Date of Award

5-2026

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Departmental Honors

Department

Music

Abstract

Undergraduate music programs in the United States have historically centered ensemble-based instruction on the Western classical canon in order to cultivate technical mastery, stylistic fluency, and disciplined collaborative musicianship. This pedagogical model has proven durable and remains foundational to professional orchestral and choral performance practice. Canonical repertoire continues to anchor audition requirements, institutional programming, and degree structures across institutions of higher education. Yet the contemporary professional landscape has evolved into a far more diversified artistic ecosystem characterized by stylistic hybridity, living composer integration, interdisciplinary collaboration, constrained rehearsal models, and portfolio-based career trajectories.

This Honors Capstone investigates the relationship between undergraduate ensemble preparation and contemporary professional practice through a qualitative comparative analysis. Drawing on curricular documentation, ensemble repertoire, and degree requirements at Utah State University alongside season programming, repertoire trends, and operational models of selected regional and national professional orchestras and choirs, the study situates undergraduate music education within broader industry developments. Rather than critiquing a single institution, the project examines whether prevailing pedagogical emphases across higher education sufficiently cultivate stylistic adaptability, interpretive autonomy, and fluency across multiple musical languages reflective of current professional expectations.

Findings indicate that canonical repertoire remains central in both academic and professional contexts; however, professional environments increasingly assume rapid skill transfer, independent preparation, and comfort navigating contemporary harmonic, rhythmic, and formal frameworks alongside historical styles. The central challenge facing undergraduate music education is therefore not the preservation of the canon, but the proportional and structural integration of contemporary practice within ensemble culture. Where universities often treat modern repertoire as additive or occasional, professional institutions normalize stylistic breadth as foundational.

This study argues that professional alignment does not require wholesale curricular reform or abandonment of tradition. Instead, universities can strengthen preparedness by intentionally activating the transferability of canonical training through systematic integration of contemporary repertoire, structural fluency across compositional languages, and expanded opportunities for interpretive agency within ensemble settings. By positioning the canon as a starting point for broader stylistic fluency, undergraduate programs can more effectively prepare musicians for sustainable careers in a rapidly evolving professional industry.

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Faculty Mentor

Sara Bakker

Departmental Honors Advisor

Sara Bakker

Capstone Committee Member

Timothy Chenette