Music Department Welcomes Potential Students for Day on Campus

On October 30, Buffalo State’s Music Department gave a performance of a different nature—one intended to attract new students by showcasing all that the department has to offer.

During the daylong event, “So You Want to Be a Music Major?” in Rockwell Hall, music faculty hosted more than a dozen high school juniors and seniors from Western New York. The young musicians had the chance to rehearse with instrumental and vocal ensembles, take master classes with Buffalo State music faculty, and participate in interactive workshops featuring the Digital Music and the West African Drumming ensembles.

Emily Boyce, associate professor of piano and interim music department chair, organized the event by reaching out to music teachers in six nearby districts. It was free for students to attend.

"We saw this as yet another way to highlight all the opportunities our department offers students interested in studying music," Boyce said. "And it was really successful. We hope it will result in the eventual enrollment of more students in our program, which has been growing through the years."

The department has recently added new components, such as the digital music minor that has doubled in enrollment during the past year and the online master of music education, which is almost filled to capacity.

In addition to the activities in Rockwell, students were invited to take a campus tour and attend an evening vocal jazz concert in the Ciminelli Recital Hall.

"We offer so much that is hard to distil into a brochure," said Boyce. "Hosting students here for a day really brings both the music department’s grand array of offerings and the vibrancy of the campus to life. We hope to make it an annual event."