Music

The Stanford music department supports a culture that is both firmly rooted in history and vigorously engaged with the technological evolution of sound.

The Department of Music strikes more than just one chord at Stanford. It not only provides specialized training for those who plan careers related to music but also promotes greater understanding and enjoyment of music across campus.

Courses are led by premier scholars and critically acclaimed musicians and composers whose interests span style and time. Class topics range from pre-Baroque music history to the fundamentals of computer-generated sound.

Students can also explore the progression of music at the Archive of Recorded Sound, one of the five largest sound archives in the country. Or they can study and create at the department’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics—a world-renowned multidisciplinary facility of faculty, composers, industry specialists, and visiting experts collaborating at the crossroads of technology and art.

Students across Stanford can pursue their passion for music by participating in the department’s lessons, chamber groups, and choir and instrumental ensembles. Here, they can join everything from a symphonic chorus to a wind ensemble, a Japanese drum group to a laptop orchestra.