Jacobs School of Music

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The Simon Music Center of the Indiana University School of Music

The Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, known from 1921–2005 as Indiana University School of Music, is considered to be one of the best music schools in the world.

Academics and programs

With more than 1,600 students — approximately half of whom are undergraduates — the Indiana University School of Music is one of the largest in the nation (the University of North Texas College of Music is slightly larger depending on the semester). The breadth and number of performance opportunities are unparalleled in college music study, with the school offering more than 1,100 performances a year. This includes 7 fully-staged large theatrical musical works per year at the Musical Arts Center, which generally range from operas to operettas, but occasionally includes musicals as well.

Admissions

Admission to the IU School of Music is regarded as among the most competitive in the country. Though the admissions process differs slightly for some students, the general process consists of one audition at the school itself, in which two to three prepared pieces are performed. For singers and pianists, a preliminary screening CD or tape must be sent in. If the applicant passes that round, a live audition is then scheduled. The acceptance rate was about 20 percent for the entering class of 2011--the most selective year in the history of the IU School of Music. The IU School of Music also offers a masters of music technology degree at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Awards and honors for the IU School of Music

U.S. News & World Report has consistently showered the school with praise and acclaim. Here is a short list of rankings in various categories.

In addition to U.S. News & World Report, the school has been ranked first in the nation by Change magazine and the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The IU School of Music as a whole was recently listed first among the "Top Ten Voice Schools in America" by Classical Singer. IU School of Music voice students are frequent winners in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in New York City each spring. The school has had five grand winners in the last five years and 33 grand winners overall. An unparalleled twenty students and alumni have received BMI Student Composer Awards.

Faculty

The school has more than 170 full-time faculty members that include performers, scholars, and teachers of international renown. In addition, many top musicians and scholars come to the school each year to give master classes and guest lectures or to serve as visiting artistic directors, conductors, and faculty. Over the last two years the school has hired pianists André Watts and Arnaldo Cohen, violinist Jaime Laredo, and soprano Carol Vaness as faculty members. Other notable faculty members include:

Facilities

The school's facilities, including five buildings located in the heart of the IU Bloomington campus, comprise outstanding recital halls, more than 170 practice rooms, choral and instrumental rehearsal rooms, and more than 100 offices and studios.

Musical Arts Center

The Musical Arts Center, known as the MAC, is the school's largest performance facility. The Musical Arts Center (MAC) was completed in 1972 at a cost of $11.2 million. It is equipped with an opera theater with European-style seating for 1,460 and room for a 100-piece orchestra. The MAC also houses studios, classrooms, and rehearsal facilities for music and ballet. The 90x60 foot stage is often compared to that of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. It features acoustical design and technical capabilities that are among the best in the nation. The backstage area occupies more than half of the building and provides state-of-the-art technical space for producing seven fully staged operas and three ballets a year.

Peau Rouge Indiana, a large sculpture by Alexander Calder, sits on the lawn in front of the MAC. It was renovated over the course of two months during the Fall 2007 semester. [3]

Simon Music Center

The Simon Music Center (pictured at the top of the page) opened after an extensive renovation in 1995 and houses the William and Gayle Cook Music Library, Auer Hall, Ford-Crawford Hall, Sweeney Lecture Hall, classrooms, and administrative and faculty offices.

History

In 1907, Charles Campbell arranged for a recital of the Schellschmidt Quartet of Indianapolis, the proceeds of which established a music fund, "to lead ultimately to the equipment of a school of music in the university." In 1909, he offered a series of noncredit lectures on the history of music, which eventually lead to a full fledged music department. In 1919 Barzille Merrill took the position of department head and worked to create a separate school of music. He campaigned for a new music building as well, which was dedicated in 1937, and renamed Merril Hall in 1989. In 1921 the Department of Music officially became the School of Music.

In 1938 Robert L. Sanders was appointed Dean and remains the school's youngest-ever dean. Through his efforts, the school gained membership in the National Association of Schools of Music and built the Hall of Music (now known as the Indiana University Auditorium). In 1941 the Indiana University Auditorium was dedicated and offered 15 events including appearances by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and the San Carlo Opera Company.

In 1942 the school staged its first full opera. Cavalleria Rusticana. That year the Metropolitan Opera Company visited IU for the first time, performing Aida, and would return again for the next 15 years, presenting two operas each visit.

In 1982 Leonard Bernstein spent six weeks at the school to work on his final opera, A Quiet Place. In 1980, the School of Music launched a weekly radio chamber music series produced by WFIU. In its first year, the series featured student and faculty performers and was broadcast on six Indiana stations. By 1981 (and through 1984), "Music from Indiana" had achieved national syndication on American Public Radio, and in 1983, the number of stations carrying the program had jumped to 54.

In 2005 the school announced it had received a gift of $40.6 million from Barbara and David H. Jacobs for the school of music. [4] At the time, it was the largest single gift for a school of music at a public university and it is also the largest single gift ever given by individuals to IU. The school will use $20 million of the gift to endow graduate student fellowships and $10 million to endow undergraduate scholarships. The gift also establishes endowed faculty positions, including the Dean Charles H. Webb Chair in Music, the Henry A. Upper Chair in Music and the David H. Jacobs Chair in Music. In recognition of the contribution by the Jacobs, the Indiana University School of Music was renamed the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

In December 2007 the Lilly Endowment donated $44 million toward a new faculty studio building for the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. [5]

Notable alumni

The Musical Ivy League

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music is considered to be a member of the "Musical Ivy League", a group of music schools considered to be, in many ways, the finest in the world.

External links

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