Music Technology

Gain hands-on tech experience in music production.

Music Technology Minor

Have you ever wished you knew how to use technology to help your garage band achieve the best sound? Or how to record and edit music like a pro? With a minor in music technology at Susquehanna University, you can do anything from manage the sound at live events and concerts or run your own music studio. The music technology minor puts that power in your hands.

No matter your level of musical experience, start right away learning studio recording and engineering. Learn how to record, edit, analyze and produce music. Make yourself at home with our state-of-the-art music industry software and equipment in our large, fully-equipped recording/computer music studio. Master the ever-evolving world of electronic or digital technology to create bold new musical possibilities.

At Susquehanna, we emphasize real-life experience so that when you graduate, you’re well-positioned to find work, and our music technology minors even have the opportunity to get paid audio and video tech jobs on campus. The minor degree program is open to students of all majors, so any student can take advantage of these real-world practical experiences. The music technology minor is a great opportunity to add valuable skills to your musical experience and to almost any career.

Performance Opportunities

Vocal

Choral ensembles perform on and off campus and contribute to major university events, including the annual Candlelight Service. There are four distinct ensembles. Any student, regardless of major, may audition.

Choir

The celebrated University Choir represents Susquehanna’s great musical heritage on annual tours in Pennsylvania and throughout the Eastern United States.
Amy Voorhees, conductor

Chorale

The University Chorale performs mainly on campus in music ranging from the Renaissance to the present.
Amy Caron, conductor

Chamber Singers

The highly select University Chamber Singers are chosen from members of the University Choir.
Amy Voorhees, conductor

Chapel Choir

The Chapel Choir provides musical leadership at weekly University Chapel services and is open to all students without an audition.
Marcos Krieger, conductor

Opera Studio

The Opera Studio performs a wide repertoire ranging from opera scenes to full productions of complete operas with orchestra. The casts are made up entirely of students who audition for the Opera Studio at the beginning of each year.

In the past dozen years, the full productions with orchestra have included:

Krása: Brundibár
Monteverdi: L’Orfeo
Mozart: The Magic Flute
Puccini: Gianni Schicchi (in Italian)
Puccini: Suor Angelica (in Itallian)
Sondheim: Passion
J. Strauss: Die Fledermaus
Gilbert & Sullivan: The Mikado
Ullmann: The Emperor of Atlantis
Weill: Street Scene
Weill: The Threepenny Opera

Scenes programs have included the complete third act of Puccini’s La Bohème, sung in Italian, and complete acts of Britten’s Albert Herring and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other recent programs have featured scenes from the following operas:

Adamo: Little Women
Gounod: Romeo and Juliet
Handel: Julius Caesar
Massenet: Manon
Menotti: The Medium
Mozart: Così fan tutte and Don Giovanni
Poulenc: Dialogues of the Carmelites
Rossini: La Cenerentola and The Barber of Seville
R. Strauss: Arabella
Thomas: Hamlet
Verdi: Falstaff
Ward: The Crucible

Opera Studio performances are held in the 320-seat Stretansky Concert Hall or in the 450-seat Degenstein Center Theater. David Steinau, director

Instrumental

The instrumental area provides extensive performance opportunities for players of string, wind and percussion instruments. Any student, regardless of major, is welcome to audition.

Symphony Orchestra

The Symphony Orchestra performs the great music of the Western canon along with lesser-known works and premieres. The ensemble accompanies an annual concerto competition winner and regularly collaborates on opera productions and oratorios.
Zachary Levi, conductor

Wind Ensemble

The highly select University Wind Ensemble is composed of 45 to 50 of our most experienced players and performs the finest wind band repertoire.
Eric Hinton, conductor

Symphonic Band

The University Symphonic Band performs three annual concerts of a broad spectrum of concert band literature.
Eric Hinton, conductor

Stadium Band

At all home football games, the Stadium Band performs fight songs, popular songs of the 50s and 60s, patriotic songs, R&B and funk. Audition not required.
Brett Hosterman, director

Jazz Ensemble

The Jazz Ensemble explores traditional big band tunes, as well as modern music reflecting jazz, rock and world music influences. Small combos are regularly formed to emphasize improvisation.
Gail Levinsky, director

Pit Orchestra

This ensemble provides full orchestral accompaniment for the annual fall musical.

Chamber Music

The chamber music program provides diverse opportunities for students to study significant works for small ensembles, each of which is coached weekly by a faculty member. Each semester there may be string quartets, piano trios and brass or woodwind quintets, for example, along with Percussion Ensemble, Saxophone Ensemble, Trombone Ensemble and similar groupings.

Keyboard

Keyboard students have the opportunity to study with outstanding faculty and to perform in a variety of settings as soloists and collaborators. Our instrument inventory includes Steinway and Baldwin concert grand pianos and priority practice rooms outfitted with well-maintained Steinway, Yamaha and Baldwin grands.

Weber Chapel is home to beautifully refurbished Dobson and Moeller organs, on which students may practice and perform. Two additional practice organs are located in the Cunningham Center for Music and Art. We also maintain historic instruments including three harpsichords and a clavinova.

Piano students may also study organ, and vice versa, and any keyboard player may also study harpsichord.

Explore Susquehanna’s Music Degrees

Discover all the possibilities Susquehanna University’s music degrees provide. From aspiring music educators to those pursuing double majors for diverse career opportunities, you will thrive in a supportive environment.

Watch Now

Two people are sitting at an audio mixing console. One with long curly hair is smiling and pointing at the controls, while the other person makes adjustments. They appear to be collaborating in a recording studio with red walls.

100%

of students have full access to all campus recording studios

100%

of students produce their own music here

70%

of student acquire tech-oriented work study positions

Explore Your Studies

Program Resources

When you enroll at Susquehanna, you’ll be paired with an advisor and application tool to guide you in your course planning and scheduling. The following is an excerpt from the complete course catalog. Enrolled students follow the requirements of the course catalog for the academic year in which they declare each major and/or minor and consult with their advisor(s).

Minors in Music

The Department of Music offers six minors: music theory/literature, music performance, music technology, church music, collaborative piano and the interdisciplinary minor of arts administration.

Minor in Music Technology

Before declaring a minor in music technology, a student must obtain approval of the music technology adviser. Note that approval of this minor does not guarantee a place in the required music classes.

Students must complete with a grade of C- or better 20 semester hours of coursework:

MUSC-355 Audio Engineering Fundamentals
MUSC-356 Music Production in the Recording Studio
MUSC-367 Computer Music Composition
MUSC-368 Computer Music Performance
4 semester hours in an internship or music electives

Double-counting Restriction

Students minoring in music technology may only apply 8 semester hours toward a music major.

Applied Music Lessons

Lessons carry one or two semester hours of credit. Students earn credit of one semester hour for a weekly half-hour lesson. Bachelor of Arts majors take a one-semester-hour lesson on their major instrument. Music education majors and performance majors take a weekly one-hour lesson on their major instrument and receive two semester hours of credit.

A fee is charged per semester for individual lessons that are not stated specifically as curricular requirements (nonmajors or extra lessons for majors). Such lessons are contingent upon faculty availability within the normal teaching load.