Associate in Science (A.S.) Degree in Music Program Starts Fall 2017

In Fall 2017, BMCC students who envision a career teaching music or performing can enroll in the College’s new Associate in Science (A.S.) program in Music, with specializations in Music Studies and Music Performance that articulate to the Bachelor of Science in Music program at Lehman College, as well as a specialization in Music Education.

According to a proposal submitted by BMCC to the New York State Education Department, the Music program will educate students in the fundamentals of music, and in specialized topics in music education and music performance. The curriculum will encompass basics of music theory, keyboard skills, ear training and sight singing. Each concentration, while offering a different focus, will produce graduates who are better equipped to compete with others in the field.

Music majors at BMCC will benefit from a wide range of facilities to support their work, including 16 practice rooms for chorus and voice, the Art and Rita Siegel Piano Lab, which provides 24 electronic keyboards, and classrooms with Steinway grand pianos. They will also have access to a comprehensive collection of percussive and string instruments, unique sets of instruments from Bali and more.

Past music students at BMCC have won national contests and performed widely. They are mentored by BMCC’s accomplished Music faculty, who guide students as they audition for and perform with well-established ensembles including the Downtown Symphony, Downtown Chorus and BMCC Select Chorus, String Ensemble and Flute Choir.

Fitore Mehmetaj, a 2017 BMCC alumna and mezzo-soprano who graduated before the A.S. in Music program was created, nonetheless availed herself of the Music courses and performance practice opportunities at BMCC. “The best voice teachers of my life are here,” says Mehmetaj, who also learned digital music software at BMCC and whose composition, “Themes and Variations,” for cello and piano, was performed in the 2017 Composers Now Festival at BMCC’s Shirley Fiterman Art Center. “I have met so many amazing artists through these experiences,” she says.

“We are very excited about this opportunity for students to earn an Associate degree as they gain competence in the areas of music performance, pedagogy and theory,” says BMCC Music and Art Chairperson Eugenia Oi Yan Yau. “Graduates will be prepared to enter a variety of majors at the baccalaureate level, as well as a range of careers in music.”

Auditions for the Fall 2017 Music Program will be held August 18 in Fiterman Hall, 11th floor. For more information, contact Professor Robert Reed at roreed@bmcc.cuny.edu or Music and Art Chair Eugenia Yau, at eyau@bmcc.cuny.edu.