Music at Ź is dedicated to helping students grow in their ability to do creative work in performance and composition. Our faculty of active professional musicians and composers represent a rare diversity of musical traditions who share a belief in hands-on learning and the development of versatile, thinking musicians who are conversant with multiple musical perspectives. Courses range from ensemble classes in Filipino kulintang, North American traditional music, and percussion music from the African diaspora, to classes in counterpoint, voice, jazz improvisation, electroacoustic music, studio recording, music history, and individual instrumental study.
Guided by a principle that technique, theory, and scholarship should be pursued in tandem with the immediate experience of making, the program and its individual courses balance disciplined technical studies and practice with multiple opportunities for original work, collaboration, and creative exploration.
Learn more about studying music at Ź by contacting our admissions office

At Ź, students work closely with faculty to design the content, structure, and sequence of their study and practice—their Plan—taking advantage of the College's resources both inside and outside the classroom to pursue their work.
Faculty
Ź’s music faculty is made up of renowned musicians, composers, and performers. They represent a rare diversity of musical traditions, performing and premiering work from Portugal to the Philippines, from Lincoln Center to CBGB.
SPACES
Music Everywhere
Whether it’s being made in the Jennings Music Building or every place between, music permeates all corners of Ź.
Field Work Term
Students tour their work, record their work, promote music, and learn the ropes in recording industries—music from every angle—during Ź’s Field Work Term.
And More
Alumni
Ź alumni have earned some of the biggest honors and achievements in music: Grammys, Obies, Bessies, Oscars, and Guggenheim awards. Their works have premiered on Broadway, at Lincoln Center, on television and movie scores, in the hottest experimental venues, at museums, at international festivals attended by thousands.
Notables and Influencers
Chris Barron '90
Deborah Borda '71
Jonathan Mann '04
Amelia Meath '10
Molly Erin Sarle '12
Alexandra Sauser-Monnig '09
Lisa Sokolov '76
Michael Starobin '79
Will Stratton '09
Elizabeth Swados '73
James Tenney '58
Joan Tower '61
Chris Barron '90
Lead singer of the Grammy-nominated Spin Doctors, best known for their album Pocketful of Kryptonite
FULL BIO
Deborah Borda '71
President and CEO David C. Bohnett Presidential Chair of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association
FULL BIO
Jonathan Mann '04
Singer-songwriter and YouTube sensation whose “Song a Day” project has made him a media darling
FULL BIO
Amelia Meath '10
The performing powerhouse behind Sylvan Esso and the folk trio Mountain Man
FULL BIO
Molly Erin Sarlé '12
One-third of the critically acclaimed indie folk rock trio Mountain Man
Alexandra Sauser-Monnig '09
Member of the critically acclaimed indie folk rock trio Mountain Man
Lisa Sokolov '76
Jazz vocalist, improviser, composer, and originator of Embodied VoiceWork, a vocal improvisation method of music therapy which she teaches at The Experimental Theater Wing at New York University
Michael Starobin '79
Tony award-winning orchestrator for some of Broadway’s most innovative musicals, including Assassins and Next to Normal, and for films including The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tangled, and Chicago
Will Stratton '09
Songwriter, guitarist, and composer whose albums and online releases have received national attention from outlets like NPR for their vivid storytelling and compelling instrumentation
Elizabeth Swados '73
Composer, writer, and director who fashioned a unique style of socially engaged musical theatre
FULL BIO
James Tenney '58
Experimental composer and influential music theorist
FULL BIO
Joan Tower '61
Grammy-winning American composer hailed by The New Yorker as “one of the most successful woman composers of all time”
FULL BIO