Music Department
My Elmhurst Experience
Music students talk about the College's welcoming community.
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Summer Camps
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From jazz combos to chamber music to acoustic guitar, Elmhurst offers a variety of summer music camps taught by the College's outstanding music faculty.
Meet Jean Hatmaker
Our New Professor of Cello
Hatmaker is the cellist and founding member of the Kontras Quartet and has been the principal cellist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and Symphony Orchestra Augusta.
ยป Music Department
Elmhurst College's internationally renowned music department offers exceptional opportunities for students interested in the serious study of music. Just 16 miles from downtown Chicago, Elmhurst has access to some of the world's greatest venues, teachers and performers. A top-notch faculty, opportunities to perform and secure internships and wonderful facilities make Elmhurst a great choice.
Our faculty includes members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Chorus, Lyric Opera of Chicago, national recording artists and award winners. These musicians teach in a comfortable environment where they can work closely with their students as individuals.
Whether you play the violin, the tuba or sing the blues, Elmhurst has a performing ensemble for you: we have four choral ensembles, three concert bands, three guitar groups, two jazz bands and two vocal jazz groups, two orchestras and numerous chamber ensembles. Several of our ensembles take regular tours across the nation and the globe and have gained national and international reknown. The Jazz Band, for example, has made numerous tours of both Eastern and Western Europe, twice at the invitation of the U.S. State Department, and appears frequently with such well-known jazz artists as Dee Dee Bridgewater, Nicholas Payton, Clark Terry, and Randy Brecker.
Our practical approach leads to real world experience and connections before you graduate. For example, music business students complete internships with organizations such as Ravinia Festival and Universal Records, and our music education majors student teach in some of the finest schools in the country.
Our facilities are outstanding. We offer computer labs with CD-ROM systems, a MIDI lab, and the new state-of-the art Gretsch digital recording studio. Buik Recital Hall and Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel are used year-round for hundreds of performances, and Elmhurst College is linked to a library system that can make available nearly any musical resource.
If you are interested in visiting the campus, receiving a complimentary lesson with one of our music professors, sitting in on classes or just having a conversation with one of our faculty members, please contact Gayle Bisesi.
Events
Varsity Strings Concert
Sunday, May 19
01:30 PM
Guitar Ensembles
Sunday, May 19
07:30 PM
MIDI Recital
Wednesday, May 22
12:00 PM
Summer Extravaganza
Saturday, June 15
6:30 PM
Additional Resources