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Fast Facts

Mission

The mission of the Department of Music is to provide educational and performance opportunities for student and community participants through a variety of musical experiences and academic courses. It is also our mission to serve as a cultural resource for the university and the greater community through performances and presentations offered by our students, our student/community groups, and by our faculty.

Vision

The Department of Music aspires to provide a responsive and innovative music education to all NC State students as an essential expression of the human experience.

History

Music at NC State began as drum and bugle support for the military in 1889, less than a decade after the university’s founding. In 1924, Textiles professor Percy Walter “Daddy” Price (for whom the current music facility at NC State is named) took over as the department’s first director and cultivated the first performing ensembles. The Department of Music has grown well beyond the vision of its founders and its university in the almost 100 years since its inception. The drum and bugle corps grew into a marching band of more than 300 student-musicians and the department now serves over 2,500 students annually in its courses.

People

  • Ten faculty
  • 26 part-time lecturers
  • Three support staff

Facilities

Price Music Center (built in 1972) has 21,525 square feet that is used for:

  • Classroom instruction
  • Individual student instruction
  • Ensemble rehearsals
  • Individual student practice
  • Faculty and staff offices

The department also has office and classroom space in the south wing of Broughton Hall, including music labs and digital audio workstations.

Programs and Curricula

  • Music Minor
  • Arts Entrepreneurship Minor
  • Academic courses – Lecture courses are available in music history, theory and composition, world music, popular music, arts entrepreneurship, music industry and music technology. Applied courses provide an extraordinary array of study and performance possibilities for students ranging from individual lessons to ensembles. The department’s curricular ensembles include orchestras, concert bands, athletic bands, choirs, jazz big bands, jazz combos and chamber ensembles. All ensembles earn one academic credit and are open to all students by audition.
  • Events – In addition to teaching, the department presents 30-40 ticketed concerts annually before a cumulative audience of 6,500+, plus six departmental recitals and a variable number of music minor recitals. This number does not include the hundreds of thousands who enjoy the athletic bands’ performances at live athletics events. The department also runs an annual lecture series, master classes and guest speakers.
  • Affliated Student Organizations – The department supports and collaborates with more than a dozen music-affiliated student organizations, including seven student-led performing ensembles.

Last updated: January 13, 2022