Music is an integral part of campus life at Bates, with hundreds of students each year participating in a robust, student-led a cappella culture as well as in choirs, orchestra, jazz bands, chamber ensembles, and more.
The Department of Music gives students the opportunity to study music from cultural, historical, theoretical, psychological, creative, and interpretive perspectives. With a low student-to-faculty ratio, each participant in our program receives one-on-one attention and support from faculty to reach their individual goals.
Marisa C. Wickersham, Academic Administrative Assistant
75 Russell Street
Olin Arts Center, Bates College
Phone: 207-786-6135
olinarts@bates.edu
Graduates from the Department of Music have gone on to successful careers and post-graduate degrees in a variety of topics. Alumni include Emmy-nominated sound effects designers and editors, music professors, and members of the renowned Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
of 2020-2024 arts graduates are employed and/or attending graduate school
The music major at Bates is a hands-on, immersive program in which students learn by doing. Students who perform will have opportunities to show off their chops at regular recitals as well as to participate in community performances and concerto competitions, while student composers get to hear their music played by professional musicians. Community outreach programs allow students to share music-making with patients in local hospitals and older generations in residential homes.
Music department faculty members hold degrees from a wide range of prestigious universities and have diverse focus areas including ethnomusicology, neoclassical jazz, and computer music. In addition to their teaching work, they actively work in the field of music as composers, choral conductors, artistic directors, and accomplished soloists and accompanists.
In the Student Center for Belonging and Community, first-generation Bates students mentor their younger peers, providing guidance on everything from academics to internships to social life.
Bates is embarking on a $45 million project to update two key athletic facilities and construct a new fitness and well-being center. A gift of $10 million from Jon W. Brayshaw ’90, P’25 and Jocelyn Stoddard Brayshaw ’88, P’25 has brought the college a vital step closer to construction. The new facility will be named the Stoddard Fitness and Well-Being Center.
February on campus saw sports successes, several large snowfalls, and our annual Winter Carnival — a week of events celebrating the joys of the chilly season.
