Music - Majors & Minors - Knox College
Source: https://www.knox.edu/academics/majors-and-minors/music
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:19
Music - Majors & Minors - Knox College
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Music
If you love music, then you can make it here. No auditions required—just enthusiasm, curiosity, and effort.
Meet Your Professors
Visit Knox
Music Faculty
Music Courses
Music Requirements
Jazz Year
2025-26 Concert Schedule
Major
Minors (Ethnomusicology, Jazz/Popular Music Studies, Musicology, Performance, Theory/Composition)
This isn’t a conservatory. It’s a laboratory.
If you’re interested in playing music at Knox, you’re in good company. More than a third of students here get involved with the music program—from the newbies who want to finally take piano lessons to the aspiring singer-songwriters who dream of recording their own albums to the music lovers who want to understand why it feels so amazing when the beat drops in “Turn Down for What.”
You don’t need to be planning on a professional musical career. You don’t even need to pursue a major or minor. If you want to perform or compose music, or even just become a better music listener, there’s a place for you here.
Majors & Minors
No matter what you want to accomplish, from performing music to composing opera to teaching high school band, there’s a major or minor for you.
Requirements
Courses
Course Spotlight
Explore music from a variety of perspectives. Music theory courses focus on understanding the structural workings of music. Ethnomusicology courses help you better understand the relationship between music and culture. Music technology, composition, and songwriting courses offer the opportunity to create your own works.
MUS 104 Global Pop Music
MUS 125 Digital Audio Production
MUS 170 Conducting and Score Study Workshop
MUS 307 Instrumental Teaching Techniques I
Bachelor of Arts Degrees
With this degree program, you'll develop proficiency in a wide variety of musical skills and participate in a music ensemble for at least two years of your Knox experience. Beyond that, you can tailor your coursework to focus on the areas most important to you.
You can also double major in
Music and Educational Studies (with teacher certification), which requires both proficiency in music reading and performance as well as foundational courses in education and a student teaching component.
Dive into Our 5 Minors
Explore traditional, classical, and popular music from around the world. Focus on contemporary musical genres, from jazz to rock to K-pop. Take an
experiential
approach to theory and composition of music, get an advanced education in musical performance, or create your own original pieces of vocal and/or instrumental music. Choose a minor you love:
Ethnomusicology
Jazz/Popular Music Studies
Musicology
Performance
Theory/Composition
Join a Band. Go on Tour. Release a Record.
We love to perform. Choose from 20+ instrumental and vocal ensembles in multiple genres, from jazz combos to choir to rock, funk, folk, and punk bands. There are too many to list here, but this should give you the idea.
20+ Ensembles, Even More Performances
We love to perform, and we love for Knox and Galesburg community members to enjoy our performances
Music Events
Knox-Rootabaga Jazz Festival Featuring Bill Frisell
The Knox-Rootabaga Jazz Festival returned to Galesburg May 9-13, 2023, welcoming Grammy Award-winning guitarist Bill Frisell as the headlining act. The John Tate Trio, featuring Lenard Simpson, traveled around the city early in the week, visiting local schools and performing for students.
What Our Music Alumni Are Doing
You’ll find music students in virtually every major at Knox, but there are plenty who make it their primary professional focus. From teaching music to working in arts organizations, your liberal arts degree prepares you for a range of possibilities.
Christine Steyer ’92 | Performer; 2020 Honored Artist of The American Prize for Artistic Excellence
Sophia Elswick ’24 | Music Teacher, Stark County Junior and Senior High
Tatiana Topoluk ’19 | Music Teacher, King Elementary School
Mara Lane ’18 | Ph.D. Candidate in Musicology, UC-Berkeley
Samantha Burgess ’19 | Marketing Program Manager, San Francisco Opera
Steve Jackson ’89 | Jazz Band Director, Monmouth College and double bassist with the Muscatine Symphony Orchestra Association
32%
Alumni with music degrees working in a related field
Brandon Roberts
Roberts is best known around campus as a guitarist for the Cherry Street Combo.
Meet Brandon
Casey Foubert
Casey is a nontraditional student studying music after establishing his career working with various folk, indie, and pop bands.
Meet Casey
Music News
Find out what our music students and professors are up to.
News & Features
Knox Jazz Year Awarded Galesburg Community Foundation “Turnout” Grant
The funds will help support educational outreach programs.
Read More
Rootabaga Brings Variety of Jazz Back to Galesburg
The 45th annual Knox-Rootabaga Jazz Festival returned to Galesburg with nearly a week’s worth of performances.
Read More
Camille Thurman Brings Vocal and Instrumental Versatility to Mirza Jazz Residency
This year’s residency marked the first to feature a vocalist as the visiting artist.
Read More
Mirza Jazz Residency Featuring Gilad Hekselman
The Jerome Mirza Jazz Residency at Knox College brings world-renowned jazz artists to campus for a week of intensive and collaborative jazz activities with Knox College students, culminating in a free public concert at the historic Orpheum Theatre.
Music FAQs
Absolutely not! Each term, approximately 250 Knox students from every department on campus participate in music courses, lessons, and ensembles. In fact, everything we offer is open to any interested student, and we are particularly committed to creating innovative course offerings for non-musicians, including courses such as Music Around the World, Global Pop, History of Rock, The Broadway Musical, and Digital Audio Production.
In our Music Department, you will not be limited to classical music (though we love that too!). You can play both classic and contemporary jazz with the
Knox Jazz Ensemble
or
Cherry Street Combo
. Sing a variety of historical and popular choral music with our choirs. Learn a new instrument such as the Oud with our Middle Eastern Music Ensemble. Or participate in a pop, rock, or funk band in our thriving Knox Rocks Band.
The analytical, communication, and teamwork skills built in a Knox music major or minor are great preparation for a variety of careers! Recent graduates have pursued careers in library science, education (music or otherwise), occupational therapy, law, and many other paths. We have also sent recent music alums to top graduate programs in music, including The University of California-Berkeley and Ohio State University.
Yes, and you don’t have to commit to being a music major or minor to qualify! For more details and application instructions, visit the
Music Scholarship
section of our
Auditions & Portfolios in the Arts
page.
Want to know more about Knox? We’re jazzed.
Find out about financial aid and scholarships, our ensembles, travel opportunities, or what our current favorite song is.
Loading...
Skip to Main Content
Music
If you love music, then you can make it here. No auditions required—just enthusiasm, curiosity, and effort.
Meet Your Professors
Visit Knox
Music Faculty
Music Courses
Music Requirements
Jazz Year
2025-26 Concert Schedule
Major
Minors (Ethnomusicology, Jazz/Popular Music Studies, Musicology, Performance, Theory/Composition)
This isn’t a conservatory. It’s a laboratory.
If you’re interested in playing music at Knox, you’re in good company. More than a third of students here get involved with the music program—from the newbies who want to finally take piano lessons to the aspiring singer-songwriters who dream of recording their own albums to the music lovers who want to understand why it feels so amazing when the beat drops in “Turn Down for What.”
You don’t need to be planning on a professional musical career. You don’t even need to pursue a major or minor. If you want to perform or compose music, or even just become a better music listener, there’s a place for you here.
Majors & Minors
No matter what you want to accomplish, from performing music to composing opera to teaching high school band, there’s a major or minor for you.
Requirements
Courses
Course Spotlight
Explore music from a variety of perspectives. Music theory courses focus on understanding the structural workings of music. Ethnomusicology courses help you better understand the relationship between music and culture. Music technology, composition, and songwriting courses offer the opportunity to create your own works.
MUS 104 Global Pop Music
MUS 125 Digital Audio Production
MUS 170 Conducting and Score Study Workshop
MUS 307 Instrumental Teaching Techniques I
Bachelor of Arts Degrees
With this degree program, you'll develop proficiency in a wide variety of musical skills and participate in a music ensemble for at least two years of your Knox experience. Beyond that, you can tailor your coursework to focus on the areas most important to you.
You can also double major in
Music and Educational Studies (with teacher certification), which requires both proficiency in music reading and performance as well as foundational courses in education and a student teaching component.
Dive into Our 5 Minors
Explore traditional, classical, and popular music from around the world. Focus on contemporary musical genres, from jazz to rock to K-pop. Take an
experiential
approach to theory and composition of music, get an advanced education in musical performance, or create your own original pieces of vocal and/or instrumental music. Choose a minor you love:
Ethnomusicology
Jazz/Popular Music Studies
Musicology
Performance
Theory/Composition
Join a Band. Go on Tour. Release a Record.
We love to perform. Choose from 20+ instrumental and vocal ensembles in multiple genres, from jazz combos to choir to rock, funk, folk, and punk bands. There are too many to list here, but this should give you the idea.
20+ Ensembles, Even More Performances
We love to perform, and we love for Knox and Galesburg community members to enjoy our performances
Music Events
Knox-Rootabaga Jazz Festival Featuring Bill Frisell
The Knox-Rootabaga Jazz Festival returned to Galesburg May 9-13, 2023, welcoming Grammy Award-winning guitarist Bill Frisell as the headlining act. The John Tate Trio, featuring Lenard Simpson, traveled around the city early in the week, visiting local schools and performing for students.
What Our Music Alumni Are Doing
You’ll find music students in virtually every major at Knox, but there are plenty who make it their primary professional focus. From teaching music to working in arts organizations, your liberal arts degree prepares you for a range of possibilities.
Christine Steyer ’92 | Performer; 2020 Honored Artist of The American Prize for Artistic Excellence
Sophia Elswick ’24 | Music Teacher, Stark County Junior and Senior High
Tatiana Topoluk ’19 | Music Teacher, King Elementary School
Mara Lane ’18 | Ph.D. Candidate in Musicology, UC-Berkeley
Samantha Burgess ’19 | Marketing Program Manager, San Francisco Opera
Steve Jackson ’89 | Jazz Band Director, Monmouth College and double bassist with the Muscatine Symphony Orchestra Association
32%
Alumni with music degrees working in a related field
Brandon Roberts
Roberts is best known around campus as a guitarist for the Cherry Street Combo.
Meet Brandon
Casey Foubert
Casey is a nontraditional student studying music after establishing his career working with various folk, indie, and pop bands.
Meet Casey
Music News
Find out what our music students and professors are up to.
News & Features
Knox Jazz Year Awarded Galesburg Community Foundation “Turnout” Grant
The funds will help support educational outreach programs.
Read More
Rootabaga Brings Variety of Jazz Back to Galesburg
The 45th annual Knox-Rootabaga Jazz Festival returned to Galesburg with nearly a week’s worth of performances.
Read More
Camille Thurman Brings Vocal and Instrumental Versatility to Mirza Jazz Residency
This year’s residency marked the first to feature a vocalist as the visiting artist.
Read More
Mirza Jazz Residency Featuring Gilad Hekselman
The Jerome Mirza Jazz Residency at Knox College brings world-renowned jazz artists to campus for a week of intensive and collaborative jazz activities with Knox College students, culminating in a free public concert at the historic Orpheum Theatre.
Music FAQs
Absolutely not! Each term, approximately 250 Knox students from every department on campus participate in music courses, lessons, and ensembles. In fact, everything we offer is open to any interested student, and we are particularly committed to creating innovative course offerings for non-musicians, including courses such as Music Around the World, Global Pop, History of Rock, The Broadway Musical, and Digital Audio Production.
In our Music Department, you will not be limited to classical music (though we love that too!). You can play both classic and contemporary jazz with the
Knox Jazz Ensemble
or
Cherry Street Combo
. Sing a variety of historical and popular choral music with our choirs. Learn a new instrument such as the Oud with our Middle Eastern Music Ensemble. Or participate in a pop, rock, or funk band in our thriving Knox Rocks Band.
The analytical, communication, and teamwork skills built in a Knox music major or minor are great preparation for a variety of careers! Recent graduates have pursued careers in library science, education (music or otherwise), occupational therapy, law, and many other paths. We have also sent recent music alums to top graduate programs in music, including The University of California-Berkeley and Ohio State University.
Yes, and you don’t have to commit to being a music major or minor to qualify! For more details and application instructions, visit the
Music Scholarship
section of our
Auditions & Portfolios in the Arts
page.
Want to know more about Knox? We’re jazzed.
Find out about financial aid and scholarships, our ensembles, travel opportunities, or what our current favorite song is.
Loading...