Turn your playing of a musical instrument into a career. As a musician specializing in performance, you will learn the skills, concepts and methodology necessary to demonstrate a professional level of proficiency with your main instrument, be it a drum kit, manual percussion, vibraphone, marimba, general percussion or stilpan. You will reach new levels of mastery thanks to private lessons, which include final exams based on qualifications, laboratory work on playing percussion instruments and classes to study performing skills.

Students will compile a portfolio of performances, including a solo concert for senior classes with the participation of a jury (with the support of performance preparation lessons), which meets modern professional performance standards. Most students also participate in extracurricular concert performances, and every graduate participates in ensembles and public performances both in college concert halls and at other venues.

Program Details

Additional activities available as part of the ensemble program may include recording sessions, on-campus and off-campus concerts, festivals, and tours. All this experience will help you develop sufficient theoretical, conceptual and philosophical training in the field of percussion performance. You will work effectively with other artists and adapt to changes in the professional music environment. A variety of classes give you a chance to become a professional in the field of percussion in an international environment that is considered one of the best in the world.

The main focus in the study of percussion is on mastering your instrument. With this goal in mind, you will receive 90 minutes of personal training on your main instrument per week from some of the best teachers in the field. You will also study chamber music, music perception, music history, pedagogy and languages, as well as secondary and elective classes of your own choice. You will take part in the activities of the symphony orchestra already in the first year of study.

The main instruments you will learn include percussion instruments needed in orchestral music, such as timpani, snare drum, bass drum, glockenspiel, tambourine and cymbals. You will also learn solo instruments such as marimba, vibraphone and xylophone. You can be trained in composition and arrangement, conducting, as well as jazz and folk music. Students will be able to develop not only a broad understanding of several fields, but also focus, for example, on orchestral performance and chamber music or contemporary music.

Graduates of the program will be able to synthesize and integrate knowledge about technology into everyday practice, demonstrate technical skills on the main instrument, play in various modern and traditional musical styles, play in ensembles of different sizes, instrumentation and stylistic orientation, improvise in various modern and traditional styles, including, but not limited to, jazz, rock and Latin American music.