Combine music education with social justice in Goshen College's Music for Social Change concentration, preparing you to lead community music programs.
Music Major Concentration
Music for Social Change
What Is the Music for Social Change Concentration?
Music can be a powerful force for transformation in individuals, communities and the world.
Music for Social Change is a concentration within the Bachelor of Arts in Music at Goshen College. It adds 24 to 25 credit hours to the 23-hour music core, pairing applied study and ensembles with community-based teaching, conducting and one course from outside the music department.
You begin by taking Building Community Through Music, a course that explores how music can be used as a tool for social change and community engagement. Then you choose a methods course such as Elementary Music Methods, Secondary Music Methods, Piano Pedagogy or Conducting II. You then add a related course in Foundations of Education, Designing for Social Change, Introduction to Public Policy or Introduction to Social Work. An Applied Teaching Internship puts you in front of real learners before you graduate, and 14 credit hours toward applied music in your own instrument or voice.
What You’ll Be Able to Do
Goshen College’s music faculty hold every graduate of the major to four outcomes. Here is what they look like in this concentration.
- Perform with real artistry. Fourteen of the concentration’s credit hours are applied music, and you present a sophomore qualifying recital of 15 to 20 minutes plus a senior recital, project or lecture recital.
- Teach music that changes a room. Methods coursework and the Applied Teaching Internship prepare you to lead music in classrooms, in community-based settings and for audiences and ages well outside a concert hall.
- Lead, not just play. Conducting I is part of the music core, and Conducting II is one of your concentration options, so you spend time in front of an ensemble.
- Connect music to the work of change. Your related course in education, public policy, peace and justice or social work gives you the working vocabulary of the field you want to serve.
You graduate prepared for a career that uses the musical arts to make a positive contribution to society.
Common Questions About Music for Social Change
The concentration is part of the Music major, so you graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Music. The 22-hour minor is built for students majoring in something else. If music is your major, the concentration is your route.
Yes. Ensemble participation is required each semester unless you are on Study-Service Term or another off-campus program, and your core ensemble is set by the music faculty to match your primary instrument. Goshen’s ensembles include Chamber Choir, Vox Profundi, Voices of the Earth, Symphony Orchestra and Lavender Jazz, and they are open by audition to every student. Explore Music Ensembles.
Students planning a music major or minor are eligible for Music Achievement Awards ranging from $2,000 to $10,000 annually, and all instruments and voice parts are encouraged to audition. Ensemble Grants of $1,000 annually are available to students who are not majoring or minoring in music. See Music Scholarships for audition details.
Request information or schedule a visit to meet the music faculty and see the facilities, then apply to Goshen as a music student. Once enrolled, you declare the music major and a music for social change concentration with your advisor. Reaching out early lets an advisor help you plan coursework and fieldwork from the start.