ABOUT
Music
We invite you to share your music, find your vision, and build the future by studying in the Department of Music. We are a dynamic music program that offers focused study in a chosen area while also making it possible to explore other musical possibilities.
York University has led in innovative post-secondary music studies since the 1970s. The Department of Music was the first in Canada to offer integrated studies in jazz, contemporary improvisation, gospel music, world music performance, and ethnomusicology.
Music at York combines a flexible program with individual attention to prepare students for their future careers. Courses in jazz, gospel, western classical, world, and contemporary music develop music skills and engage students in music creation (performance, composition, improvisation), studies (ethnomusicology, musicology, popular music studies), and community practice (education, community music, career-related placements).
This flexibility makes it possible for students either to specialize in a specific area (such as choral music, film composition, vocal jazz, gospel, cello) or to design a diversified individual plan of study.
Your Community
The Undergraduate Program is founded on the principles of diversity and inclusion, and is unique in recognizing students with musical talent and ambition who arrive with a rich variety of musical backgrounds. It builds on these experiences by providing a common foundation in the first two years through four core courses to develop the skills necessary for ongoing music creation, studies, and community practice. During their final two years, students specialize further and can explore the full range of options available to them.
HIGHLIGHTS
A Brief History
FACULTY AND STAFF
People of Music
MUSIC AT YORK STUDENTS
Perks
Featured Guests
Through the year, special guests are invited from the professional and academic worlds to give seminars, offer specialized workshops, give guest lectures, and provide career guidance, with the annual week-long residency of the Oscar Peterson Jazz Artist-in-Residence providing a major highlight.
Performance Opportunities
Course-based, faculty-inspired, and student-initiated opportunities to rehearse and perform both on and off campus in a range of professional and community settings contribute to the dynamic atmosphere in the Department.
Enriched Experiences
Students benefit from the active creative, scholarly, and community-based activities of our faculty, whose teaching and mentorship are informed by their ongoing professional work as performers, composers, and engaged scholars, resulting in a music program enriched by the intersections of these areas of research and creation.
Sound and Moving Image Library and Scott Library
York’s library system offers valuable research and performance resources that include scores, critical editions, films and recordings (notable for its collection of jazz and popular music recordings), a comprehensive holding of books and journals, and special collections including sheet music and the Mariposa archives.
MUSIC AT YORK STUDENTS
