What make’s Western Oregon University’s music department unique is the high caliber of staff, coupled with small class sizes and dedication to individual success.  At many music universities, performance opportunities may be rare if you’re not the top student in your instrument.  At WOU, virtually anyone who works hard will get their time in the spotlight – not so much as a “spotlight” of fame, but as part of the core training process.

Why should ‘first chair’ get all the solo opportunities?  What if you study hard, practice hard, but are 3^rd chair?  Wouldn’t it make sense to at least get a shot at a solo?

If you want a HUGE Oregon music university, then U of O or PSU provide good options.  And, if you’re the best violinist in the state, perhaps they are a good choice.

However, if you want vocal study outside of Opera and Choir, WOU has great pop options… and, many consider WOU the best program for Northwest Jazz Studies.

The next Oregon music university to consider, is PSU – located in the heart of Portland, with a huge local music scene.

Another significant Oregon music college is the Western Oregon music department.  This Oregon music school is small, yet highly focused to provide an outstanding and comprehensive music education.

While performance opportunities is a big consideration in finding the right Oregon music college, the depth of the overall music program is important.  For example, how strong in the music history for the undergraduate degree?  Whether you enjoy studying music history or not, learning the history behind your instrument improves performance practice and lends appreciation to modern day practice.  Ie, it’s hard to appreciate where you are, until you realize where you’ve been.

Step 1: Find an Oregon voice teacher that you can relate with.  It makes no sense to spend months or years working with someone you don’t like, not matter how “good they are”…  Everyone is different…

Step 2: Make sure your vocal studies are with someone who believes in you and understands your message or gift in singing.  You may not be their star student, but you have a unique vocal gift to offer the world and if your vocal instructor doesn’t “get it” or “get you” then you could be heading down the wrong path.

Step 3: Okay, all of these thus far are about the right instructor – make sure your singing teacher has time for you.  They may “get you” and be a good fit, but if they’re overloaded with 40 other students, you may not get the attention you need.  Many part time voice teachers may only have 5-10 students, and while they may not have the breadth of experience, they may be able to give you the extra attention you need.

Step 4: Make sure you have vocal performance opportunities.  Makes no sense to get voice lessons and not get out there and sing!

Step 5: Practice.  Before you will gain the control you desire over your voice, you need to do the vocal exercises.  Think of it like a sport… if you play football or basketball, then running is a big part of the game…  would you expect to become accomplished if you never ran?  Get out there and run your voice.

Step 6: Have FUN!  The secret to singing and great vocal performance is the key secret to life itself – have fun!  If you’re having a good time, chances are everyone else will also.

Oregon singing lessons start with commitment.  Get going today!

Currently, PSU and U of O are the only Oregon music schools offering Ph.D.s and for this level, you certainly want a big music university with depth in many fields.

However, for a bachelor music degree or masters of music degree, Western Oregon University should be one of your top considerations.

Getting a music degree in Oregon is challenging, requiring extensive hours of practice, class time and rehearsal time.  The last thing you need is to spend 2 hours a day fighting through traffic, finding parking spaces and just trying to get somewhere.  WOU might be the right Oregon music school for you, if you want extraordinarily high instruction quality combined with a relaxed, easy to get around campus.

WOU has the following Oregon Music degree options:

• Bachelor of Science, Music Major
• Bachelor of Arts, Music Major
• Bachelor of Music (music major and minor, focused in music)
• Master of Contemporary Music (MM)

The best Oregon music department might be big, or small depending on your preferences.  Do you like to get lost in huge crowds of other students and not be noticed?  If so, you don’t want to go to Western Oregon University… probably best to head to U of O or PSU for that.

But, if you prefer and Oregon music school that’s small, yet powerful, with small class sizes, lots of individual attention and virtually unlimited performances opportunities – there’s probably only one good choice for your Oregon music degree – WOU.

The best Oregon early music program is led by Dr. Keller Coker.  This music group has the largest selection of viola da gambas of any Northwest music school.

If  you are an Oregon Singer Songwriter and want a formal music education, you will appreciate the singing songwriter ensemble at WOU, led by veteran guitarist and composer, Christopher Woitach.

Oregon Musical Theater excels at WOU.  Here you can get a degree in either theater, or music or both!  Each year a new performance packs Rice auditorium with standing ovation performances.

Repeatedly voted the best for Oregon jazz studies, WOU retains the top jazz faculty in the state…  Tom Bergeron, Keller Coker, Mel Brown, Gordon Lee, Christopher Woitach, Kevin Walczyk, Kevin Helppie, to name a few.

The best Oregon Choral music is led by internationally acclaimed Solveig Holmquist 9PhD).

Ever taken an Oregon conducting lesson?  At WOU, you get the opportunity to take a full year of conducting lessons.  You may then continue with private conducting lessons, and even “major” in conducting.

One of the strongest Oregon music composition programs, is at WOU.  Here, two professors specialize in music composition, while most of the faculty are highly skilled at composition, in addition to their primary appointments.

The latest Oregon Music Recording Technology degree program is at WOU.  While the program is getting off the ground, several students have received a bachelor degree and several others pursuing a masters degree in recording technology.  In collaboration with Mike Moor, of Dead Aunt Thelma’s recording studio in Portland, the program offers real world recording experience in a celebrated studio, combined with the other great aspects of WOU…  For example, at WOU, not only will you use the ProTools system, but learn to create original electronic music and sound manipulation using software such as MAX/MPS/Jitter.

When thinking of an Oregon music school, one might expect to encounter an Oregon orchestra strings program.  At Western, the strings program is multi-dimensional.  Not only will you study classical technique, but you will have plenty of performance opportunities with popular music and early music.

Lastly, if you want Oregon singing lessons, WOU should be high on your list of considerations.  Study Opera, Early Music, Classical, Modern, Jazz and Pop!  What other college offers this variety for vocalists?

For most schools, college choir is a bit lame – often singing junk that you don’t like, all to get an easy credit.

However, Solveig Holmquist (PhD) assembled perhaps the finest Oregon College choir, that competes on a national and international level.  Her University choir frequently performs at Carnegie hall and a couple of years ago traveled to China on an international singing tour.

Imagine getting a vocal studies degree or majoring in something else and just joining the choir because you like college singing… and walking away with those sorts of listings on your resume!

There are three main Oregon University choir opportunities at WOU –

• The main college choir is open to all students
• The Chamber Singers is a select group of accomplished singers
• Soulstice – a jazz performance choir, founded by Kevin Helppie, and currently led by Sherry Alves.

College singing in Oregon can be in a university choir, other music department programs, or at an open mic at your school.

For a good college choir Oregon has much to choose from.  Starting in the north, PSU has a great student choir… further to the south, you’ll find the finest Oregon college singing in Eugene.  Here, not only do students participate in the music department, but they tend to form elaborate high quality groups on their own – independent of music school activities.

Mid-way up the state, just a short jog off I5, is another great Oregon college for singing at western, or WOU.  There you will find numerous official groups and unofficial groups – for example, how about an Acapella Men’s group for fine Oregon college singing?  From oldies to modern improv, this group is fantastic!

For Western Oregon music university, the primary programs are:

• Voice (classical, modern/pop, jazz)
• Collaborative piano
• Jazz (big band, all instruments)
• Guitar (classical, jazz, pop)
• Strings

Some things you’ll like about this Oregon music department, compared to other Oregon music schools, are the small class sizes and plentiful performance opportunities.

My Gender Studies class focused on gender roles and their evolution during war throughout American history; there was a particular emphasis on the Spanish-American War. I incorporated the lessons I learned in this course with the class I taught as a part of my GTA, one of the Graduate School Scholarships that I received. The concepts were very clear and applicable to myself and to the students I passed them on to. Although I’m not certain that I agree with every conclusion that my professors taught us about, I do think that there is some very interesting work being done today in studying the evolution of gender perceptions. I certainly gained a new understanding and perspective on American history through this course.