About Us

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.

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 rennovated 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.