CLASSES OFFERED IN 2009-2010

101. MATERIALS OF MUSIC

An introductory course in the techniques of music for the student who has little or no previous musical training. Topics will include notation, modes, intervals, melody, harmony, rhythm, and structural elements of music. Core requirement met: Fine Arts

Profs. Jennifer Logan, Andre Myers

102. MUSIC OF LATIN AMERICA

This course will examine the diverse forms and social contexts of Latin American and Caribbean music, while exploring the ways that musical performance has been used to negotiate power relations in the social, political, and economic spheres since the Conquest. Focusing on musical genres and movements from Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Mexico, Peru, and Trinidad, students will learn to recognize the techniques and instruments used in a wide array of traditional and contemporary styles, particularly those which have grown out of the hybridization of African, Middle Eastern, European, Asian, and Native American performance strategies. While knowledge of music theory and performance skills are not necessary, it is essential that students be prepared for intensive music listening in and out of class. Core requirements met: Group 4, Fine Arts

Prof. Shanna Lorenz

104. MUSIC OF AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

This course surveys the musical styles and genres of the African continent and the Middle Eastern world. Within an ethno-historical framework established at the beginning of the course, emphasis is placed on 1) the region’s important musical genres, their social function and musical characteristics, and 2) the instruments used in performing these musical genres. While knowledge of music theory and performance skills are not necessary, it is essential that students be prepared for intensive music listening in and out of class. Core requirements met: Group 1, Fine Arts

Prof. Simeon Pillich

105. MUSIC OF EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA

This course will address the development of music in Europe and North America. Among the topics covered in the area of Europe will be: the music of the Balkans, the Baltic States, the Celtic region, the Iberian Peninsula, France, and England. The North American area will focus on the music of the Native Americans (including Inuit), French-Canadian and French-American styles, Anglo-American and African-American secular and sacred music, and music for theatre. While knowledge of music theory and performance skills are not necessary, it is essential that students be prepared for intensive music listening in and out of class. Core requirements met: Group 6, Fine Arts

Staff

111. TOPICS IN JAZZ

A nontechnical survey of jazz from its origins to the present, with special emphasis on informed listening. Extensive listening assignments will supplement readings. Core requirements met: Group 5, Fine Arts

Prof. Simeon Pillich

117. TOPICS IN MUSIC FOR FILM AND OTHER MEDIA

This course will survey film music from its silent film era origins to the present, focusing on its many functions through in-class viewing, analysis, and critique of film clips. The works of many prominent film composers as well as some lesser-known figures will be examined in terms of style and approach, as well as their own views on the film-scoring process. Fundamental information on music, film, and psychology of music will be introduced, and the role of music in other media (such as TV and experimental video) will be explored. Core requirements met: Group 6, Fine Arts

Prof. Bruno Louchouarn

119. WHY MUSIC MATTERS

This course provides a general introduction to the elements and history of Western music over the last three centuries. Students will focus on learning how to listen to music, with an emphasis of identifying musical forms, genres, and styles. This focus will serve the larger goal of the course, which is to show how understanding music can not only lead to our greater enjoyment of it but also help us to better understand history and culture. Students with no musical experience are especially welcome. Core requirement met: Fine Arts

Prof. David Kasunic

151. THEORY AND PRACTICE OF MUSIC I

Studies in the integration of the basic materials of music: scales, intervals, chords; exercises in four-part harmony; simple compositional exercises; species counterpoint; listening assignments. Prerequisite: placement exam and ability to read traditional music notation, or Music 101. Requires concurrent enrollment in Music 151A. Core requirement met: Fine Arts

Prof. Andre Myers

151A. MUSICIANSHIP I

Training in tonal sight singing and listening; major and minor keys, triads, chord progressions and rhythmic studies. Prerequisite: requires concurrent enrollment in Music 151 or permission of instructor, as well as an ability to read music. Includes two 1-hour musicianship laboratories per week.

Prof. Jennifer Logan

153. THEORY AND PRACTICE OF MUSIC II

Further studies in harmony and composition; introduction to counterpoint; principles of form. Prerequisite: Music 151 or permission of instructor. Requires concurrent enrollment in Music 153A. Students will be assigned to the appropriate laboratory session during the first week of the semester. 

Prof. Irene Girton

153A. MUSICIANSHIP II

Continued training in tonal sight singing and listening: introduction to chromaticism, related key modulations, modes, seventh chords; continued study of chord progressions and rhythmic studies. Prerequisite: requires concurrent enrollment in Music 153 or permission of instructor. Includes two 1-hour musicianship laboratories per week.

Prof. Jennifer Logan

230. ADVANCED STUDIES IN ELECTRONIC MUSIC (2 units)

Continued study of theoretical, historical and aesthetic principles underlying computer/electronic music. Study of software applications (Logic, MaxMSP, Digital Performer, ProTools, Cloud Generator, MetaSynth) towards the creation of electronic, electro-acoustic, and/or interactive, multi-media composition. 2 units. Prerequisite: Music 130.

Prof. Jennifer Logan

232. PIANO PROFICIENCY (1 unit)
Prepares music majors to demonstrate competence in a broad range of keyboard skills: basic keyboard technique, sight reading, elementary repertoire, harmonization of melodies, transposition, and accompaniment. A grade of C or better is required to satisfy the Music major piano proficiency requirement. 1 unit. Prerequisite: Music 132, or permission of the instructor. Core requirement partial: Fine Arts

Ms. Dina Ormenyi

251. THEORY AND PRACTICE OF MUSIC III

Further studies in chromatic harmony. Development of 18th-century forms and their extension and elaboration in the 19th century; analysis of contrapuntal idioms: canon, invention, and fugue. Prerequisite: requires concurrent enrollment in Music 251A. Includes two 1-hour musicianship laboratories per week.

Prof. Irene Girton

251A. MUSICIANSHIP III

Advanced training in tonal sight singing and listening; modulation to distant keys, introduction to 20th century idioms, extended chordal dissonance and rhythm. Prerequisite: requires concurrent enrollment in Music 251. Includes two 1-hour musicianship laboratories per week.

Prof. Jennifer Logan

257. COMPOSITION AND ORCHESTRATION

Writing exercises to develop technical facility; study of characteristics of instruments; exercises in scoring for various vocal and instrumental combinations. Prerequisite: Music 151 or permission of the instructor.

Prof. Andre Myers

260. HISTORY OF WESTERN MUSIC I: The Middle Ages to the Baroque

Offers an intensive survey of the Western art music tradition during the period ca. 800-1750. Prerequisite: Music 151 or permission of instructor. Core requirements met: Group 3, pre-1800, Fine Arts

Prof. David Kasunic

270.  HISTORY OF WESTERN MUSIC II: The late 18th century to the present

Offers an intensive survey of the Western art music tradition from ca. 1750 to the present. Prerequisite: Music 151 and Music 260 (or equivalent), or permission of instructor. Core requirements met: Group 3, Fine Arts

Prof. David Kasunic

272. CONDUCTING AND SCORE–READING

Studies in score-reading and analysis, and conducting gestures used for choral conducting. Prerequisite: Music 153 or permission of instructor and ability to read a single line at the piano.

Prof. Desiree LaVertu

280. INTRODUCTION TO ETHNOMUSICOLOGY

Offers an introduction to the principal concepts and methodologies of the field of ethnomusicology as well as the style and practices of selected world musical traditions. Prerequisite: Music 101, or permission of the instructor. Core requirement met: Group 6, Fine Arts

Prof. Shanna Lorenz

295. CHOPIN'S PARIS

This deeply interdisciplinary course will examine Paris of the 1830s and '40s through the ears and eyes of the Polish pianist-composer Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849), in exile there for his entire adult life. As arguably the cultural and artistic capital of Europe, Chopin's Paris was the destination for political and cultural exiles. To understand Chopin's music one must understand Paris, its art, literature, history, music, theater, science, politics, and medicine, and one must understand what it means to be in exile. In that spirit, students will study these diverse aspects of Paris in order to bring Chopin's music into more complexly variegated focus. The course will feature guest lecturers from other disciplines as well as visits to local cultural institutions. The course will culminate with students interviewing Angelenos from various world immigrant communities for whom Chopin's music still bears the resonance of art created in exile. Core requirements met: Group 3, Fine Arts

Prof. David Kasunic

357. COMPOSITION II

Study of the compositional techniques and resources of the 20th and 21st centuries. Refinement of the composer’s stylistic originality, through repertoire study and short compositional exercises. Composition of a substantial original piece for chamber ensemble, working with performers towards a final recital performance. Prerequisite: Music 255, 257, 258,  or permission of the instructor.

Prof. Andre Myers

390.  JUNIOR SEMINAR
The Junior Seminar is a small, discussion-oriented seminar required of all music majors, emphasizing advanced analytic and critical approaches to a musical topic. For 2009-10:
The Evolution of the Sonata Form. This course examines the development of the sonata form since the Baroque era showing how different generations of composers have over the course of time embraced and personalized it. We will analyze and discuss various incarnations of sonata forms through solo, chamber, and orchestral works by Scarlatti, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Bartók, Hindemith, and Boulez. Readings include Rosen's Sonata Forms, The Classical Style and The Romantic Generation, as well as writings by Newman, Ratner, and Reti. Topics for papers and presentations will be developed with attention to seminar participants' particular interests. A course grade of B- or better, and satisfactory completion of a minimum of 15 pages of written work will satisfy the College's third-year writing requirement.
Prerequisite: Music 251.

Prof. Jennifer Logan

490. SENIOR SEMINAR
Topics in music history, music theory, music literature, or performance. For 2009-10: Popular Music and Censorship. Under what conditions is music deemed so threatening and/or powerful that it must be silenced? In this course students will become familiar with debates surrounding the censorship, regulation, and repression of popular music since the 1940s. Examining direct and indirect acts of censorship by governments, religious and cultural groups, and media conglomerates, we will explore issues of content, access, use, and ownership in a variety of national, local, and virtual (internet) contexts. What are the political and financial mechanisms that are used to censor music producers around the globe? How do musicians resist censorship and repression? Focusing on case studies from South Africa, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Cuba, Brazil, Indonesia, Great Britain and the United States, we will locate acts of musical censorship within their larger social, economic, and political contexts. Course texts will include Popular Music and Censorship in Africa (2006), Shoot the Singer!: Music Censorship Today (2004), Policing Pop (2002), Banned!: Censorship of Popular Music in Britain, 1967-92 (1996), Bleem! Censoring Rock ‘ n’ Rap Music (2002) and Parental Advisory: Music Censorship in America (2001).Prerequisite: Music 251.

Prof. Shanna Lorenz

ENSEMBLES: Ensemble membership is open to all students of the college, and earn 1 unit of credit. Registration for all auditioned ensembles is completed during rehearsal each semester. All ensembles are graded Credit/No Credit. 

120. COLLEGE CHORUS.
The chorus rehearses one evening each week and performs on-campus each semester. Development of singing ability and sight-reading skills through the preparation and performance of works for large chorus. Students may enroll for one or both semesters. Prerequisite: Enrollment is by audition with the instructor during the first week of each semester.

LaVertu


121. WOMEN’S GLEE CLUB.
One of Occidental’s two premiere choral ensembles, the Women’s Glee Club emphasizes a unified choral tone in the medium of music for treble voices. Two weekly rehearsals and a full season of concertizing both on- and off-campus. Enrollment is for the full year and by audition during the first week of the fall semester. Previous singing experience may be helpful.

LaVertu

122. MEN'S GLEE CLUB.
One of Occidental’s two premiere choral ensembles, the Men’s Glee Club emphasizes a unified choral tone in the medium of music for men’s voices. Two weekly rehearsals and a full season of concertizing both on- and off-campus. Enrollment is for the full year and by audition during the first week of the fall semester. Previous singing experience may be helpful.

LaVertu

125. ORCHESTRA.
A symphonic ensemble for qualified instrumentalists from the college communities of Occidental and the California Institute of Technology (students, faculty, staff, and their families). The orchestra presents several concerts on both campuses each year. Prerequisite: audition during the first week of the semester.

Gross

126. CONCERT BAND.
A symphonic wind ensemble for qualified instrumentalists from the college communities of Occidental and the California Institute of Technology (students, faculty, staff and their families). The Band presents concerts on both campuses during the year. Prerequisite: audition with Professor Bing, coordinated by Professor Gross.

Bing (of the California Institute of Technology)  

127. JAZZ ENSEMBLE.
The Occidental Jazz Ensemble consists of instrumentalists from Occidental who are interested in performing jazz of various styles. Charts and styles are determined according to the instrumentalists in the ensemble and their particular jazz interests. The Jazz Ensemble presents several concerts during the academic year. Enrollment is by audition with the instructor.

Emmons  

129. CHAMBER MUSIC.
Study and performance of chamber music for diverse combinations of instruments and voices. Prerequisite: audition during the first week of the semester.

Gross

APPLIED MUSIC: Instruction in applied music is available to all students of the College, and each semester is worth 1 unit of credit. Registration for applied music is completed at the Music Department office in Booth Hall and at the Registrar (with an ADD slip or through REGGIE). All students participating in applied music study must enroll at the Music Department office during registration or during the first week of each semester. Information regarding scholarships for applied music study is available at the Music Department office.

Applied Music Fees per Semester:  

Half-hour weekly private lessons $375.00
One-hour weekly private lessons: $750.00
Weekly class lessons in electronic music, voice, piano, guitar:  $195.00
Fees apply to all students regardless of full or part-time status.  

Statement of Policy for Class and Applied Music Lessons: 
Students must register for applied music both at the Music Department office and at the Registrar's office (with an ADD form or through REGGIE). Refunds for class and private applied music lessons will not be given after the third week of each semester. Students who elect to drop must inform the Music Department office prior to the end of the third week of the semester. Any student who drops class or private applied lessons after the third week of the semester will be billed for the FULL lesson fee(s) for that semester. If a student drops class or private applied music lessons before the end of the third week of the semester, he/she will be billed for the number of lessons taken up to that time.

Music majors, and all students receiving an applied music scholarship, are required to perform a jury for their instructor and one additional faculty member at the end of each semester.

CLASS APPLIED MUSIC LESSONS:  
Classes require a minimum of four students. If fewer than four students sign up for the class, the registered students will be contacted and given the option of enrolling in the private lessons or dropping the course.
 

130. ELECTRONIC MUSIC CLASS
An introduction to the use of the Occidental electronic music studio and the creation of electronic music with synthesizers, computer and tape recorders.  Fee: $195.

Logan

131. VOICE CLASS.
Fundamentals of singing: voice production, diction, repertoire, musicianship. Recommended as preparation for private lessons. Fee: $195.

Blois

132. PIANO CLASS
Basic keyboard technique at the beginning through lower intermediate level. Fee: $195.

Ormenyi

133. CLASSICAL GUITAR CLASS (BEGINNING).
An introduction to classical guitar including basic technique and musicianship. The traditional repertoire as well as 20th century and flamenco will be explored. Fee: $195.

Berman

139. JAZZ IMPROVISATION.
Techniques and styles of jazz improvisation, solo and small combo. Open to all instrumentalists. Fee: $195.

Emmons

PRIVATE APPLIED MUSIC LESSONS: All private applied music lessons earn one unit of credit, whether the duration of the lessons is one-half hour or one hour per week. Music majors, and all students receiving an applied music scholarship, are required to perform a jury for their instructor and one additional faculty member at the end of each semester.

140.1 and 2. PIANO
Ward

140.3 and 4. PIANO
Barskaya

140.5 and 6. PIANO
Garrett

140.7 and 8. ORGAN: Not offered in 2007-2008

140.9 and 10. HARPSICHORD
Roberts

140.11 and 12. HARP
Shulman

140.13 and 14. JAZZ PIANO
Karush

140.16. COLLABORATIVE PIANO (1-hour lessons ONLY)
Barskaya
Prerequisite: Two semesters of applied piano study at Occidental College, or permission of instructor.

141.1 and 2. VOICE
Thomas

141.3 and 4. VOICE
Blois

141.5 and 6. VOICE
Ponce

141.7 and 8. JAZZ VOICE
Segal-Garcia
Prerequisite: Two semesters of applied voice study at Occidental College, or participation in the Occidental Jazz Ensemble.

142.1 and 2. FLUTE
Woodward

142.3 and 4. OBOE
Del Russo

142.5 and 6. CLARINET
Hughes

142.7 and 8. BASSOON
Savedoff

142.9 and 10. SAXOPHONE
Hughes

143.1 and 2. FRENCH HORN
O'Keefe

143.3 and 4. TRUMPET
Divers

143.5 and 6. TROMBONE
Marsteller

143.7 and 8. TUBA
Tornquist

144.1 and 2. PERCUSSION
Englander

145.1 and 2. VIOLIN
Sonderling
Prerequisite: Ability to read music.

145.3 and 4. VIOLA
Tischer

145.5 and 6. CELLO
Lum
Prerequisite: Prior experience playing the cello.

145.7 and 8. STRING BASS
Emmons

145.9 and 10. ELECTRIC BASS
Emmons

146.1 and 2. CLASSICAL GUITAR
Scivally

146.3 and 4. CLASSICAL GUITAR
Berman

146.5 and 6. CLASSICAL GUITAR
Blasco

146.7 and 8. JAZZ GUITAR
Scivally

146.9 and 10. JAZZ GUITAR
Berman

146.11 and 12. JAZZ GUITAR
Blasco

147.1 and 2. IMPROVISATION
Karush

148.1. ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE
Marsden

This page last edited 01/08/2010