 |  |  |
Welcome to the Steinhardt School's Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions at New York University. NYU Steinhardt offers the highest level of professional training in the performing arts within the world’s cultural center, New York City. This is matched by the superb academic resources of a world-class university. Undergraduates receive intensive and systematic training in their specialization with acclaimed faculty along with a broad liberal arts education. Graduate students develop their art through individual lessons and specialized classes and have access to extraordinary research resources and facilities. Watch a video of Dr. Lawrence Ferrara, Music and Performing Arts director, discuss the graduate programs here.
Academic Programs
NYU Steinhardt’s Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions was established in 1925. Today, 1,500 students majoring in renowned music and performing arts programs are guided by 300 faculty. Our degree programs—baccalaureate through doctorate—share the Steinhardt School’s spirit of openness and innovation that encourages the pursuit of high artistic and academic goals. This unique vision takes many forms. In 1968, the Department merged with the New York College of Music. Since that time, Steinhardt Music and Performing Arts Professions has functioned as NYU's "school" of music and developed into a major research and practice center in music technology, music business, music composition, film scoring, music performance practices, performing arts therapies, and the performing arts-in-education (music, dance, and drama). Our rich and varied expertise and interests bring performance majors and composers together with choreographers, directors, actors, dancers, educators, librettists, and filmmakers in collaborative projects often reviewed by the New York media. Faculty sit on leading journal editorial boards and publish some of the most significant performing arts research on the scene today. Coupled with leading faculty and advanced studios in music technology and a nationally recognized program in music business, our Department and the Steinhardt School offer an unparalleled environment for artistic, professional, and scholarly challenge and growth.
Successful Careers
We recognize that in addition to substantial training in individual specializations, our graduates require multiple skills and broad experiences to pursue a successful and fulfilling career. We encourage students to take courses and to interact with faculty across traditional programmatic and Steinhardt School lines. In addition to these multiple university synergies, our campus is surrounded by and blends into the world’s capital and center of the performing arts, New York City. This location enables us to draw upon the greatest artists in the world and allows our students to build networks and take advantage of abundant professional opportunities. We broaden music student’s education with options to study abroad at NYU campuses in Prague and Florence which offer full music curricula. Alumni have moved on to major performing careers and have secured coveted professional positions in the music industry as well as faculty and administrative positions in colleges, conservatories, and universities throughout the world. Prominent graduates include jazz great Wayne Shorter, music theatre composer Cy Coleman, lyricist Betty Comden, film composer Elmer Bernstein, conductor and composer Tania Leon, music technologist Enoch Light, and Oscar and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and film writer John Patrick Shanley.
Training
Steinhardt Music and Performing Arts faculty are drawn from the highest echelons of the performing arts professions and provide extraordinary training and professional networking for our students. Our faculty are acclaimed and active scholars, performers, directors, and music business entrepreneurs and executives. These faculty open up opportunities for our students to complete internships with leading music industry companies in New York City, the world's heartbeat of the performing arts professions. In addition, at any given time, our current students have roles on Broadway and most Broadway musicals cast NYU alumni. Our Jazz Big Band is the only college jazz band to be regularly invited to perform in and "sell out" at the legendary Greenwich Village Blue Note as well as midtown's Birdland and many of our other student ensembles perform at esteemed jazz venues such as Village Vanguard. Thus, at graduation, our students have already trained with the major active artists in the industry who will be selecting casts for Broadway shows, instrumentalists for major orchestras, ensembles and jazz bands, recording engineers, producers, and young executives for record companies, and so on. Every one of our academic programs balance the very best training and study with guidance for professional success after graduation.