» Woodwinds and Brass Performance

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The Bachelor of Music in Performance for Woodwinds and Brass is an intensive program that focuses on classical training for solo, chamber, and symphonic and orchestral experience. You'll also build a strong liberal-arts foundation to become a well-rounded, thinking musician with a firm grasp of both performance and theory.

You will take hourly lessons with your private instructor, plus studio classes every week, and may frequently perform throughout each semester with the University Wind Symphony and The Chapman Orchestra in our state-of-the-art concert hall, Musco Center for the Arts. There are numerous performance opportunities for performance majors on and off campus, as well as the opportunity to work with and play for visiting guest artists.

Prospective conservatory students may take a complimentary half-hour lesson with one of our applied instructors. Please contact Prof. Tim Hall to arrange for a lesson.

We welcome your interest in our program and look forward to helping you turn your passion into profession!

In this program you will:

hone your musical skills
learn music theory
perform in your first year
take electives
have the choice to double-major or minor in an additional music or non-music discipline

By the time you graduate, you'll be prepared to:

Demonstrate fluent musicianship skills, including:
- an understanding of music theory
- proficiency with aural skills and sight reading
- knowledge of different musical styles and historical eras
- basic piano skills
- the ability to rehearse and perform collaboratively and contribute to an ensemble
- proficiency with basic music technology
- an understanding and demonstration of basic improvisation techniques

Demonstrate performance skills as a soloist on your main instrument, including:
- knowledge in technique, historically appropriate performance styles and repertoire
- sight reading

Demonstrate leadership, having observed and experienced leadership roles and professional opportunities, in order to prepare for a career as a performer.

Employ pedagogical techniques and skills relevant to your instrument family.

More information about and program courses and requirements is available on our Woodwinds and Brass Performance catalog page.

Performance Opportunities from the First Day

Not only are there ample performance opportunities for you in a variety of venues throughout the year, including our state-of-the-art Musco Center for the Arts, you'll be able to participate in ensembles your first year. We don't have a seniority system so your ensemble audition outcome is based your talent and level of commitment. That's why a first-year student has as much opportunity as a senior to participate in any given ensemble. In addition to large ensemble opportunities, chamber music is encouraged and is a required part of the major's curriculum.

Learn more about our music ensembles »

Student Clubs and Organizations

Chapman has hundreds of student clubs and organizations. These range from academic to spiritual to cultural to just having fun. Some clubs that are popular with our department majors include:

Program Faculty

The Woodwinds and Brass Studies program is led by Professor Timothy Hall who, besides teaching trumpet, has an active performance and touring career. Equally adept in classical and jazz genres, he can often be heard with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, L.A. Opera, Pacific Symphony, Los Angeles Master Chorale, the California Philharmonic, Long Beach Opera, Pasadena Symphony, Long Beach Municipal Band, and the Laguna Beach Pageant of the Masters Orchestra. Tim has toured the United States, Europe and Asia with a variety of groups, in travels that included a five-year stay in Japan while performing in the orchestra in residence and in jazz ensembles at the Huis Ten Bosch resort.

Chapman Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music woodwind and brass faculty hold prominent positions in major ensembles in Southern California, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera and Chamber Orchestra, to name a few. Our faculty have earned degrees at the Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, UCLA, The Cleveland Institute of Music, USC, and together bring a wealth of knowledge and experience unparalleled in Southern California. With a student body of 225 majors and a faculty ratio of 1:14, Chapman’s Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music provides students with personalized education and direct contact with faculty, without substitutions or teaching assistants.

Additional Woodwind and Brass Faculty:

Prof. Fred Green, low brass
Prof. Jenny Kim, horn
Prof. Gary Matsuura, saxophone
Prof. Elliott Moreau, bassoon
Prof. Mary Palchak, flute
Dr. Lea Steffens, clarinet
Prof. David Stetson, trombone
Dr. Ted Sugata, oboe

Guest Artists

The Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music invites guest artists and ensembles on a regular basis to work with students and ensembles in their respective fields of expertise. Recent Ensembles-in-Residence include:

California’s E.A.R. Unit
Penderecki String Quartet
Ariana Ghez, principal oboe, Los Angeles Philharmonic
Linda Watson
Anne Akiko Meyers
William Burden
Sergei Babayan
Vladimir Chernov

Where This Degree Will Take You

A Bachelor of Music in Woodwinds and Brass Performance degree will prepare you for careers in:

professional performance
private music instruction
elementary music education
collegiate music education
musicology

What's more, by adding a double major or minor in another music or non-music discipline, you can harness a Woodwinds and Brass Performance degree in even more diverse careers after graduation.

You’ll also have access to free lifetime career advising from our dedicated Career Advisor for the College of Performing Arts. That means that you can get career advice and preparation from the day you begin the program to long after graduation.

Admission and Tour Information

Learn more about applying to the conservatory on our Music Admission page, including information about auditions and deadlines, or check out the curriculum on our catalog page.

Want to learn more about Chapman? We are always available for tours and information sessions. We’d love to meet you!