MUL LINEUP:
Looking for a music elective? Check out these options open to all BW students.
Professor Rob Kovacs
rcovacs@bw.edu
This course will explore what it means to be a contemporary songwriter. Through hands-on modeling and experimentation, students will apply tools and techniques to their own songwriting while simultaneously analyzing current contemporary, commercial, and art-pop trends. Weekly assignments and projects that capture the spirit of the course’s six parts will challenge students to create songs individually or as a collaborative team.
Dr. Gene Willet
gwillet@bw.edu
This course examines representations of diversity-specifically, the topics of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and disability-through the lens of music in Disney and Disney/Pixar films. Although its early films featured racial caricatures and exclusively Caucasian heroines, Disney has, in recent years, become more multicultural in its filmic fare and its image. From Aladdin and Pocahontas to the first African American princess in the The Princess and the Frog and the depiction of Mexican culture, family, and borders in Coco, Disney films have come to both mirror and influence our increasingly diverse society. In Disney's early films, music was often used to bolster common negative stereotypes, but music has increasingly become a significant tool in providing authenticity. Students will learn the basic terminology and techniques for examining music's role in film; no prior musical training is required.
Professor Josh Ryan
jryan@bw.edu
MUL 132I introduces students to technically safe drumming techniques with hands and sticks and explores their application to the music of West Africa, Cuba, Brazil, and the United States. Students will have the opportunity to learn traditional music and have the option of studying traditional dance as well. Each unit will be presented in its cultural context as a product of the complex legacy of chattel slavery, colonialism, and the mixing of the global cultures. Students will perform parts of traditional pieces, identify important elements of traditional Afro-centric music, and understand their manifestation in modern American life.
Professor Greg Upton
gupton@bw.edu
Piano for non-music majors, intended for absolute beginners or as a refresher for students with previous experience.
Professor Sue Wallin
swallin@bw.edu
Introduction to the basic elements of singing, including physiological aspects of the singing process, diction principles based on the International Phonetic Alphabet, and expressive techniques. Core skills addressed include effective communication and knowledge of human behaviors, cultures and the natural world.
Professor Bryan Reichert
breicher@bw.edu
Have you ever wanted to learn to play the guitar, but didn't know where to start? Or maybe, you play already, but don't know where to go next? Then Guitar Class is the place for you! Guitar Class at BW provides students of all backgrounds and majors the opportunity to learn the guitar in a supportive classroom environment. We start playing from the very first class meeting and by the end of the semester, leave with a confident understanding of popular guitar playing styles and the tools to continue playing long after. Please contact Prof. Bryan Reichert, BW Conservatory of Music faculty, for more information!
Dr. Jay Hirt
jhirt@bw.edu
An introductory course designed for the non-music major, with the goal of becoming familiar with representative masterpieces of classical music. Core skills addressed include complex thinking skills and knowledge of human behaviors, cultures and the natural world.
Professor Greg Upton
gupton@bw.edu
An introductory course in music history with an emphasis on the music from each period.
Dr. Christine Dorey
cdorey@bw.edu
The study of the music of non-Western and Western cultures. Participants study the music of other peoples, thereby gaining an understanding of their culture, mores, and traditions. The different functions music serves in a society are also considered. Study includes music from people of Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Students become acquainted with the music of these cultures through listening, reading and other outside assignments, class discussion, and concert attendance.
Frank Bianchi
fbianchi@bw.edu
The BW Men's Chorus is an offering of the Community Arts School and is open to tenor and bass singers, high school age and up, from throughout the Greater Cleveland community including BW faculty, staff and students. This collaborative effort seeks to bring outstanding male chorus singing to Northeast Ohio and beyond. The group has performed to standing-room-only audiences, has collaborated in concert with several outstanding music organizations and has received rave reviews from throughout the Greater Cleveland Community.
Lisa Miragliotta
lhirzel@bw.edu
Women's Chorus is a chance for any singer (regardless of gender) who sings in the Soprano or Alto range to join with other singers and perform everything from classical to contemporary, Broadway to pop music. We rehearse once a week (Tuesdays 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.) and have a concert at the end of the Fall and Spring semesters. BW students can take it for credit toward their humanities requirements. High school, collegiate, and community members welcome!
Dr. Gabriel Pique
gpique@bw.edu
A survey of jazz from its origins through Dixieland and Ragtime to the present.
Dr. Christine Dorey
cdorey@bw.edu
Explore how African influences, folk practices, European classical foundations, and more combine to produce popular expressions as diverse as jazz, the “American Songbook,” musical theatre, the Blues, Soul, and Rock & Roll.
Professor Lorelei Batisla-ong
lbatisla@bw.edu
This course is for anyone interested in developing their accompaniment musicianship skills (in either ukulele or guitar) to use in a classroom setting. Within this context, we will experience elemental improvisation (using recorders, barred instruments, technology) and elemental movement and discuss pedagogical strategies to teaching young students. While this course is geared towards future music teachers, BW students entering the field of education and wanting to incorporate music in their classroom, or students seeking a musical elective would find this a meaningful course. Come as you are. No previous music experience required.
Dr. Carolyn Borcherding
cborcher@bw.edu
Survey of the evolution of electro-mechanical means of creating music with a focus on contemporary technology. Topics include hardware, software, MIDI, sequencing, sampling, and multimedia applications.
To learn more about music classes open to all Conservatory students, click MUC ELECTIVES.