Jacobs School of Music

Jacobs School of Music
Location
1201 East Third Street

Bloomington
,
Indiana
Information
TypePublic
Established1921 (1921)
DeanAbra K. Bush
Faculty250
EnrollmentMore than 1,500
CampusBloomington, Indiana, U.S.
Websitemusic.indiana.edu

The Jacobs School of Music is the music school of Indiana University Bloomington in Bloomington, Indiana.[1]

Established in 1921, the school was known as the Indiana University School of Music until 2005, when it became the Jacobs School. The school offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in performance (classical, jazz, voice, ballet), music business, music education, theory, composition, and technology (audio engineering, music production, scoring).[2]

Approximately 1,600 students from all 50 U.S. states and more than 55 countries study in a conservatory atmosphere amidst the academic resources of a major research university.[3]

Approximately half of the school's students are undergraduates, with the second largest enrollment of all music schools accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music.[4]

History

In 1910, Charles D. Campbell was appointed professor of music and head of the new Department of Music at Indiana University. Barzille Winfred Merrill succeeded Campbell in 1919, and the Department of Music was officially renamed to the School of Music in 1921.[5]

In 1948, IU Opera Theater began with Jacques Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann.

The Latin American Music Center was founded in 1961, followed by the Jazz Studies Department in 1968, by David N. Baker, and the Historical Performance Institute in 1980, by Thomas Binkley.

In 2005, the school was renamed the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music following a donation from Barbara B. and David H. Jacobs.

In 2009, the school received a gift from the family of Leonard Bernstein that included the entire contents of Bernstein's conducting studio.

Academics and programs

Admissions

Admission to the Jacobs School of Music is done by a live or recorded audition only. The overall acceptance rate is generally about 25 percent for undergraduate students and about 30 percent for graduate students. However, acceptance rates vary greatly between programs. Each freshman class contains about 200 new students.

Ensembles

The school is home to two contemporary music ensembles: the New Music Ensemble, founded by former professor Frederick A. Fox in 1975, and currently directed by David Dzubay, and NOTUS, a 24-voice choir that specializes in contemporary choral repertoire and especially the works of living composers. Directed by Dominick DiOrio, the ensemble frequently premieres works by students, faculty, and emerging professional composers and frequently tours nationally.

Opera

The opera program at the Jacobs School has presented more than 500 productions since it began in 1948. Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Opera Theater currently produces five operas and one musical each year. It frequently performs classics by composers such as Donizetti, Mozart, Puccini, and Verdi, and also Baroque operas by Handel as well as contemporary works by Mason Bates, Jonathan Dove, and Jake Heggie, among others.

Programs of study

The school offers Bachelor of Music (B.M.), Bachelor of Music Education (B.M.E.), Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Music (M.M.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Doctor of Music (D.M.) degrees.

Jacobs also awards a Performer's Certificate or Artist's Diploma. The school offers degrees in Historical Performance, and it is possible for students to enroll in a unique degree program available at Indiana University known as the Bachelor of Science in an Outside Field (B.S.O.F.) in some select areas of study.[6]

Facilities

Musical Arts Center

The Musical Arts Center was designed by architect Evans Woollen III and completed in 1972. It is an example of Brutalist architecture. The facility is equipped with European-style seating for 1,460 and space for a 100-piece orchestra, as well as studios, classrooms, and rehearsal studios for opera and ballet.

The unsegmented seating design is based on the German Bayreuth Festspielhaus.

East Studio Building

Simon Music Center

The Simon Music Center opened in 1995. The William and Gayle Cook Music Library is located there.

Auer Hall

Located on the second floor of the Simon Music Center, Auer Hall was made possible by a $1 million gift from Ione B. Auer. The 400-seat auditorium is home to the Maidee H. and Jackson A. Seward Organ, also known as C. B. Fisk, Op. 135. The instrument has nearly 4,000 pipes, and was realized through a gift from the Sewards.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ "Schools: Academics". Indiana University Bloomington. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  2. ^ "Areas of Study". Jacobs School of Music. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  3. ^ "About". Jacobs School of Music. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  4. ^ "Accredited Institutions Search". National Association of Schools of Music. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  5. ^ "Timeline: Centennial: About: Jacobs School of Music: Indiana University Bloomington". Jacobs School of Music. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  6. ^ "Degrees & Programs". Jacobs School of Music. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

39°9′55″N 86°31′2″W / 39.16528°N 86.51722°W / 39.16528; -86.51722

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.