School of Music (CUS)
Passionately Pursuing Excellence to the Glory of God
“Not that I have already obtained this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14
Passion
The study of music requires great passion. Only those who are truly passionate are able to develop the disciplines necessary to be successful in music - to practice, study, perform, and teach others to do the same. There must be a passion, a fire that drives us to live out our calling in Christ. That passion will also fuel a desire for excellence.
Pursuit of Excellence
The pursuit of excellence is integral to music study. We who are believers have an even higher calling toward excellence as we bring our gifts of music performances not only for the enjoyment of our audiences, but also as an offering before the Lord. Just as our Creator God does all things well, we who are created in His image are to pursue that same excellence in all that we are called to do - pursuing excellence with the same passion that God pursues us.
Praise and Glory to God
Just as J.S. Bach signed his compositions with “Soli Deo Gloria” (to the glory of God alone), the School of Music at Colorado Christian University remains committed to providing world-class preparation for a life of service to the Lord through the Arts - a complete integration of our Christian faith into every aspect of music study and the performing arts to the praise and glory of God.
Performing Arts
The School of Music at Colorado Christian University currently offers four emphases in the Bachelor of Arts in Music - performance, composition, music production and engineering, and media and marketing; a Bachelor of Music in K-12 music education licensure; and a Bachelor of Music in Worship Arts. The School of Music also offers minors in Dance, Music, Sacred Music and Literature, Theatre, and Music Theatre, including three main stage productions annually.
Admission, Continuation, and Scholarships
Along with being accepted by the University, students who desire to major or minor in music must complete a personal audition on their primary instrument or voice for the music faculty. This audition serves both for preliminary acceptance into the School of Music and for music scholarship consideration. Priority scholarship consideration is given to students auditioning before March 1 of each year. For formal acceptance to any music degree program, a Mid-Degree Screening takes place at the end of the sophomore year. Students must meet the following requirements:
Completion of all lower-division courses specified for the major
Achievement of junior status at the university
Satisfactory performance on the piano proficiency examination
Recommendation by the music faculty
Students pursuing the Bachelor of Music - Music Education degree must also meet the admission and normal progress requirements of the School of Education.
Credit Hours for Music Courses
All courses follow the standard Carnegie credit hour assignments except for:
Applied Studies:
½ hour lesson = 1 credit
One-hour lesson = 2 credits
Ensembles:
Major Ensembles: Three 75-minute rehearsals per week = 1 credit hour
Secondary Ensembles: Two 75-minute rehearsals per week = 1 credit hour
Sightsinging and EarTraining & Methods Courses:
Lab: Two one-hour meetings per week = 1 credit hour