Department of Music

Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts

Achieve Excellence Through Our Premier Music Education

In Webster University’s Department of Music, students pursue excellence on a primary instrument, collaborate in noteworthy performance ensembles and integrate the study of music theory, history and literature into practice. All of this is done under the direction of a team of over 13 full-time faculty and 65 dedicated artist/teachers.

Accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) for over 70 years, we offer a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, including Music Education, Instrumental and Vocal Performance, Composition, Songwriting and a first-in-the-country Bachelor of Music in Music Direction for Musical Theatre.

The Webster Music Experience

The Music Department has a community-based attitude of support and a tradition of excellence. Our location in a major urban area provides a thriving theatre and music scene, and our students benefit from a close-knit, friendly campus. With small class sizes, our faculty will know your name and unique strengths, supporting you in and out of the classroom.

We are an arts-centered university, and our professors are outstanding professional practitioners who love to teach. You'll build close working relationships with faculty who practice their craft daily, helping you expand your musical horizons and prepare for a lifetime of making music.

Music composition students working with professor

Undergraduate Majors and Minors

Minor in Music

Graduate Programs

Ensembles

Our Music program provides all Webster students the opportunity to perform in student-centered jazz, classical, vocal and instrumental ensembles.

Performance Calendar

Experience our musical offerings for the 2025–2026 school year! View our performance calendar for concert information.

Audition

Webster University provides unparalleled experience and unrivaled training! Learn about the audition process and how to request an audition.

Scholarship Information

Music Scholarships up to $5,000 per year are available to Music majors who participate in a live audition. Preference is given to those students who audition prior to March 1.

The Department of Music offers a number of endowed scholarships and other special scholarship recognitions, which are awarded to sophomore, junior or senior students who have demonstrated exceptional talent. Recent recipients include:

Buder Foundation Scholarship: Erica Ancell, Ben Shafer, Addie Struckman and Mikaela Weston
Peggy Fossett Endowed Scholarship Fund for Music: Jarod Allen, Keion Lukes, Caleb McCarroll, Theresa Monteleone and Zach Tesch
James Moroney Nigh Endowed Scholarship in Opera: Anthony Murgo
Donald O. Davis Memorial Endowed Scholarship for Jazz Studies: Jake Heberle

For more information, please email Andrew Laue, Associate Director of Fine Arts Admissions at lauear@webster.edu.

Faculty and Student Collaboration

“The music department has a community-based attitude of support and pushing each other to be our best, while supported by faculty dedicated to services in and out of the classroom.”

Katy Boykin

BM in Composition with an Emphasis in Concert Music, ’26

The Music Department's Inspiring Faculty

Transcript

[Instrumental music]

Text on screen: Webster University

Text on screen: Department of Music, “Inspiring Faculty”

Text on screen: Sophie Shugart, ’19

[Shugart sits and talks in Loretto-Hilton Center.]

Shugart: The faculty are amazing. They are so attentive; very funny; everyone's very outgoing.

Text on screen: Danielle Feinstein, ’17

[Feinstein sits in the theatre of Loretto-Hilton Center.]

Feinstein: Faculty do everything they can to help guide you and inspire you as a musician.

Aaron Brown: You can talk to a professor about anything.

[Photo of a professor sitting at a piano. Photo of a student singing while looking at sheet music on a music stand.]

Text on screen: Aaron Brown, ’17

[Brown sitting and talking in an academic building along a corridor.]

Brown: They will take the time out of their day after the class to help you out, and that's coming, that's great.

[Shugart sits and talks in Loretto-Hilton Center.]

Shugart: If I ever get worried about something, I could go to my faculty or can go to fellow students who are already there or further along than me that can definitely help.

[Photo of students sit at a round table with laptops, cell phones, homework, books, pens and papers, discussing assignments.]

[Photo of two students sitting at a desk with Music Professor Jeffrey Carter.]

[Feinstein in Loretto-Hilton Center theatre.]

Feinstein: The most interesting thing I've learned is that it's OK to ask for help because at the end of the day — all of your professors, all of your friends want to help you succeed.

[Photo of orchestra pit with students playing music.]

[Photo of choral students sing while holding sheet music.]

Feinstein: So if you can't do it by yourself, that's OK. They are here for you and that is a really unique and important part of our community in the music department.

[Webster University logo]

Text on screen: webster.edu/music

[Instrumental music gets louder and then finishes.]

Meet Our Faculty

Facilities and Global Opportunities

All-Steinway School

All-Steinway Schools demonstrate a commitment to excellence by providing their students and faculties with Steinway pianos for the study of music in higher education. In December 2010, Webster achieved designation as the 123rd All-Steinway School, worldwide.

Historic Thompson House

As the oldest building on campus, the Thompson House is listed on the National Historic Register, and serves as the heart of the Department of Music. Originally built in 1910, this historic home now provides a vibrant space for learning, with faculty offices, practice rooms, classrooms, a computer lab, a student lounge and the Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts Dean's office. The Recital Hall, a combination of the original parlor and dining room, features beautiful quartersawn oak paneling — in the very room where Eleanor Roosevelt once dined!

Take a Virtual Tour

Launch Thompson House

Webster University Vienna's campus building

Study Music Abroad in Vienna

Only at Webster, you can spend a term at our international campus in Vienna, Austria, one of the world's great music capitals. Our program is designed to allow music students to immerse themselves in a global education, taking music classes with classmates from dozens of other countries.

Learn More About Study Abroad in Vienna for Music

Our Unique Resources

Donated by one of St. Louis' most avid jazz fans, the Dennis Owsley Jazz Recording Collection is a treasure for students and researchers alike. This gift from Dennis Owsley, host of the weekly radio show Jazz Unlimited, consists of his entire 54-year collection of jazz recordings.

Housed in Webster's Emerson Library, the collection includes thousands of recordings, with a focus on documenting the St. Louis jazz scene of the 1960s and 70s. These rare LPs are a resource for students, faculty and the community, enriching our understanding of this art form. Much of the collection is available for circulation, allowing you to engage with this incredible history firsthand.

Our students' musical lives are enriched by visiting guest artists who perform, lecture and guide them in masterclasses and workshops. We bring in a wide range of professionals from across the country and around the world.

Recent guests include:

Christine Brewer: Internationally renowned operatic soprano
Leonard Slatkin: Internationally acclaimed conductor
Donny McCaslin: Grammy-winning jazz saxophonist
Jennifer Johnson Cano: Mezzo-soprano with the Metropolitan Opera
Phil Kennicott: Pulitzer Prize-winning culture critic
Hana Sharif: Artistic Director of The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Tecwyn Evans: Artistic Director from Denmark
Melissa Dunphy: Composer from Philadelphia
Dale Trumbore: Composer and entrepreneur
Fattah Abbou and Mohamed Aoualou (AZA): Traditional Moroccan Tamazight musicians

Community Music School Pre-Collegiate Programs

A Lifetime of Music Education

Since 1925, the Community Music School of Webster University (CMS) has offered outstanding music education and performance opportunities to students of all ages and abilities in the St. Louis area and beyond. With dozens of faculty members, the CMS provides a comprehensive range of programs, including individual lessons on a wide range of instruments, early childhood classes like Kindermusik, ensembles and orchestras (String Ensemble, YPCO, YPSO), the Suzuki Strings program, chamber music and a Preparatory Program for advanced students, summer camps and the Young Composers Competition.

CMS Jazz Collective

The CMS Jazz Collective welcomes students from middle and high school to join college and professional musicians. This program introduces students to jazz styles from the 1930s to today, helping them develop core skills like improvisation and musicianship. Prior jazz experience is encouraged but not required.

Learn More about CMS

Alumni Spotlight: Where Our Grads Go

Our alumni live, work and create in towns and cities around the world. Here’s a look at a few of our graduates:

Douglas Major, Class of ’74, spent three decades as the head of the Music program at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
Jennifer Johnson Cano, Class of ’06, is a rising star in the world of opera and an artist with the Metropolitan Opera.
James Sedares, Class of ’77, has led orchestras around the U.S. and Europe. His recordings are available on major labels.
John Zorn, Class of ’74, is a MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant" recipient and a major avant-garde composer and performer.
Erin Bode, Class of ’98, is a leading jazz artist who performs worldwide.