The Department of Strings offers a personal, supportive, and dynamic conservatory education combined with the outstanding resources and academic rigor of a top public university. The esteemed faculty champions an individualized approach to help each student fulfill their highest artistic and intellectual potential. A variety of graduate and undergraduate degree programs within the department allow string players to choose a path best suited for their unique individual academic and musical goals. Through private instruction, ensemble coaching, musicianship classes, and entrepreneurial training, students learn a wide range of skills enabling them to succeed and adapt in today’s rapidly changing professional environment.
The String Department at Michigan offers a comprehensive program which includes both extensive exposure to cutting-edge new music, as well as an unswerving commitment to excellence in the standard repertoire. Students regularly collaborate with their peers across various departments within the School of Music, Theatre & Dance (SMTD) including the Departments of Piano, Wind & Percussion, and Performing Arts Technology. SMTD’s new Department of Chamber Music provides the exceptional opportunity for string students to dive deeper into this integral art, which plays a central role in the string curriculum.
The Department offers: bachelor of music degree tracks in both performance and music education; a bachelor of musical arts degree combining performance with a secondary interest; and post-graduate degrees at the masters, specialist, and doctoral levels. Undergraduates may pursue dual degrees or add a minor, both from within SMTD or from the extensive offerings of the greater university.
String students work in state-of-the-art facilities, including the Earl V. Moore Building, which recently received a $29.5 million expansion and renovation, and have access to cutting-edge audio and video recording studios, allowing for the highest quality documentation of their creative work. All SMTD students can receive unprecedented entrepreneurial and career planning support through the school’s EXCEL department (Excellence in Entrepreneurship Career Empowerment & Leadership), the nation’s top program for funding student entrepreneurial ventures in the performing arts.
The University of Michigan is renowned for developing excellence. Combining the focus and rigor of a conservatory with the academic breadth and depth of a major public research university, an SMTD education is a transformative experience. Musicians receive a comprehensive program of instruction, performance, and pedagogy, as well as the inspiration and knowledge of a liberal arts course of study, instilling the values of innovation and inclusion. Our graduates excel as artists, scholars, educators, entrepreneurs, technologists, designers, and arts administrators, and also as fully-engaged citizens eager to make a difference in their field and community.
