Mission

Mission Statement

The music department prepares its students for active roles in professional life, in schools, in churches, and in the community through integrated programs of liberal and professional study emphasizing the values of cultural heritage, aesthetic appreciation, intellectual and spiritual growth, and meaningful creativity.

To achieve its mission, the music department

• Offers a comprehensive undergraduate curriculum with both liberal and professional degree options: a liberal arts music major (the bachelor of arts in music), offering music core curriculum within a traditional liberal arts framework; and professional degree programs (the bachelor of music education and the bachelor of music therapy) to prepare students for careers in music education, church music, performance, and for advanced study.
• Provides a wide array of instruction and performance opportunities available both to its majors and to students across the university.
• Maintains standards to ensure Valparaiso University’s continued accreditation by the National Association of Schools of Music with comprehensive self-study and external reviews every 10 years.
• Serves its students, faculty, academic community, area educators, citizens of the region, and more national constituencies through active public concert, touring, and recording projects and other forms of outreach.
• Engages in aggressive recruitment efforts for the University, targeting both music majors and musically talented non-majors who will continue their music study and participation as elective study.

Enduring commitments:

• To foster a nurturing environment for the learning of music, for undergraduates working closely with dedicated mentoring faculty.
• To maintain multiple options in music degree tracks and elective instruction.
• To integrate liberal, reflective learning about music with technical and specialized training in musical skills.
• To promote active learning in a highly collaborative environment.
• To develop students for leadership in a wide range of performance projects, ensembles, worship settings, and professional organizations.
• To develop and celebrate the historic relationship between artistic expression and religious faith, especially within the Lutheran musical tradition and its ongoing renewal.
• To encourage the building of community through the arts.