Experience Opportunities

Beyond practices, rehearsals, and performances, Albion College music students expand their learning, enhance their skills, and gain expertise in a wide variety of ways.

Student Research

The Music Department welcomes and encourages scholarly research. Students who have special talent and interest in this area should contact a professor with whom to work. After the area of study has been defined, a request must be made to the Department for permission to write a research paper for consideration of Departmental Honors.

Details regarding the submission of a proposal for FURSCA (the College's Foundation for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity) can be found on the FURSCA website. For Departmental Honors, the student should submit an appropriate topic, general outline of proposed study, and a preliminary bibliography. Outstanding papers will be submitted for honors recognition.

Off-Campus Programs

The Music Department faculty encourages students to take advantage of opportunities for off-campus studies and/or internships during the fall semester of the junior year. (Students who go off campus in the second semester may need to return for a fifth year of study to graduate.)

Students who have participated in these programs have found them to be immensely worthwhile, helpful in clarifying career choices, and of assistance in establishing contacts for future employment. Examples of off-campus programs include:

New York, GLCA Arts Program

An opportunity for an internship in music in New York under the auspices of the Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA). Students live in a GLCA building with students from various colleges, work in a music-related area, and often study privately with a New York music teacher.

Chicago, The Lyric Opera

An opportunity for an internship with the Chicago Lyric Opera in which students are assigned a variety of experiences such as ticket sales, fund raising, production, and accounting. Private lessons and coaching are available for students selected for this program.

Overseas

Albion College encourages students to spend a semester or a year studying in a foreign country; usually this study is coupled with ability to speak another language. There are excellent conservatories and music schools in Europe; bear in mind that admission requirements are often strict. The College's Center for International Education and Off-Campus Programs has details on locations, applications, and more.

Other internships.

Individual internships may be arranged and tailored to fit an individual situation. These should be explored and planned carefully with faculty advisors.

Student Employment

The Music Department fills several jobs throughout the academic year, including:

• Managers for band, jazz ensemble, orchestra and choral ensembles
• Librarians for band, jazz ensemble, orchestra and choral ensembles
• Recording Technicians
• Music Office Assistants
• Theory Tutors
• Departmental Publicity Manager
• Computer Lab Assistants
• Photographers

Job descriptions and application information can be obtained from the Music Department secretary in Goodrich Chapel.

Students interested in any of the above opportunities should consult with their faculty advisor or a Music Department faculty member. More information also can be found in the Music Department Handbook.