March 27, 2003
USM School of Music Adds Master's Program
USM's School of Music announces a new master of music degree
in the areas of composition, conducting, jazz studies, music
education, and performance. Classes for the the master's in
music education, which is designed for teachers, will be offered
this summer, with the full graduate program beginning in the
fall of 2003.
This master's joins the master's in biology, making it the
second new master's degree in the College of Arts and Sciences
this year at USM. It was approved by the University of Maine
System Board of Trustees in July 2002.
The School of Music currently serves a student population
of more than 220 undergraduate music majors and minors, and
offers courses available to all USM students. It provides
summer study opportunities for students of all ages in partnership
with USM Summer Session.
The demand for graduate programs in music has been heard
from various southern Maine constituencies for more than 30
years. One external reviewer of the new master's program noted,
"It appears that the time has come and the foundation exists
for such a graduate program to be instituted at the University
of Southern Maine School of Music." The target population
of the program will be performers and music educators, most
of whom have family and/or job responsibilities in southern
Maine. But the strength and quality of the School of Music
faculty also is expected to generate out-of-state enrollments.
Scott Harris, director of the School of Music and assistant
professor of music says, "We are very excited to have the
opportunity to welcome graduate students in music to the Gorham
campus. This is a rigorous master's degree program designed
to complement and enhance our thriving undergraduate programs."
Joining the School of Music in the fall will be two new faculty
members, music education specialist Douglas T. Owens, and
musicologist Melissa E. Mann.
Owens is currently completing his doctor of arts in music
education at the University of Northern Colorado at Greely
with a secondary emphasis in jazz pedagogy. He has extensive
experience in public school teaching and has developed band
and jazz programs in schools in Wisconsin.
Mann is completing her Ph.D. in music history and theory
at the University of Connecticut. A Fulbright Scholar, she
also studied at Ruprecht-Karls-Universitat, Heidelberg, Germany,
where she did research on German music criticism.
For more information on the graduate program, contact the
USM School of Music at 780-5265, or visit the Web site at
usm.maine.edu/music/graduate/message.html.
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