About Us

Mission Statement

The mission of the UAB Department of Music is to enrich the lives of a diverse student body and the surrounding community through the instruction and performance of music. This mission is consistent with UAB's primary purpose as a comprehensive urban university.

Further, we contribute to the mission of the UAB College of Arts and Sciences through the development of several of the College’s expected skills and competencies:

  • Ethical and Moral Reasoning
  • Communication
  • Cultural Competence
  • Confidence in the Place of Complexity

Faculty, staff, and students in the UAB Department of Music uphold the University’s stated shared values of Integrity; Respect; Diversity and Inclusiveness; Collaboration; Excellence and Achievement; Stewardship, and Accountability. We are further committed to Equity and Access for all faculty, staff, students, and community partners, including thousands of audience members who attend our public concerts.

In a relatively short time, the UAB Department of Music has distinguished itself as one of the finest centers for educating young musicians in the southeast. Faculty and students perform in the acclaimed Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center (with its four performing venues) and around the globe. We recently became the first program in the state of Alabama to be designated an All-Steinway School, making the department one of only 73 schools worldwide so named by piano maker Steinway & Sons.

Student Learning Outcomes

The Department of Music at UAB offers the BA degree in General Music, with concentrations in Music Technology and Choral or Instrumental Music Education. The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a full member of the National Association of Schools of Music, a national specialized accrediting agency.

Graduates from the Department of Music will:

  • Perform music from a wide range of stylistic periods, genres, and cultural traditions on a primary instrument as a soloist and in varied ensemble settings at a level appropriate to the student's needs, interests, and degree path, and demonstrate keyboard proficiency.
  • Hear, identify, and work with the elements of music, which include melody, harmony, form, and rhythm.
  • Approach and interpret varied musical traditions with fully integrated aural skills, theoretical analysis, and cultural and historical knowledge.
  • Speak and write persuasively about music and its role in society in the 21st century.
  • Utilize technology appropriate to the particular concentration in which they have studied.

  • Additional Student Learning Outcomes for the Music Technology Concentration
    • Music Technology majors will demonstrate knowledge of the principles of and skills in working with studio recording technology, digital audio workstations, electronic and digital synthesis techniques, and multimedia production, utilizing a wide range of industry-standard hardware and software.
    • Music Technology majors will demonstrate proficiency in all the competencies that lead to certification in AVID Sibelius and ProTools software.
    • Through a semester-long internship, Music Technology Majors will develop an understanding of expectations and requirements of a professional music technologist.
  • Additional Student Learning Outcomes for the Music Education Concentrations
    • Demonstrate competencies in conducting and musical leadership of an ensemble, including physical gesturing, aural identification of inaccuracies in rehearsal, and pedagogical techniques to correct errors and improve technical accuracy and musical expression.
    • In addition to the skills required of all music majors, music education majors will be able to demonstrate functional abilities in voice and on brass, woodwind, percussion, and string instruments found in typical P-12 classrooms.
    • Music Education majors will be able to create and lead appropriate class lesson plans, assess effectiveness, and adjust curriculum as needed for the benefit of their P-12 students.
    • Music Education majors will have experience with diverse communities of students and be equipped to implement culturally responsive teaching strategies in any educational setting they encounter.
    • Music Education majors will be able to advocate persuasively for inclusion of music in state P-12 curricula.
    • Music Education majors will pass the national EdTPA certification exam with a score appropriate to teach in public P-12 schools in Alabama.
    • Through a semester-long internship, Music Education students will develop an understanding of expectations and requirements of a professional P-12 music teacher.

Scholarship + Performance = Success

The department is home to numerous world-renown scholars and performers, with recent appearances by faculty and students in Egypt, Russia, France, England, Scotland, Brazil, South Korea, the Czech Republic, and Mexico, as well as television broadcasts throughout the world. Our graduates have consistently found success in graduate study at some of the nation’s most prestigious schools, and work in music business and music technology, music education, churches, and as active performers.

Variety + Balance = How to Excel

The department offers a variety of levels of instruction to give you a balanced musical education. You can chose to study:

  • music theory and composition (exploring the materials and techniques employed in music composition)
  • music history and literature (studying the evolution of musical styles in the context of our cultural heritage and identifying certain works that represent the highest levels of artistic achievement)
  • music performance (developing individual musical skills through personal creative involvement)
  • music education (preparing you to teach music at the nursery through high school level), and
  • music technology (exploring current developments in computers and their applications to and impact on the creation, presentation, and recording of music).

New Technology + New Space = State of the Art Opportunities

The renovated Hulsey Center boasts new faculty offices and teaching studios, multiple rehearsal rooms and classrooms, a music technology laboratory, recording studio, practice rooms, a 235-seat recital hall with surround-sound stereo system, and a new 9-foot Steinway grand piano.

Located in Birmingham — home to the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Opera Birmingham, Alabama Ballet, Chamber Music Society, Birmingham Music Club and a host of other visiting artists — UAB is at the very center of the arts, affording our students invaluable exposure to the world’s greatest artists.