oice students seeking careers in the concert hall, in opera, or as voice teachers or coaches will be especially interested in this program.

Students concentrate on developing performance skills through study with voice professors who have proven themselves as master teachers and performers. Private voice lessons, vocal coaching, diction, and language study are vital components of the degree program. Students also study music theory, music history and literature, opera literature, solo repertoire, and vocal pedagogy. Voice majors present both junior and senior recitals.

With a wide variety of ensemble offerings, voice majors have numerous opportunities to expand their knowledge of choral literature and styles. Each semester, Opera Theatre presents scenes from operas and full-length productions with the opera orchestra. More than a dozen choral ensembles are available, including the University Chorale, Chamber Singers, Jazz Vocal Ensembles, Collegium Musicum, Men's Chorale, Women's Chorale, and the Miami Civic Chorale, to name a few. In addition, many voice students work professionally as choristers in the Florida Grand Opera and as singers with various performing organizations throughout South Florida.




he Master of Music degreee in Performance is available in voice. Private study with artist teachers is enhanced by a range of ensemble experiences. Supporting academic study enriches the performance experience, which culminates with a research paper and a final recital.

Choral Conducting majors study conducting techniques, music literature, score preparation, analysis, and rehearsal techniques and have numerous  opportunities to gain experience working with the School's various ensembles.  To complete their degrees, master's students are required to perform a recital and submit a recital paper which demonstrates the conductor's skills in dealing with the literature of five historical style periods.

The Doctor of Musical Arts degree, offered in Vocal Performance and Choral Conducting requires several recitals and culminates with a defense of the doctoral essay.




he Musical Theatre Program at the University of Miami's Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music, one of the first in the United States, continues to serve as a model for others around the country. A well-rounded program, encompassing dance, singing, and acting, it prepares today's students to compete as "triple threat performers."

Professional training in musical theatre is structured in a conservatory format that assures students of intensive classes in acting, singing, voice/diction, movement, and dance. The goal of this highly competitive, interdisciplinary curriculum, developed in conjunction with the College of Arts and Science's Department of Theatre Arts, is to prepare students for professional performance careers - not only on the musical stage, but in non-musical/dramatical theatre as well. Enhancing the program is a sequence of integrated classes in dance and movement, embracing all of the movement forms and dance techniques needed for a successful career in theatre. Each student is offered a variety of performance opportunities every semester, through a wide-ranging repertoire of plays and musicals offered at the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre in Coral Gables.

In addition to the conservatory courses, students pursuing the Bachelor of Music degree take courses in piano, music theory, and music history. Advanced theatre arts courses may be taken as electives.

The School's Musical Theatre program offers access to the Larry Taylor-Billy Matthews American Musical Theatre Archive, located in the Richter Library.  This unique archive is one of the largest collections of musical theatre materials ever assembled.   This comprehensive archive includes more than 1,000 published and unpublished vocal scores, 15,000 LPs, 500 CDs; more than 3,000 playbills, programs and reference books; and an extensive collection of sheet music.

|| Musical Theatre alumni working on stage around the world ||

 

Degree Programs

Bachelor of Music
in Music Theatre

Bachelor of Music
in Vocal Performance

Master of Music
in Choral Conducting

Master of Music
in Vocal Performance

Doctor of Musical Arts
in Choral Conducting

Doctor of Musical Arts
in Vocal Performance

Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Pedagogy

Advanced Diploma
in Performance

 

"Your success as

a performer

requires

you to be as

versatile as

possible. These

days, you are

expected to do it

all -- singing,

acting, dancing --

and to do it well.

That's why my

training at UM

was so

important. It

helped hone my

skills. I got a

great start,

a solid

background,

from the

University of

Miami and it's

paid off for me

twenty-fold"

Keith Buterbaugh performed the role of Raoul on Broadway's Phantom of the Opera

 

BACHELOR OF MUSIC
IN VOCAL PERFORMANCE
 
MASTER OF MUSIC
IN VOCAL PERFORMANCE
  • 4 to 6 credits in Major Performance field
  • 2 to 3 credits in Ensemble
  • 3 credits in Recital and Recital Paper
  • 3 credits in Analytical Techniques
  • 2 to 4 credits in Music Education or Pedagogy
  • 2 to 4 credits in Electives
  • 6 credits in Musicology

Prior to admission to candidacy, the student must fulfill the following requirements:

  • Demonstrate, by examination, skills in the following areas:
    • harmony - written and aural
    • proficiency in sightsinging and in melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic dictation
    • elementary counterpoint
    • the history and literature of music and the study of musical form, analytic or applied
  • Meet the following requirements:
    • Must demonstrate ability to sing in English and in three foreign languages; have knowledge of the more difficult arias of opera and oratorio and of recitative in both the free and measured forms; have a thorough acquaintance with the general song literature; and be able to give a creditable recital. Must have had at least two years' experience in ensemble singing. Courses in Operatic Literature and Art Song Literature and a language "barrier" examination are required. Must show undergraduate credit equivalent to two semesters in French, German, and Italian, or demonstrate by departmental examination acceptable proficiency in these languages.
 
DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS
IN  VOCAL PERFORMANCE
A minimum of 60 credit hours beyond the master's degree is required including two required recitals, and the D.M.A. essay.
 
ADVANCED DIPLOMA
IN PERFORMANCE
  • 12 credits in Performance Study
  • 4 credits in Ensemble
  • 3 credits in Music History or Theory
  • 2 credits in Pedagogy
  • 1 credit in Special Projects
  • 2 credits in Recitals (2 recitals)


 

 

 

 
BACHELOR OF MUSIC
IN MUSICAL THEATRE
 
MASTER OF MUSIC
IN CHORAL CONDUCTING
  • 4 to 6 credits in Major Performance field
  • 2 to 3 credits in Ensemble
  • 3 credits in Recital and Recital Paper
  • 2 to 4 credits in Music Education or Pedagogy
  • 2 to 4 credits in Electives
  • 6 credits in Musicology

Prior to admission to candidacy, the student must fulfill the following requirements:

  • Demonstrate, by examination, skills in the following areas:
    • harmony - written and aural
    • proficiency in sightsinging and in melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic dictation
    • elementary counterpoint
    • the history and literature of music and the study of musical form, analytic or applied
  • Meet the following requirements:
    • Must possess and demonstrate a strong gift of musical leadership based upon broad experience as an ensemble performer. Should either have completed a baccalaureate degree in conducting or in applied music, accumulated practical experience equivalent to the undergraduate degree, and fulfilled the undergraduate requirement in orchestration.
 
DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS
IN  CHORAL CONDUCTING
A minimum of 60 credit hours beyond the master's degree is required including two required recitals, and the D.M.A. essay.

 

DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS IN VOCAL PEDAGOGY 

A minimum of 60 credit hours beyond the master’s degree is required, including:

  • 12 credits in Major Performance field (including private lessons, coachings, ensemble participation)

  • 13 credits in Creative Activities (including recitals, lecture/recital, doctoral essay)

  • 17 credits in Vocal Pedagogy (including courses in Vocal Lit for Teaching, Studio Teaching Techniques, Voice Disorders, etc.)

  • 12 credits of Cognate (Cognate in the areas of Conducting, Higher Education, Performing, etc.)

  • 6 credits of Allied Music Courses (History, Theory, etc.)

    Candidate will also present one solo vocal recital, one lecture addressing a pedagogical issue (may be a recital/lecture), and one Doctoral essay.