Opportunities

Carthage’s goals are that all students, regardless of their major, might come to both understand and enjoy music more fully and to enrich the cultural life of the campus community and the community at large. Students interested in music have many opportunities to enhance their experience at Carthage.

Auditions and Scholarships

All entering music majors and minors must pass an entrance audition for admission to the program. A panel of three or more members of the music faculty must approve that audition. Auditions include a demonstration of performance ability, a theory assessment, and a keyboard skills assessment. Additionally, students must demonstrate some proficiency with sight-reading, scales (instrumental), and aural skills (vocal). Auditions for scholarships for both majors and non-majors are held.

Music Ensembles

The Carthage Music Department features several music ensembles for students of all majors. The Carthage music ensembles are not only exceptional performance ensembles; they are also interactive “learning laboratories” for our music students. Vocal and instrumental students hone their performance skills. Music education students have opportunities to conduct and rehearse the bands, and receive guidance and feedback from the conductor and ensemble members. Rehearsals are structured to lend insight into not only how to make music, but how to teach music. Workshops and clinics are arranged so ensembles can also provide educational support for regional schools.

Learn more about our music ensembles

Student Organizations

Carthage music students can get involved in a number of student organizations dedicated to putting what’s learned in the classroom into practice.

See music student organizations

Internships and Other Professional Opportunities

Carthage music students are selected for competitive internships and summer young artist programs. Carthage students have interned with local organizations such as the Racine Symphony Orchestra, the Kenosha Symphony Orchestra, and the Music Institute of Chicago. Students have participated in summer music programs such as the Oregon Bach Festival, the Rocky Ridge Summer Music Center, and the Open Jar Institute in New York.

The Carthage Guest Artist Program provides students regular opportunities to interact with world-class artists and conductors such as Nicole Cabell, Dean Peterson ’75, Adam Marks, Rollo Dilworth, Jonathan Newman, Frank Ticheli, Eric Whitacre, and Johan de Meij.

J-Term and Travel Opportunities

J-Term is a special month-long period of study in January in which Carthage students take innovative courses on campus or participate in study tours to other states or countries. The Carthage Music Department has offered trips through J-Term to Spain and Japan among other destinations.

Carthage ensembles also have a rich touring tradition, regularly touring the United States as well as international destinations in Austria, China, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Scotland, Southern Africa, and Spain.

Carthage also has partnerships in China, Japan, and Hungary, providing opportunities for students to explore music performance and education in international settings.

NASM Accreditation

Carthage is one of the colleges in Wisconsin accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. This accreditation recognizes the quality of our facilities, the quality of our library and its holdings, and our proximity to many of the nation’s finest professional music performances in Chicago and Milwaukee.