses are taught by distinguished and experienced music specialists and in-school educators. You’ll have opportunities to gain in-school experience through volunteering in local schools. Laurier has a student chapter of the Ontario Music Educators’ Association (OMEA) that participates in the annual OMEA conference, where you can network and learn from current music educators.

Emphasizing listening to and writing about music, this research-oriented program will acquaint you with many different styles of music through the study of selected repertoire from all periods of music history.

You’ll take at least 8 courses in music history, study a foreign language, and in your final year write a major research paper. The goal of this program is to prepare you for graduate work in musicology or library science, or careers that demand a broad knowledge of music and the skills to write about it.

As a student in the Music Theory program, you’ll study the various analytical and compositional procedures of music. You will take music theory courses every year, and at least 1 composition course. Because of the connections between theory and performance, and the understanding of music gained by performing, theory majors also do practical study every year.

Focusing on musical design of tonal and non-tonal music, this program also deals with perceptual, aesthetic and interdisciplinary studies in such fields as literary criticism, philosophy and cultural studies.

In each year of the program, you’ll be engaged in musical analysis, research paper writing and/or criticism of the historical and theoretical literature dealing with music. In your final year, you’ll have the option to complete a graduation project in musical analysis, aesthetics or history of theory.

This program is for gifted students in piano, voice, organ, orchestral instruments, guitar and historical instruments, including fortepiano and harpsichord, who intend to become professional performers and/or teachers of performance. If you demonstrate during your audition, or during your first or second year, that you have the potential to succeed as a performer, you can apply to enter this program.

As a student in this program, you can take advantage of additional lesson time, and at least one-third of your course credits will involve performance. You’ll perform a half-recital in your third year and a full-length formal solo recital during your fourth year, and participate in Laurier’s annual concerto competitions, weekly student recitals, student composers’ concerts, and chamber music recitals.