The University of Oklahoma School of Music offers extensive opportunity to explore the history of music in western and non-western cultures. With five full-time faculty specializing in each major period of music as well as in a rich variety of music genres, OU’s musicology department is a recognized leader in the field. Areas of undergraduate and graduate study include the history of American music, the history of film music, the history of chamber music, symphonic music and opera, the history of music criticism, and music and gender. Students also may enroll in period courses focusing on the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods, as well as 20th century music before 1945 and from 1945 to present.
ETHNOMUSICOLOGY
The University of Oklahoma Ethnomusicology program is second to none, providing comprehensive training in ethnomusicological theories and methods. OU’s ethnomusicology faculty are leaders in the field with specific expertise in world music, Native American music, the music of India, European music and Japanese music. Students participating in the program will have the opportunity to take part in small ensembles providing in-depth opportunities to study Native American flute, Native American Pow Wow music, and African Drumming. Additional opportunities to study / review music of the world in its cultural context are offered by OU’s Masala Music Series, which regularly invites highly acclaimed performers of world music and Native American music to campus, and the Early Music Television Series, a program administered by the University of Oklahoma that produces videos about early music and its cultural context for PBS and for use by educators in the classroom.
Graduate study of musicology and ethnomusicology at OU leads to the Master of Music degree and prepares students for doctoral study in outstanding programs across the country. Recent graduates have earned admission for doctoral study at such schools as UCLA, University of Illinois and University of Chicago.
