BACHELOR OF ARTS | MUSIC

Core | Music

As a Music major, completing the academic music core gives you a comprehensive education in western art music within a biblical ethos. This music core is essential to equipping you with a thorough foundation needed for a successful future.

The effectiveness of the music core has been validated over the years by our students’ success on the national Major Field Test in Music and by their graduate school acceptance rate.

Program Outcomes

Students will perform collegiate level music with competence.
Students will demonstrate skill in analyzing the underlying theoretical structures of music.
Students will be able to articulate biblical and cultural connections to the music they are studying.
Students will demonstrate understanding of historical and cultural contexts out of which music has been created.
Students will read and become skilled in locating and citing research that involves various areas of musical scholarship.
Students will demonstrate spiritual and professional dispositions in all areas of musical endeavors.

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Suggested Course Schedule

Semester 1

Introductory Music Seminar (0)
Aural Skills Foundations (2)
Music Theory Fundamentals (remedial) (0-2)
Basic Music Literature (3)
Hymnplaying 1 (piano proficiency only) (1)
VP: Diction for Singers (voice proficiency only) (2)
Primary Proficiency Lesson (2)
Secondary Proficiency Lesson (1)
Repertoire (0)
Performing Group* (0.5)
Old Testament Survey (3)
English Composition 1 (3)
Music Concentration** (0-4)

Total Credits: 14.5-16.5

Semester 2

Harmony 1 (2)
Aural Skills Advanced (2)
Hymnplaying 2 (piano proficiency only) (1)
Primary Proficiency Lesson (2)
1st Year Jury (0)
Secondary Proficiency Jury (0)
Secondary Proficiency Lesson (1)
Keyboard/Strings Skills 1 (remedial for pianists/strings) (1)
Repertoire (0)
Performing Group* (0.5)
New Testament Survey (3)
English Composition 2 (3)
Music Concentration** (0-4)

Total Credits: 14.5-15.5

*Performing Group:
Voice Proficiency – must be in choir
Strings Proficiency – must be in orchestra
Wind/Brass Proficiency – must be in band and requisite ensemble
Piano Proficiency – can choose any performing group

**To determine accurate total credit count, add 0-4 concentration credits to semester’s total based on sequencing of concentration courses.

Semester 1

Harmony 2 (2)
Hymnplaying 3 (piano proficiency only) (1)
Principles of Christian Music (2)
Primary Proficiency Lesson (2)
Keyboard/Strings Skills 2 (remedial for pianists/strings) (1)
Repertoire (0)
Performing Group* (0.5)
Baptist Heritage (3)
Fundamentals of Public Speaking (2)
Math or Science Elective (3)
Music Concentration** (0-4)

Total Credits: 15.5-17.5

Semester 2

Harmony 3 (2)
Primary Proficiency Lesson (2)
2nd Year Jury (0)
Keyboard/Strings Skills 3 (remedial for pianists/strings) (1)
Repertoire (0)
Performing Group* (0.5)
Christian Life, Leadership, and Evangelism (3)
The Modern World (3)
Math or Science Elective (3)
Music Concentration** (0-4)

Total Credits: 13.5-14.5

*Performing Group:
Voice Proficiency – must be in choir
Strings Proficiency – must be in orchestra
Wind/Brass Proficiency – must be in band and requisite ensemble
Piano Proficiency – can choose any performing group

**To determine accurate total credit count, add 0-4 concentration credits to semester’s total based on sequencing of concentration courses.

Semester 1

Harmony 4 (2)
Music History Course (2)
Elementary Conducting (2)
Primary Proficiency Lesson (2)
Keyboard/Strings Skills 4 (remedial for pianists/strings) (1)
Repertoire (0)
Performing Group* (0.5)
Accompanying (piano proficiency only) (1)
Bible Doctrine 1 or 2 (3)
Music Concentration** (0-4)

Total Credits: 11.5-13.5

Semester 2

Form and Analysis (2)
Music History Course (2)
Primary Proficiency Lesson with Junior Recital*** (2)
Repertoire (0)
Performing Group* (0.5)
Keyboard Literature (piano proficiency only) (2)
Bible Doctrine 1 or 2 (3)
Music Concentration** (0-4)

Total Credits: 7.5-11.5

*Performing Group:
Voice Proficiency – must be in choir
Strings Proficiency – must be in orchestra
Wind/Brass Proficiency – must be in band and requisite ensemble
Piano Proficiency – can choose any performing group

**To determine accurate total credit count, add 0-4 concentration credits to semester’s total based on sequencing of concentration courses.

***Junior recital required for Voice Proficiency or for Performance Concentration

Semester 1

Music History Course (2)
Primary Proficiency Lesson (2)
Repertoire (0)
Performing Group* (0.5)
Bible Elective (3)
American Studies Elective (3)
Music Concentration** (0-4)

Total Credits: 9.5-10.5

Semester 2

Music History Course (2)
Primary Proficiency Lesson with Senior Recital (2)
Repertoire (0)
Performing Group* (0.5)
Bible Elective (3)
Literature Elective (3)
Music Concentration** (0-4)

Total Credits: 10.5

*Performing Group:
Voice Proficiency – must be in choir
Strings Proficiency – must be in orchestra
Wind/Brass Proficiency – must be in band and requisite ensemble
Piano Proficiency – can choose any performing group

**To determine accurate total credit count, add 0-4 concentration credits to semester’s total based on sequencing of concentration courses.

Alumni Spotlight

Kara Burgess (’12)
Kara Burgess (’12) graduated with a BA in Music, Piano Pedagogy. She returned home to the Syracuse, NY area to open Music for Me—a studio now located in two towns. “Half of my work is with children,” Kara says, “but I also teach senior citizens, an adult string ensemble, and a growing number of students with autism. I love teaching music and speaking truth into people’s lives.” The studio offers a Christmas coffee-shop concert, summer camp, and a July 4th parade float! Kara also serves at her church—teaching children, playing the piano, and leading choir.

Mia Ray (‘17)
Mia Ray (‘17) graduated with a BA in Music with concentrations in Arranging and Piano Pedagogy. After graduating, Mia Ray began teaching music—kindergarten through twelfth grade—and took lessons from well-known composer Dr. Frank Felice at Butler University. “Dr. Felice was excited with the foundation the professors at Maranatha laid for me,” she shares. Mia completed her master’s in Music Composition at Butler in Summer 2020, including a performance of her own composition—The Musical: Bathsheba. While in grad school, she has continued to use her piano skills to teach private lessons and accompany music students.

Joy Parker (’15)
Joy Parker (’15) finished her bachelor’s in Music Education at MBU with emphases in piano pedagogy and choral music. After graduation, she completed a Master of Music degree in Piano Pedagogy and Performance at Westminster Choir College of Rider University. During college, Joy taught at Maranatha Music Prep School, and these years of experience and repertoire- building proved beneficial for her assistantship work at Westminster Conservatory. Most recently, Joy was awarded a partial tuition- paying doctoral assistantship at the University of Southern Mississippi, and she has now completed her first year as a DMA student.

Bethany (Schimkus) Rose (‘17)
Bethany (Schimkus) Rose earned a BA in Violin Pedagogy and Performance. In December 2019 she is scheduled to complete her Master of Music degree in Violin Performance at Wright State University, where she has received both military spouse and graduate music scholarships based on her MBU undergrad GPA. While at MBU, Bethany played vital roles in the music department—as orchestra concertmaster for a few years and as a teacher at Maranatha Music Prep School. Bethany believes both degrees will aid her in achieving her dream of opening her own violin studio: “I’m excited to keep developing my personal violin skills both technically and musically so I will be better equipped to teach my future students.”

Related Majors

Music Education
Communication Arts
Digital Media Marketing

Related Minors

Early Childhood Music
Music Arranging
String Pedagogy
Church Music
Piano Pedagogy

Potential Career Fields

Professional Musician
Music conservatory administrator
Music studio owner
Early childhood music and movement teacher
Private music instructor
Music pastor
Church musician
Music composer/arranger
Music editor
Conductor

*Some careers and employment positions require graduate degrees,
specialized training, or addtional certification and licenses.

MBU Program Faculty

Doug Bachorik

College of Arts and Sciences | Professor
Credentials
PhD Musicology, Durham University
MM Choral Conduction, University of Oklahoma
BS Music Education, Bob Jones University

David Brown

College of Arts and Sciences | Professor
Credentials
DMA Choral Conducting, University of Missouri
MM Trombone Performance, Bob Jones University
BA Trombone Performance, Bob Jones University

Melody Steinbart

College of Arts and Sciences | Assistant Professor
Credentials
MM Violin Performance, East Carolina University
BA String Pedagogy, Maranatha Baptist University

Janet Tschida

College of Arts and Sciences | Associate Professor
Credentials
MA Music Education, University of St. Thomas
BS Music, Maranatha Baptist University

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